I’m just leaving a school in what would be considered an economically impoverished area. I pulled over and took this picture of one of the places where some of my kids are living. I’m sitting in my car, writing this on my phone because I’ve got to get these thoughts...

Greetings Once Again My Family, Times have been exciting and so many good things are occurring that I don’t even know where to start. First things first. Thank you all for being on my email list and I will “always” honor and respect that by not inundating you with...

Greetings Everyone! First off, I want to thank those of you who sent me emails and messages of support for the issue of the child whose father told him he hated Black People. I appreciate the heartfelt sincerity in your messages. I'll do another BABA TALKS episode...

Greetings Everyone! As promised, each time I publish an episode of BABA TALKS I’m going to send you all a message to let you know. I was a bit hesitant in getting this one out because of the subject matter. At the end of episode #19, I let you all know that I had a...

Greetings my family! So much has been going on that I don't even know where to start. First, and foremost, thank you for being on my email list. It does make a difference, feeling as though you have others to share your journey with. I just uploaded BABA TALKS...

Greetings family! I recently finished a video wishing all “my” people a Happy New Year. If you didn’t receive it, here is a link to it on YouTube: Happy New Year Video Message from Baba the Storyteller. I’m also going to be posting more storytelling videos to my...

Hey family! I’m excited! The movie I shot with Blippi and Meekah aired this morning! I had forgotten much of what we shot and so it was really interesting seeing it for the first time. I think they did a great job editing. Here’s a link to the video on YouTube "Blippi...

I finally completed a project that was "literally" years in the making. I had myself professionally recorded telling a lot of my favorite stories, some with music, some without, and put up samples on my website. Check them out and let me know what y'all think. Here...

*Sworn to Secrecy on the set of Blippi   Finally! I’ve been holding on to this little piece of intel since I did the video shoot for Blippi and Moonbug Entertainment a few weeks ago and now I can finally blurt it out.   They are launching a new character on the show...

I’m not sure I can do this any longer. There are painful moments in this work that few people ever get to see. While at a school yesterday, following extreme COVID protocols, I had one of those heart-wrenching, crossroads moments that we all experience in life. Part...

Greetings my family! I’ve recently been getting quite a few calls with questions about Kwanzaa this upcoming Holiday Season. One of the calls was a request to teach about Kwanzaa for The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach California. The catch? Well, if you can...

Greetings to one and all. I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy out there. Initially, I thought that I would be in a constant state of isolation when schools all closed on March 13th. I wasn’t sure of anything, like many of you. I’m extremely fortunate that...

Greetings my family! I hope everyone is staying at home if you can. I know times are rough and I sincerely hope that none of you are suffering right now. I've managed to stay a little busy. I just completed a 4-part video series for Dakota County Library in Minnesota....

With everything that is happening, being in the midst of a pandemic, I just thought I needed to keep my mind engaged. I finished another BABA TALKS, episode #14 earlier today. It is posted to YouTube. Here's the link: BABA TALKS episode #14 To say that I've been busy...

I’ve just ended the 1st week of a two-week tour here in Buenos Aires and I thought I would share some reflections. When I first decided to accept the career as a storyteller, one of the goals I had was to honor my ancestors. A very simple way of doing this was to wear...

Hi Everyone! I'm coming to you from the beautiful metropolis of Dakar in Senegal West Africa. I'm currently working with the International School of Dakar and networking with several NGO's. I've been having an awesome experience thus far. I'm alerting all of you that...

For those of you who haven't been "in-the-know" for the past few months, I've been publishing a little VLog (Video Log) called BABA TALKS. Nothing formal, just me shooting off-the-cuff about what's going on in the world of BABA. I just posted episode number 10 on...

I posted an entire story that I shared with an audience of middle schoolers. Click here to view the entire 2:30 video Sharing a Teaching Tale of Confusion If you get a chance to view it, subscribe while you're there and leave a comment. I value the input of all of...

