“Where Stories Are Told” by Khaki and Friends

I’d like to take a moment to reflect on this last year we’ve shared.

One year ago the first story aired on The Voice of Dog. The reality of the pandemic had arrived in my country, and all over the world people were feeling isolated and uncertain and powerless. I started this podcast because I wanted to do something about it —anything, just to make something, anything, better for someone. Anyone. 

I decided I wanted to tell people stories. Stories that would give them courage, or hope, and if nothing else, something to look forward to. Even if they didn’t listen to the stories, I still wanted people to know that someone cared enough about them to have a new story for them to enjoy, every time they came back.

The first was, appropriately, “Bad Dog!” by my friend Rob Baird. A story of unfairness, and powerlessness in the face of power — but also a story of defiance and of hope. Many other writers have contributed stories since then. There’s a name for writers who’ve had stories on this podcast, you know. They’re “Friends of the Fireplace” — in early stories I sometimes mentioned that, though I realized I never explained why, and fell out of the habit.

163 stories have appeared on The Voice Of Dog in the last year. 163, by 82 writers — well, 83 now, including me.

Today's story is “Where Stories Are Told”, a riff on the traditional Irish masterpiece “The Humours of Whiskey”, by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion, and friends — and I’d like to take a moment to thank them:

Rob Baird, for Games at Götterdämmerung, Bad Dog!

Televassi, for BlueBucks, Counter-Culture

Huskyteer, for The Lion of the Low Countries, The Zeroth Protocol, Once We Were Meerkats

NightEyes DaySpring, for Glory of the Gods, Foxing for Pizza, The Tomb Guardian, Loving You is Wrong

Altivo Overo, for Rabbit Food, How Menander Got His Name, A Close Port of Call, Beyond Mundane Horizons, Catch Me If You Can, Coyote's Voice, The Blue Eye of the Desert God, Harvest Home, All That Glitters, Gibbous Moon Waning

Toledo the Horse, for Fuzzy Memory, Returning, Secret

Domus Vocis, for Edge of the Universe, Somewhere in the White Void, Hades & Philos: Prelude, Bounty Hunter Uncle

Frances Pauli, for Rats, The Lion Sleeps, Always Tomorrow

Ryan Campbell, for 6 Unbelievable Facts About Unicorns That Will Completely Blow Your Mind, Eagle's Splendour

Mary E. Lowd, for Katelynn and the Hummingbird, Marge the Barge, Shreddy and the Dancing Dragon, Summer Strawberries, Rapscallions, Shreddy and the Carnivorous Plant, Ecto Cafe, The Canoe Race, A Real Stand-Up Guy

Daniel Lowd, for The Canoe Race, A Real Stand-Up Guy

Kandrel, for The Pack, The Adventurers, Adrenaline High, Salute the Flag, To Find You

Carrizo Kitfox, for The Rat's Gift

Faolan, for Earning his Stripes

Dark End, for The Aviatrix

Bill Ricardi, for Unseelie Pie, The Fastest Blade

Kyell Gold, for Cleaning Up, To Catch a Thief, Agent Friendzone

B. P. Rugger, for Colour Me Terrified, Of His Flesh the Mystery Sing

Slip-Wolf, for The Charitable Pact of a Soft Hearted Fool, Kypris' Kiss

Field T. Mouse, for A Little Distraction

Pascal Farful, for The Hadfield Robbery, The Sacred Cross, Nobody's Home

Madison Scott-Clary, for Gigs, Disappearance, Milkshakes and Foxes, The Fool

Ocean Tigrox, for Food, Feuds and Fake Flora

Renee Carter Hall, for The Wishing Tree

C.F. Becker, for A Day With the Skaraks

Nenekiri Bookwyrm, for A Gentle Rustling of Leaves, Unpredictability

Metassus, for The Library, At The Inn, Whitewash, Salted Beef, Crystal, Dear Sara, Snowed In

Ben Goodridge, for Hot Dog

SignificantOtter, for Lone

Kergiby, for Giving Thanks, Home Again, A Number's Game

Dwale, for The River in the Mist, Behesht

Spottystuff, for The Conqueror, Nonna, Let Them Have Cake

Faora Meridian, for Empty, Not So Above It All

Alison Cybe, for Don't Forget your Comic Books!, Space Warrior Hitachi, I Never Wear Underwear

Skunkbomb, for A Rock Among Millions, Broadstripe, Virginia Smells Like Skunk

Dan Leinir Turthra Jensen, for You Are Our Lifeboat, Flying Rat, No Peas In My Garden

W.R. Frixmargen, for Glorvan and the Cart, Little Light Show

Crimson Ruari, for Galician Sled, Tokyo Tension, Going Home, Somewhere In The Cypress, Gate-Keeper

Jaden Drackus, for The Fox and the Lion Cosplayer

Jay "Shirou" Coughlan, for Dragon Roasted Coffee Beans

Joel Kreissman, for A World Lost

TJ Minde, for Missed Feelings, Like Playing a Volkswagen

Kirisis "KC"  Alpinus, for No Dogs

Gre7g Luterman, for Dragonslayer

John Bailey, for Twilight Sparkle Goes to Bed

Amy Clare Fontaine, for Of a Hawk and a Lighthouse

Ian Madison Keller, for The Widehorn Herd, Bucking the Trend, Blind Date Blues

Royce Day, for Oiled Leather, To Catch the Lightning, At Prayer

MikasiWolf, for Kenyak's Saga, A Part of the Machine, A Leap Forward, A Leap Forward, A Leap Forward

Chapter I, by Kenneth Grahame, for The Wind in the Willows, The Wind in the Willows

Tempo, for Robin Hood and Her Valkyrie

Utunu, for Water

Rob MacWolf, for Fourth Man Left Outside, "The Last Journey Of Theodore Vulcek, Leader, Beloved Husband, and Pack Brother", and for writing half of today’s song.

H.J. Pang, for Remembering the Forgotten

Thurston Howl, for Ghosts of Cinnamon and Lavender

Ian Madison Keller, for Blind Date Blues, Blind Date Blues

SakaraFox, for A Well-Deserved Rest

Dirt Coyote, for I'm Just Your Stud, Leave It for the Morning, You Can Watch Me Dance

Blouie the Blue Heeler, for Aurora Borealis

K.C. Shaw, for Sound Check

Mog Moogle, for Over the Top

Roland Jovaik, for Variables

Killick, for Sky Defender

J.B. Rockwell, for Monkeyshines

Weasel, for These Are The Days of Our Lives

Dire, for Mischief Makers

J.F.R. Coates, for Lights In The Sky

Alice Clawford, for Feeling Sheepish

Anhedral, for Abstinence

Kayode Lycaon, for A Lazy Monday, Date Night

Tanner Silverpaw, for Winter Snow

Al Song, for Tempus Imperfectum

Aelius, for Urban Mystic, The Scout

Herr Wozzeck, for Shopping Trip

Darius Davis, for Familiar Encounter

Reid Minnich, for Hostage, Chinchilla Attack

Lauren Rivers, for Morning Coffee

JS Hawthorne, for Endless Winter

Kenneth Grahame, for The Wind in the Willows

Vixyy Fox, for The First Snow Waltz

Nachtfangen, for Cease Fire

I’d also like to thank my friend Colson Grainger for the use of his song “Intensely Beautiful and Strange”, a favourite of mine, whose gentle guitar has bookended every story to date.

And last but not least, I'd like to thank you, too. With all the love in my heart, and al the wisdom of the universe:

Thank you for listening to The Voice of Dog.