1.   All his stuff reads like a fireside chat in the company of a wise old storyteller.

2.   Even over the phone, the richness of his Southern-fried chortle creates images of an old storyteller relaxing under a magnolia tree.

3.   Those old storytellers were on to something.

4.   This he learned from an old Chinese storyteller who used to sit under a tree in Ulu Yam, surrounded by enthralled children.