Stories From The Pitch is a podcast on Elevation 5280 Sports. It’s a podcast about the sport of soccer in the United States and football around the world. In the U.S., soccer is played on a field. In places like England, football is played on the pitch.
Elevating Soccer Stories
Soccer is the number one youth sport in the world. Its popularity has become the foundation for men’s and women’s professional leagues. Around the world, fans pledge allegiance to clubs from the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, and Spanish Primera.
The goal of Stories From The Pitch is to capture compelling stories from international, professional, and local matches. These are the moments that go beyond the scores. Each one represents the pride and the passion of men and women living out the dreams that children cheer.
It’s the tales of the goal scorers, the risk-takers, and the money makers. Prospect signings invite predictions for the future. All-star trades shift the balance of power within leagues. The antics of players, the challenges of managing them, and the strategy and determination needed to bring it all together in a winning cominbation set the stage for legends. The narratives that absorb
About the Storyteller
Storytellers tell stories
Seth Singleton believes in a common thread that connects us all. In the end, everyone has a story to tell.
Tell yours with a Storyteller. Email him now about a writing or podcast project.
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This is the first in a series about the lessons my mother taught me through example. Mother’s Day felt like a good day to publish it. But then I felt that celebrating it a few days later made more sense.
You could say that I was inspired by the Outkast song Happy Valentines Day After all, if we can make love for others, especially mothers last all year long the world will thank us.
I remember sitting in the backyard on the grass. Mom read classic stories to my sister and me.
By the time the summer was over, I think we read every book in that treasured C.S. Lewis series.
unlocking a language
My first experience with the alphabet came from magnets. They were different colors and they stuck to a whiteboard. There were solid lines and dotted lines above that ran parallel.
The first morning she placed the letters in order. Then we would peel them off and I tried to copy the pattern. Soon I could place them all in the right places. I could never get my letters straight on the lines. Next, I learned their names.
I knew how excited my mom became when she talked on the phone and used the words pre-school and first day. She told me that she had talked with my new teacher. They were both excited about my progress learning the alphabet.
Mom made it clear that the alphabet was not just the key to success in pre-school and kindergarten. Reading required deciphering the alphabet. Once I did that I could unlock the power of reading and the magic of writing.
“Pride cometh before the fall.” That was the warning my mother would share when I became too confident. It’s based on the verse from King James Version of the Old Testament. Proverbs 16:8 “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
I would learn its meaning and come to respect it many times in my life. My mom also liked to mix in quotes from Shakespeare. “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” was only used as a warning when we appeared ungrateful.
It was more often “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.” Sometimes it was a playful paraphrase that substituted another word for horse. In our house, it was popular to say, “A pen, a pen.”
My Mom
Mother’s Day every day
It’s easy to choose one day to celebrate mothers. However, my daily actions are built around the values my mom imparted to me.
About the Storyteller
Storytellers tell stories
Seth Singleton believes in a common thread that connects us all. In the end, everyone has a story to tell.
Tell yours with a Storyteller.
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Types of stories are like ideas. The only limit is our imagination. It only takes one new idea to rewrite the realm of possibility.
My writing teacher once said, “There are only two stories. A stranger comes to town and a man goes on a trip.”
Leo Tolstoy is credited with saying it first. Later it was attributed to novelist John Gardner. It seems simplistic, like someone saying that something is or it isn’t.
In the first place, the quote is apocryphal. Tolstoy’s original statement was abridged. He originally said that there are 22 stories.
This kind of editing is dangerous. It maligns the speaker and the message. Stories are important.
“And so we all matter — maybe less than a lot, but always more than none.”
It doesn’t matter what the total number of story types equals. Only that we discover the best ways to tell our stories. Choosing a model for the story you want to tell starts with understanding the importance behind the choices that are available.
Jerry Flattum’s What is Story: Story Types, Plot, Themes, and Genres is a great introduction. He begins with types of conflicts that often exist in stories. His approach is designed to help you write a screenplay that will sell.
To begin with, the examples start with a person vs. themselves or someone else and then includes examples of a person taking on the external world. The elements, technology, the supernatural, and god are the likely antagonists. Others might include viruses, extraterrestrial elements, or some combination of antagonists.
Examples of these conflicts exist in literature. A classic tale of Human vs. self is the book Lord of the Flies. Into the Wild is a popular example of Human vs. nature. Readers need only look to William Shakespeare’s Macbeth to witness Human vs. Supernatural.
Conflicts in Stories
For the most part, Flattum’s introduction to how we tell stories is focused on screenplays. Scripts are built on dialogue, plot, and theme. Opposing forces define the structure.
