We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Margo Stutts Toombs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Margo Stutts, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

On a fluke in 2001, I performed a stand-up comedy routine at the Laff Stop in Houston, Texas, during open-mic night Several of my friends filled the bar to see me act ridiculous. One of my Jazzercise friends, Nan B, McCants – a scriptwriter, was in the audience, too. The day after the performance, I received a lovey e-mail from Nan. Her encouragement lifted my spirits and gave me the confidence to start writing. With Nan’s nudging, I joined Fieldworks performance workshops, prose/poetry readings at Archway Art Gallery, and her dream group. Participating in these groups, led me to take writing classes and perform my work at Fringe Festivals. The work I am creating now, is a result of Nan’s belief in me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a self-proclaimed internal humorist, I create and dwell in wacky worlds. My poetry dances at Untameable City – Mutabilis Press, a Texas Poetry Calendar, Love over 60: An Anthology of Women’s Poems, Newsletter of the Gulf Coast Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists, The Ekphrastic Review, the 2021 Friendswood Library Ekphrastic Poetry Reading and Archway Gallery chap books. My flash nonfiction unfolds at Equinox and Airplane Reading. my videos screen at local and national film/video festivals. I perform my monologues at Fringe Festivals, art galleries and anywhere food and beverages are served. My favorite pastime is serving as co-facilitator for the Archway Gallery Prose/Poetry Readings. In 2022, I am the Program Chair for Women in the Visual and Literary Arts.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Only about 50% of this story is true… The True Meaning of “Boo”

I am planted. Here. Under this window. Cursed to intone, “Boo” for eternity. Redemption for a vengeful heart. I need to share my story before it slips away.

This is what I remember.

I performed an open-mic set at the Laff Stop Comedy Club. The audience, my friends and family, laughed at all of my jokes and took photographs with flash cameras – Pavarotti-style. All of this laughter and attention gave me a false sense of talent.

After my “show,” a young black comic suggested that I craft a 20-minute routine and perform at the Apollo. THE Apollo. I WAS A ROCK STAR! I had visions of becoming the next great comedian. My chest was as puffed up as a Malaysian Serama chicken at a fowl beauty pageant.

A day or two later, one of my audience-friends invited me to be the opening act for her husband, an Elvis impersonator, at a redneck sports bar. In hindsight, I should have investigated the venue before chirping, “Yes. Of course!”

Two, maybe three weeks later, I was on stage in a chaotic sports bar – dark and lousy with the smell of sweat and beer breath. It was an odd, rectangular venue with a stage at one end and large TV screens at the other, separated by a bar and a few drunks.

The group from the Laff Stop came to this watering hole to support me, but this time, colleagues, and pals from high school were there, too. Plenty of folk to share in my humiliation and pity party.

Except for the noise, my performance was progressing adequately, until I heard a lone voice from the back of the room, “Boo!” I felt a jab in my gut. I couldn’t breathe. I turned to Jaunetta, my partner on stage, “Did someone say, ‘Boo’?” Again, that hateful word exploded from the back of that hot, sticky saloon.

My inflated ego was smashed flat with that single, simple syllable. I was pricked by a prick, lounging in the shadows, sucking on his long-neck brew.

My “fans” expressed their condolences and hurried out to the parking lot to escape the awkward situation and the obligation to cheer me up.

I moved my car out of sight and waited for my tormentor. He stumbled out at 1:00 a.m. I followed him to his home in a rural area outside of Houston.

Once I got his address, I found his name and phone number. I followed him to work. I took photos of him with my super telephoto lens, doing embarrassing things. I posted them around town: old-school style. I called him from pay phones, when I could find them, late at night or early in the morning and hung up. After a few months, I started saying, “Boo,” ever so softly on the telephone, before hanging up.

Making him pay became my mission. It gave me a reason to get out of bed. All of my pain and disappointment went into the Boo Bag. My friends became weary of my obsession, and one by one, they went away.

I was alone. All I had left was hate. Photos and phone calls were not enough to feed my obsession. I started hiding in the woods near his home until I could hear him snoring through his open bedroom window. Then I sat under that window and gently whispered, “Boo, boo…”

I don’t remember how long this went on. His hair turned gray. He became thin and nervous. I was miserable too, but I couldn’t stop. I could not remember how to have a life without Boo Boy. My life dragged on and on until one night I got up the courage to go inside and ask for forgiveness and release from this curse.

But he shot me!

I didn’t want to die with a heart full of venom. I wanted relief for him and me. But, it’s too late. Now I have to sit here from dusk ‘til dawn chanting. I can feel my memories fading and my language leaving. Soon, I will be reduced to those two retched phonemes: b-oo.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There are many rewarding aspects of being a creative. 1) You can be authentic. If people accuse you of being weird, you just say, “I’m not weird, I’m creative.”
2) When your right creative brain is active, you can spend hours entertaining yourself.
3) You meet the most fun people when you get in touch with your inner creative.
4) The creativity that makes art can help with everyday problem-solving tasks.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.margostuttstoombs.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margo_stutts_toombs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/margo.toombs/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoStuttsToom
• Youtube: https://bit.ly/YouTube-Margo

Image Credits
Pete Carr