I think the last blog post I wrote was about receiving the Heritage Award at the Aquarium of the Pacific. That was 2017. Wow! 2018 was a whirlwind of storytelling activity. I toured Louisiana, all over California and ended the year by touring in Beijing, China. I also...

The past few months have been a blur.  December I was touring in Spain and the Canary Islands (short video clip of part of a performance there). While in Spain I participated in a Spanish Book Festival to promote ROAD and then returned to a flurry of performances for...

It has definitely been a long, arduous journey but, after 6 years of self-inflicted mental torture, constant cursing and unexplainable elation, my book Road of Ash and Dust: Awakening of a Soul in Africa is "finally" complete. I am, quite literally, jumping up and...

It was 1975 and I was in the sixth grade at Meadows Elementary on the largest military base in this nation, Fort Hood, in the State of Texas. Just like many other children during that period of adolescence, I was transitioning into my age of reason. I was beginning to...

i am truly one of the blessed of this earth to be able to travel the world and share with so many different people of different cultures. I received word recently that one of the most amazing souls I've ever met transitioned. His name was Seu Geraldo Tartaruga and he...

Yesterday I was on my way back home driving from Northern California to Los Angeles. I pulled into a rest stop and went to stand out in an adjoining field. I like to break the monotony of driving long distances by stopping to take time and enjoy the beauty of nature...

I’m touring schools here in Lafayette Louisiana and having an incredible experience. Something happened yesterday that made me pause and give an issue some thought. A young girl of about 11 years old asked me, “Have you ever been a slave?” Now on the...

I just finished my final performance here in Costa Rica and I’m supposed to be getting ready for my flight but I had to sit down and just write out what just happened really quickly. First of all, the performance was awesome, amazing and I’m...

I’ve only been in Costa Rica for a few days but in that time I’ve performed for 10 different school audiences of varying ages. There is a response that I’m finding common here amongst the people, both adult and children. Each time I’ve finished...

After arriving in San Jose Costa Rica on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles I was met by my tour manager and whisked away to a school for my first performance. I tried not to allow my exhaustion to show through the veneer of energetic engagement...

At least once, sometimes twice a week I try to make time to sit quietly and listen to records. Usually before the needle rises on one of the last albums I’ve got my nose buried in the pages of a book. Time ceases to be of any consequence. I’ve...

Yesterday I was not feeling like performing. I had that “wanna-stay-in-eat-popcorn-and-watch-movies” kind of feeling. Even though I know it is a mental test of adapting, I still keep inching closer towards the soothing sensation of apathy. Not...

There are times when I feel as though I live in an alternate reality. I probably engage more people in a week than most do in a lifetime. What seems surreal to me is the reaction that so many people have to storytelling. I have lived long...

Today was another day of performing at schools trying to see as much of the city as I could from the windows of my taxi. My tour manager, Sofi, is astounding. She is really on top of her game. I have not wanted, nor needed, for anything. I've...

I've been experiencing a really interesting phenomenon since I've arrived in Uruguay and Argentina. I haven't spoken much about it because it is a bit embarrassing. But since I now have a portion of the answer I'll share. Each school I've...

I just returned from a Tango lesson here in Buenos Aires with my wife and son. It was much more challenging than I thought it would be. My back was pouring with sweat. I love challenging myself with new things. I've learned never to get "too"...

I've been here in Buenos Aires for a couple of days now. My first gathering was a group of 16 and 17 year olds. I gage how the rest of the tour will go in a country by the very first performance. It was early, really early and, as most people...

Last night I we left Uruguay and arrived in Buenos Aires a little behind schedule. I was starting to really feel the physical effects of touring on both mind and body. While we were at the airport I felt myself slip into some sort of...

I haven't had a chance to talk much about the actual visits to the schools here in Uruguay. I can say that I have yet, crossing my fingers, had a single negative experience. In fact, I've had quite the opposite. I've found the students,...

Last Saturday my tour manager, Sofi, took me to the historical city of Colonia. It is one of the earliest settlements here in Uruguay. Its' history is a blend of Portuguese and Spanish Colonial conflict. Everything from the architecture to the...

