We're a story-telling lot, us humans. Sometimes it's an earnest actor in a white lab-coat or a black suit, trying to convince us that his toxic fluoride toothpaste is good for our health or that his party's million-dollar spend on weapons is for peace. And they do it with such a straight face! Sometimes the story's presented with a chuckle and we know another fiction is on the way: "did you hear the one about …" And, sometimes, just sometimes, there's a story parading as nought but itself - a clear fiction - and you're in it. The real, non-fictional you. That's why the authentically fictional stories - fables, proverbs, legends - outlast us all and are told down the centuries … we're in them; parading our best and worst, our most silly and most sublime. The universality of stories is the unity of humans. We're all strangely, uniquely alike and we can all see - if we so choose - our reality in the unreality we closet ourselves with round the fireside, in schools, churches and pubs and in our quiet, solo moments. Stories are the comforters we carry in our hearts and minds and our own particular stories are the way we initiate and create friendships and relationships. These stories, my friend, are my offering of friendship and may they provide balance, smiles, tears and insight when no other exist for you.