The entertainment industry likes presentations that are brief. Preferably a quick synopsis or bullet points. Ideally presented using an elevator pitch that covers the main points in a matter of seconds. Screenplays are generally 120 pages.
The first thirty pages introduce the characters and conflict. Pages 30-60 build the tension. Pages 60-90 raise the stakes and pages 90-120 are the climax and the resolution of the story.
Basic Plots
There are other approaches used to define the types of stories that we know. Christopher Booker’s The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories is another example. Booker’s plot structure approach uses thematic frameworks. They include Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return; Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth.
Overcoming the Monster stories are examples of facing our fears like the emotional characters from Inside Out. Rags to Riches films like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are about overnight success. The Quest is about the journey and movies like Onward reveal the lessons learned along the way.
The Lion King is a beloved Voyage and Return movie. It illustrates the changes a hero faces after coming home. Comedy can be slapstick like Mr. Bean or intellectual like A Fish Called Wanda.
Tragedy stories like Titanic reveal the best and worst qualities people display under duress. Popular superhero movies like Thor: Ragnarok demonstrate who we can become after surviving tragedy.
In particular, Monster in the House, Out of the Bottle (Wishes and curses), and Whydunit are great original names. By comparison, Golden Fleece (Quest; Journey), Rites of Passage, and Institutionalized are classic tropes.
Buddy Love, Superhero, and Dude with a Problem are my guilty pleasure. Likewise, the Fool Triumphant (Underdog) is always heartwarming. In brief, they all connect with familiar stories I have seen, read, or heard.
For example, Monster in the House can be an outside danger that is invading the members of a home. Or the dark side of someone who lives in it. A Golden Fleece story is not limited to Jason and the Argonauts or Star Wars. It’s a story about embarking on an impossible journey.
In short, a Whydunit like Chinatown is a story about the reason that someone commits an act. Conversely, if you think Dude with a Problem sounds like the television series 24 you are right. Likewise, Forrest Gump is a classic example of a Fool Triumphant.
Look closely at Rites of Passage and the correlation with Big becomes clear. American Beauty is a story about being Institutionalized. I Love You Man is a clear example of Buddy Love. Groundhog Day is a brilliant Out of the Bottle.
How many appear familiar to you?
Master Plots
Ronald Tobias doubles down on Snyder’s list with 20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them. Tobias includes some new ideas like Escape, Rescue, and perhaps my favorite Wretched Excess. Examples like Ascension and Descension, Underdog, and Temptation are evident in books, movies, and the news.
Dramatic Situations
By comparison, Georges Polti’s The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations doesn’t quite double the 20 plots that Tobias describes. However, the 16 additional suggestions that he includes provides a new vocabulary. In particular, that makes for some really fun considerations. His fresh ideas offer more to consider when telling a story.
To begin with, Polti’s list includes Crime Pursued by Vengeance, Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune, Rivalry of Kinsmen, Murderous Adultery, and Self-Sacrificing. I’m intrigued by the fact that he includes Self-Sacrificing for an Ideal, for Kindred, for Passion, or for the Necessity of Loved Ones.
It is valuable to recognize the many examples where these lists overlap. Add in a list of 47 genres and plots, themes, and there are over 100 possible types of stories. And it’s always expanding.
Types of Stories Matter
In conclusion, storytelling is as much about telling a story as it is about how you tell a story. The difference is whether or not you are considering your audience. A storyteller without an audience is just someone talking to themselves. The intention behind the story can be a guiding light, a Northstar, or just the horizon.
In short, when you are telling a story it’s important to know what kind of reaction you want your audience to experience. If it’s a funny story you are usually looking for key moments timed to perfection. Personal stories can be humorous, heartbreaking, or inspirational.
In particular, recognizing how your story can connect with one of the many examples listed above helps ground your story. Choosing the right framework can provide a structure for your story.
Finding a narrative that connects with your story can help you share its lessons, values, and message. The journey of your business, your project, and your life is a story waiting to be told.
About the Storyteller
Storytellers tell stories
Seth Singleton believes in a common thread that connects us all. In the end, everyone has a story to tell.
Tell yours with a Storyteller. Email him now about a writing or podcast project.
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If you want to know the story of Jerry and Tina Lowden. You have to start at the beginning, when Jerry Lowden was born at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley. CA. He was raised in Oakland, and then moved to Walnut Creek in late 1963. Meanwhile, Tina Sacramento was born at Niles Maternity Hospital. She was raised in Alvarado-Union City, before moving to Castro Valley in 1966.
It was less than one year after Tina’s move when these two lovebirds met. One magical night, July 1, 1967 to be exact, at the Starlight Room in Concord. Jerry knocked back his third beer and set his sights on the prettiest girl in the place. Tina was wearing a bold black and white checked dress and Jerry only had one plan. Finally, he worked up his courage, put his best foot forward.