Last Friday I visited Casa de la Cultura Afrouruguaya. I try to explore as much of the cultural landscape of the countries I travel to as possible. With a hectic work schedule and maintaining business and familial connections back in the U.S....

Since I've stepped off of the plane and started visiting schools here in Montevideo, I've been getting enthusiastically hugged and kissed by both old and young. I've visited about 6 schools so far and at each school, the children have erupted...

The trip getting here was long, oh so long. I spent 6 and a half hours on a plane going from Los Angeles to Panama and then, after only an hour layover in Panama, I voluntarily assaulted my body for another 7 hours on a plane from Panama to...

I’ve always avoided talking about food. I don’t enjoy explaining to the, oddly, curious what I eat, why I eat what I eat or where I get what I eat when I eat. With that being said, some might find it curious that I would choose to play “food...

Leaving Romania is a bittersweet experience for me. On one hand I can’t wait to return to the familiarity of home and, on the other hand, I’m going to miss the amazing souls I’ve crossed paths with. I have taught and been taught here in...

The City of Bucharest is an amazing example of the juxtaposition of old-world communism living side by side with a rapidly advancing, almost voracious capitalism. I’m old enough to remember the 1989 Revolution, as we witnessed it in the U.S. from the comfort of our...

Arriving in Paris after a 10 hour flight still felt magical. I booked my flight to Romania with a 24-hour stopover in Paris. I wanted to see a few sights, taste a little of the cuisine and flex my "oh so smooth" French Language skills. Paris is truly a beautiful city,...

I am first and foremost, a professional storyteller and so I tend to address social themes from a very formative, if not, narrative process. I also realize that my opinions will make perfect sense to some of you and to others, I will probably sound like one of the...

I consider myself more resourceful than sagacious, more pupil than professorial and definitely more the initiate than master of anything, but this past week here in Ecuador has thrown me into quite a bit of self-reflection. Plain and simple, I present myself to the...

I was going to write an extensive blog about the many life lessons housed in the drawing and objectives of a 4 year old boy at a school I visited recently. I think the attached picture of his drawing will speak volumes. Let me know what you think. I'm really enjoying...

I’ve been in the City of Quito here in Ecuador for about a week now. Without exception, all of the schools I’ve visited have been overwhelming in their hospitality and the people I’m meeting on the streets have all been warm and friendly. I’m staying in an area known...

In a few days I’ll have drank from this fountain of life for 50 years. I have had friend after friend tell me how important it is that I celebrate by having a “Blow Out,” a big party. I’ve opted for a different method of celebrating, something more reflective and...

For those of you who are regulars to my blog you know that periodically I visit Children’s Hospital and go bedside-to-bedside sharing music, stories and conversation with the children. I’ve been doing this for years. Initially, when I first started, I thought that it...

She sat up front; closest to the area I was performing. The entire time she smiled, sang and punctuated every moment of our interactions with her own witty, creative quips. Her bright, youth filled, eyes betrayed the notion that 92 years is capable of dimming anything...

 I recently experienced an absolutely agonizing ordeal with a student in a classroom. A classroom of 30 students, and I, were involved in a speaking-listening exercise. It was quite simple actually. I randomly chose students to present a fable, or summarize a fable,...

I’ve spent the last 30 odd years living in, around, and near the illusion that is known as Hollywood. I have more stories that I can’t tell, about people I shouldn’t know or, never even wanted to know, than I care to reflect on. Whatever you imagine about the insanity...

Since my return from Peru some months back I’ve spent most of my time, between performing, life and the occasional respite, reflecting on the past 20 years. 2014 will mark my 20th year as a professional speaker and musician. In the blink of an eye I’ve traversed two...

In July of 2010 I was touring Poland, sharing music, stories, food and lots of laughs. I was working with a man who is like a brother to me, Michal Malinowski. As we traveled about, Michal kept raving about a Japanese art form known as Kamishibai. Apparently, he had...

I had just finished a performance for an assembly of teens at an all girls Catholic School in the La Molina District of Lima, Peru. It went over amazingly well. I always try to balance my presentations with wit, humor and just enough surreptitious instruction that the...

