JOHN McCORMICK Dad, tell me a story.

AGE   53

HOMETOWN / WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW? Front Royal, Virginia (gateway to the Skyline Drive and the Shenandoah National Park) / Washington, D.C.

@TWITTER   @DadTellMeAStory

ON THE WEB   DadTellMeAStory.com

NUMBER OF CHILDREN   Two

DAY JOB   Attorney

RELATIONSHIP STATUS   Married (very happily)

FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOK   My children and I have always enjoyed Brinton Turkle’s Do Not Open (Puffin Books 1981). The story is about a sweet, elderly lady and her cat who are tricked into helping an evil genie escape from a corked bottle they find washed up on the beach. In the end, they manage to outwit the genie in a dramatic and most unexpected way. The story contains all the elements of good storytelling – unforgettable characters, rich descriptive language, suspense, and a surprise ending – and is one of the most cleverly written books we’ve read.

Was there/ is there a story that was passed down from generation to generation?

The Old Dead Horse is just such a story from my family. My mother claimed she adapted the story from a joke she heard at a holiday cocktail party. Over the years, I never got tired of hearing it, and it still makes me laugh each time I tell it to my own children. (If you’d like to read the story, visit John’s storytelling blog.)

HOW DO YOU COMBINE WORK AND FAMILY?

Like most parents, this is a question we struggle with on a daily basis. We are very fortunate in that several years ago my wife started her own business from home, which permits her to handle crises and be at home when the kids return from school. I’m also grateful to my own employer who understands that family comes first.

WHAT IS YOUR WORST PARENTING MOMENT?

Probably when I “over coach” my kids, whether it be in sports, history, music, etc. My sons refer to this as “lecturing,” as in, “Dad, please NOT another lecture!”

WHAT IS YOUR BEST PARENTING MOMENT?

Without a doubt, the storytelling tradition I created with my two sons at home.

Ever since they were little boys, my sons – who are almost teenagers now – and I have enjoyed creating stories together. It’s a give-and-take process, whereby each of us contributes an idea, a character, or a plot twist until we’ve woven together an entire story. Recently, we published a book containing our illustrated stories entitled, “Dad, Tell Me A Story,” How to Revive the Tradition of Storytelling with Your Children (Nicasio Press 2010)

I credit the hours spent with my boys developing stories together as one of the great treasures of my life. It’s given me lasting memories with my boys, and insights about them I’d never have otherwise.