Last Thursday, March 27th, I had the pleasure of attending and incredible story slam called BUSted, which took place at Stories Cafe and Books in Silverlake!  The topic of the slam was about people who get around Los Angeles without a car.  A friend on Facebook invited me, and it seemed like a justifiable reason for me to blow off my plans of volunteering on Skid Row that night.

The night was wildly entertaining.  The event was hosted by Scott Schultz (pictured below at the mic), a native Bostonian who hasn’t driven since 2006.  Not to mention, he can also tell an entertaining story!  Every non-car commuter could relate to the stories that were told, but few could share them in such a captivating way.  Storyteller Eddie Solis shared his experience of waiting one day too long to get his EZ Pass, which was one gust in a perfect storm of unfortunate events that led to him being handcuffed in the back of a sheriff’s car.

When all the featured storytellers finished at the mic, Scott opened the floor to anyone in the audience who had a transit-related story to share.  Yours truly was the first brave soul to go up.  I hadn’t planned on sharing, but figured it was as good a time as any.  I’ve had several people tell me I am a good storyteller, and I certainly have a tale or two about what I’ve seen on the bus.  I received good feedback afterwards and was invited to come back next month as a featured storyteller.

I got really stoked afterwards as I talked to Scott about the other story slams he hosts.  He is planning one next month to raise money for a monthly karaoke event that is thrown by a storefront church in the heart of Skid Row.  I was really excited to hear about that.  As I mentioned, I volunteer on Skid Row and the homeless problem in Los Angeles is an issue I’m passionate about.  I know how much the residents of that community love the karaoke night.  It’s great to see another member of the community do a little something to help them update their music library and keep the event alive.  Kudos to you, Scott!

Scott’s next story slam will be April 26th.  Stay posted for more info!

BTW, you should really check out the venue, Stories.  It’s an incredible bookstore and coffee shop with a really great patio for events.  Buy local and help your neighborhoods thrive!
www.storiesla.com