It has been a week of constant, rapid motion, daily performances and digging deep to pull from that reserve of energy fueled by passion for one’s purpose. One of the issues of being a professional speaker, musician and performer is that there is “never” a moment that...

Working in schools across the world is a unique experience. I find that we are more alike than not, especially when it comes to personalities. To the letter, it is almost eerie the similarities in personalites I encounter when I visit schools. The people may speak...

Yesterday I finished a performance at a school in Lima and hopped in a cab to get to the bus terminal. My tour manager, Yoli, and I had just enough time to eat a quick meal and hop aboard a Cruz del Sur Bus taking us from Lima to Trujillo. Little did I know that my...

It is so funny the reception one gets when leaving the borders of your own country. Today I visited a school and was literally mobbed for autographs. Can you believe it? A lowly storytelling man with harp in hand, mobbed for autographs. I must have signed hundreds of...

Ok, the time has started to do that funny “slipping by” thing. You know when you plan on doing something, like blogging, but three days whiz by you unnoticed? So, here it goes… on Monday I met up with a Peruvian Storytelling brother that I’ve been communicating with...

One of the things I do when I travel to new places is “get lost”. I do it on purpose. I know it sounds dangerous but it is really one of the best ways I’ve found to get to know a city and get to know it well. I’ll usually start with the local transit system. In...

I just arrived in Lima Peru a couple of hours ago. I’m feeling the years. It’s true what they say about Father Time. I don’t make it a habit of cursing but airline seats will push even a saint to edge of madness. It seems like there is a conspiracy against anyone over...

Last Monday was the culmination ceremony for the "Speaking-Listening" residency of the middle schoolers I've been working with in Santa Ana for the past four months. The road getting them through the barrage of speaking and listening challenges over the last few...

I visit Children's Hospital of Orange County about four times a year. Yesterday was one of those visits. Performing at the bedsides of ill children is probably the most difficult, yet rewarding work I do each year. It's heart-wrenchingly difficult because it pains me...

I did a little experiment in the classes I taught today. I had four classes of about 28 students per class. We’ve been working the past few weeks on speaking/listening skills, specifically as they relate to the process of interviewing and being interviewed. This is a...

As always, I want to do my best to keep my friends informed about what's happening with your favorite storyteller. I'm putting the finishing touches on the upcoming 6 week tour of Peru. I'll talk more on that the closer it gets. I do not have a single day free in...

There are times when I wish I could publish images of all of the children I work with and their names but I am cognizant of the world we live in. I am continually awed by the strength of spirit and hopefulness I see in our youth, no matter what corner of the world I...

The clothing I often wear resembles the attire worn by Muslims all across the world. I was dressed in gold kaftan today when I entered a convenience store to pick up some water and snacks. The man behind the counter kept staring at me as if he had a question he wanted...

When I was a child I used to hear the elders in my life toss about the phrase, “Truth be told.” I never quite understood what it meant until I became an adult. “Truth be told” is a testimonial phrase. It is what a person will say when they want a listener, or reader,...

The Pasadena Waldorf School has an incredible faire that they’ve hosted for about 27 years. It is affectionately called the “Elves’ Faire.” I’ve performed at this festival for a number of years now and, each year, I’m enjoying it more and more. The organizers of the...

Last night we arrived late in the evening and checked into a beautiful bed and breakfast called “Neita’s Nest." It was a soothing, very welcoming environment. The little added touches of candles in the evening and the smell of food cooking from the kitchen to a...

Day 5 is the final day of the Ananse Sound Splash Storytelling Conference & Festival for me. This is a bittersweet day of mixed emotions. On one hand I am excited to be returning home to the comforts and familiarity of my life. On the other hand, Jamaicans have...

Up early and off to Marcus Garvey Technical High School here in Saint Ann’s Bay Jamaica. Obviously I was excited and, once again, unable to get a complete night’s sleep. I kept thinking about one of my early mentors, Dr. Anyim Palmer, founder of the Marcus Garvey...