Brian Bedard extra credit

Thursday April 12th, Dr Brian Bedard read two of his creative short stories in Farber Hall. Going into the auditorium I really did not know what to expect. His stories were personal stories that were about landmarks in South Dakota. The first was about a catfish and the second was about a boy who hung himself when he was at work and a co-worker found him. The stories were very, I think the appropriate word would be interesting.
When I decided to go to this extra credit opportunity at Farber Hall I did not have a very good attitude. First of all I had just waken up from a nap and I did not really know what I was going into, I just knew that I had to do it. When I got there I obviously did not know anyone there so I frantically searched for a seat farthest away from anyone else. As I sat there and waited for the “show” to begin I was secretly thinking in my head that I hoped it would end soon!
When Dr. Bedard took the stage he introduced his stories as being based on landmarks from South Dakota, which I thought was actually kinda cool. His first story about the catfish truly relates to the lifestyle of many small town South Dakotans. My boyfriend could definitely relate, he loves fishing and all the talk about stringing the bait just right and what time to fish is the best really made me think of him. Also it talked about how the girl Jessica loved living in South Dakota reminded me about how much he loves living in South Dakota in a small town where he can fish and hunt whenever he wants to. It was interesting how you can relate to what he is talking about since it is from your own state.
The second story about the young boy who hung himself at work was also very different. However, it could probably happen to anyone. Being a waitress I know there is no way that I could continue my shift if I found a dead guy hanging in the break room! It amazed me how they made that girl keep working. It was neat how she drove all the way to Sioux City just to pick up his bird and take care of it. She knew that he didn’t have any family members that would do it, so she took it into her own hands. It was definitely a sad but heart warming story.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised with Dr. Bedards stories. He was a good reader and kept his audience entertained. He had parts in his stories that took you off guard for a second but kept you relating this to your own life all at the same time. Therefore I would definitely recommend going and listening to him speak again to anyone that asked.