We continue, today, with a post about Brent Heard, one of the 10 storytellers who will be performing in Better Said Than Done’s 5 Year Anniversary Show and Story Contest. Don’t miss Brent and the rest of the talented line-up who will be competing for your vote for favorite story of the night!

Best in Show: 5 Year Anniversary Show and Story Contest
Saturday, May 28, 2016
6:30 PM (doors open at 5 PM)
Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple Avenue East, Vienna, Virginia
$15 per person (Advance tickets available online)

Watch Brent’s submission to our online contest that won him his spot in this show.

Name: Brent Heard (Pen Name: BN Heard)

Age: perfect

Profession: NASA engineer/mathematician

Town where you live: Williamsburg, VA

Website: Cranks My Tractor (You can also like me at Cranks My Tractor’s Facebook page.)

When did you first start telling stories on stage? A couple of years ago, I think.

What was the first story you told about? The first story I officially told on stage was for SpeakeasyDC, now Story District. It was a story about how an older lady (Phyllis) from Gary, Indiana, called me by mistake and we continued to talk on the phone daily for about 2 years. When my mother died, Phyllis decided that she would be my godmother. (I’ve since told the story in various shows, but you can find a version of it here.)

What’s your favorite storytelling moment? I loved the crowd at The Monti in Carrboro, North Carolina, where I performed at the Annual Hippo Awards. I loved fooling the crowd at the Perfect Liars Club. I told about my love of the movie Dirty Dancing and how I was hooked on “Dancing with the Stars,” and also noted I was wearing Jennifer Grey’s shirt (“Baby” in Dirty Dancing) and they didn’t believe me. I was. She sent it to me through a mutual friend.

But, at this point, I would have to say my favorite moment related to storytelling was when I found out I was in the Top Ten for Better Said Than Done’s Anniversary Show. Jessica and the Better Said Than Done audience are the best. I will continue to tell stories for Better Said Than Done as long as they will let me.

Any other hobbies or avocations you’d like to share? I have taught college mathematics courses for about 20 years. I have written a weekly column called, “Cranks My Tractor” for many years (8, maybe, I forget). It appears in newspapers and magazines in the Deep South. Virginia is not in the Deep South, so I can talk about my friends and neighbors in my column and they don’t know it…

I’m also an excellent cook, in my opinion. I love cooking outside, inside, and dehydrating stuff… My Cheesy Kale Chips are to die for… and there’s no cheese on them. I also send postcards all over the world through a website called Postcrossing. I like pretty postcards and it’s nice to hear a little about how others live in places I will never get to go.

What’s your favorite fictional story? Goodness gracious, this is a tough one. I write 600-1000 words each week, but I don’t read much. What a terrible thing to admit… I will give you three movies: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, because “Moon River” cranks my tractor; the 1967 animated version of The Jungle Book, because I like singing “Bare Necessities”; and Fried Green Tomatoes, because I like thinking about eating at the Whistle Stop Café in Juliette, Georgia.

With the anniversary show being held at Jammin’ Java, we want to know: how do you take your coffee? All day and all night, generally with soy or almond milk.

You’ll be performing in Vienna, Virginia in May. Have you ever been to Vienna, Austria? No, but I have eaten a lot of Vienna sausages out of pop-top cans with a white plastic fork. They are best eaten while sitting on the curb or at a concrete roadside table with a few ants on it.