Mark Twain said it correctly, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story”
That is to say, a good tell, is a good tell and if it’s necessary to adjust the elements of a story for a better version, then that’s always a better alternative than telling a boring story. Suffice it to say that the value of any story is not just in recounting the events as they happened, but also in how well those events are told - the art of the tell will relate whatever conjures the most meaningful, memorable, or inspirational interpretation.
Posted here are stories which indulge in the art of the tell.
After all, most human memory is faulty at best, and each recollection is fraught with subjectivity. This is true especially over time and unique interpretation through the art of bardic dexterity. Folk songs are like that too. The singing and re-singing of old ballads, laments and hymns may allude to a unique historic perspective but also tend to reflect the whims and concerns of each performer’s time and place in history. Human cultural history is fickle that way.
All this is my way of pre-qualifying any stories I relate in this forum. Categorically, all of them have a place in reality (ie. non-fiction), yet the emphasis on one part or another, including the chronology, the implied meaning or the physical elements are all open to subjective recollection. Still, an attempt is always made to honor objectivity whenever the importance of empirical observation might exist.
“The absurdity of the human condition is a never-ending source of amusement”
Geo