And his heartfelt, “Would you like to dance,” was answered with an extended hand. They never returned to the Starlight Room after that night. And they never looked back at a life that did not include each other.
Jerry and Tina’s Wedding
In February 1968 Jerry and Tina, committed their love for each other, and became engaged to marry. The date was set. Five months later, on July 7, 1968, at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Union City, they stood with love in their eyes. Jerry and Tina exchanged vows and rings and promised to share one family name for eternity.
They made their first home in Fresno while Jerry finished his BA in Sociology at Fresno State University. Tina worked in a medical office. Jerry planned to start a Masters degree program at San Diego State University. So, in September of 1969 they journeyed farther south where again, Tina found work in a medical office. Medicine was clearly in her future.
Jerry and Tina Celebrate 50
Jerry Joins Burke
At some point that winter, tired of being broke. In particular, a little bored with college — Jerry went looking for full-time work. He struck pay dirt at The Burke Company’s Emeryville facility in April 1970. Jerry stayed with his parents for the first two months at his new job. Then came down to bring Tina back to the Bay Area.
Burke was a national manufacturer and distributor of products used in the construction industry. Without a degree, Jerry never would have landed an interview. His foot in the door, Jerry started at a customer service position, before moving to outside sales. Then sales management, and finally ending his career as Burke’s Manager of the International Division in 1998.
Meanwhile, Tina — though a whisper pregnant — landed a position with Merritt Hospital Oakland in the spring of 1970. For Tina, this was the beginning of a long career in medical consulting.
Tina’s medical consulting
In 1982, Tina formed Medical Management Consulates. This company advised and trained front office staff to understand, to comply, and to facilitate the ever-growing government regulations. And insurance rules related to the medical industry. When that process moved in-house, large organizations developed their own internal training staff. Tina tailored the focus of her consulting business to assist small businesses. And renamed her company, Lowden & Associates.
Tina earned her BA degree in Business Communications from Holy Names University. In addition to working full time she took night and weekend classes 1993 to 1997.
It was a great achievement that required as much discipline as it did energy. In a serendipitous twist that was as unplanned as it was a blessing, their daughter Karen also graduated from Holy Names with a BA in Liberal Arts and a minor in Spanish at the same time as her mother. Their son Richard received his BA in Political Science from San Diego State, where Jerry had planned to go.
Growing Family
The introduction of the Lowden children begins with the birth of their son. Richard Malcolm was born at Alta Bates Hospital on February 5, 1971. Karen Tina, was born 14 months later at the same hospital on April 24, 1972. Following the footsteps of their parents, both children were blessed to find life-long loves to share their futures.
To begin with Richard cemented his bond with Linnea Andren when they married in August, 2003 at Pemaquid Lighthouse in Bristol, Maine. Karen married Carl Abude in February, 2006 at the South End Rowing Club (SERC) in San Francisco, CA.
Their unions of love have blessed Jerry and Tina with four grandchildren; Jasmine Marie Abude, Annalina Evelyn Lowden, Kai’noa Aaron Abude, & Marco Makana Abude.
When Jerry resigned from the Burke Company in February of 1998, thirty years after he first proposed to her, he joined forces with Tina. Lowden & Associates set its sights in a new direction, by selling American-made products to the international construction market.
Unwilling to stop working completely, they continue this business today in a semi-retired mode.
Legacy of Love
Oakland was a busy place for the Lowden family from 1970 – 2013. Jerry and Tina found adventures in Richard and Karen’s school activities and involvement in community projects. Jerry enjoyed the city-wide volleyball league both he and Tina participated in for a number of years. He found a strong community of people swimming with The Hills Masters group. And in the open water with The South End Rowing Club (SERC). Jerry’s final open water swim was in 2013. A race that stretched the length of Donner Lake, where he placed second in his age group. Now that he’s retired from open water swimming, Jerry’s other hobby is working on the potters wheel.
Tina was a fixture on the tennis court — her favorite being doubles. Sometimes she even let Jerry play on her team. Tina was also a long-distance walker. Roaming from the Oakland Hills and over to Alameda, like it was all no big deal. This inevitably led to several 5 & 10 K runs. And about five Bay to Breakers runs, some included Karen by her side. Tina still enjoys swimming in the Bay with the SERC in the warmer months. She has twice swam from Alcatraz Island to the beach at Aquatic Park in San Francisco. She is also an accomplished quilter, sharing her works with family and others for the past 25 years.
Family Tradition
As former active members of St. Columbus Catholic Church, Jerry and Tina participated in the design and development of the surrounding landscape. Along with other parishioners, including Jerry’s brother Ted. He likes to dig and pull weeds. Tina was active in the docent program for the newly constructed Christ The Light Cathedral in Oakland. The design of the facility has received numerous architectural awards. Visitors continue to arrive from around the nation, and world, just to walk through its doors.
On every adventure the thing that brought them the most joy was spending time with their extended families. There have been so many weddings, births, special occasions, and the unfortunate, and thankfully few hospitals and funerals.
Every year ending with Tina’s favorite tradition, the Cinnamon Roll Baking Day at Christmastime. Since about 1977, family members ranging in age from almost-1-year-old to the should-be-setting-the-example overgrown kids play a role in the mixing, baking, and eating. Jerry’s part in the event usually involves a mop and a vacuum.
A New Adventure
In late 2013, Jerry and Tina moved from their long-time home. Trading in the Oakland Hills for a new home in Winters, CA. In this home, where they had lived for 37 years, they had shared many of life’s road marks. Ranging from birthdays to special celebrations.
Their marriage had survived two major remodel projects, each one expanding their views of the three bridges and city skylines. It was a sad time for them. But they felt it was time to downsize. And come to grips with the effects of aging as it related to the hills and stairs. Move on to the next journey.
Winters is a wonderful town. Level, easy bike riding, managed by a city government that cares about the quality of life, the day-to-day maintenance of the town, and its people. Though it sits in the heart of a huge agricultural region it is by no means isolated. All major services and shopping adventures are but a few minutes away. It becomes clearer to them every day that this was the right move.
In their fifty years Jerry and Tina have traveled both on business and pleasure to countries including: Philippine Islands, Guam, Australia, Russia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Chile, England, Scotland, Ireland, Thailand, Pakistan, Rep. South Africa, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Armenia, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, and Austria.
Now they plan to tour the U.S.
Throughout their married life, the symbol of Marriage In Christ has hung in their homes.
It was on their wedding cake and it tops their 50th Anniversary Cake today.
The two wedding rings entwined on a cross, or Chi Rho, symbolize the union of a couple in Christ.
Thank You for Sharing their 50th year “as one”
About the Storyteller
Storytellers tell stories
Seth Singleton believes in a common thread that connects us all. In the end, everyone has a story to tell.
Tell yours with a Storyteller. Email sethsingleton@gmail.com about a writing or podcast project.
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The difference between want, need, and value should be clear. However, like right and wrong these ideas are subject to our emotions, to our idols, and to our dreams. The most innocent influence our intentions.
Value is how we determine our wants or needs.
My father introduced the concept of want and need to me when I was still internalizing the definition of both words. I still find it challenging to describe how want and need influence value. But in the end my understanding always begins with burgers.
My burger has a first name It’s T-R-U-E-B-U-R-G-E-R
Burger Love
I love a good burger. On more than one occasion my wife has recognized a look of fatigue and nutrient deficiency that will drape across the features of my face. Next thing I know she is calling in an order to my favorite burger spot.
Twenty minutes later the burger and fries are fading into a warm memory. My stomach swells with glee and I am gently slurping down a chocolate shake with peanut butter mixed in. Every time I take my first bite I know that the value in this burger is worth every penny.
Balancing Act
Things We Want
When I was a kid my tastes were less developed. I wanted McDonald’s, Burger King, and any other fast food restaurant with meals on demand. Those were all instant favorites. Mom indulged us when she didn’t have time to cook, but Dad was deterred by the cost.
My dad was stubborn and determined. He didn’t understand paying for something that he could make on his own. How could cheaper and better quality be wrong?
In his mind the money my dad was paying was more than the value of the food he was getting.
What We Need
In this case, what we needed was food which is something we had or could obtain for a lower price at the grocery store. What we wanted was something mass-produced that was lower quality and cost more because someone prepared it for you.
Every move we make is defined by our wants and needs
I can see him standing in the kitchen, breaking down how with ten dollars I could buy the ingredients for the burgers and make them two or three times as thick. He always illustrated the measurement with his thumb and forefinger. Even prized fixings and condiments could be purchased for a tenth of the price charged at the drive-thru window.
So what was the difference? Dad’s value required work. Making burgers involves planning, purchasing, and preparation. It took me years before I understood why that is important. I’m still learning.
My Father’s Foundation
This wasn’t the first time my dad and I talked about want and need. But it’s the first example that created the mental foundation for my understanding. Later, the examples came down to tougher decisions and the lessons that we can learn from their hardship.
My father is a Christmas Eve baby. Every December usually brings him to mind. Last Christmas he collapsed from a torn aortic valve. Now every December, much like his lessons, takes on a new meaning.
About the Storyteller
Storytellers tell stories
Seth Singleton believes in a common thread that connects us all.
