Grammy award winning humorist, Garrison Keillor, brought his charmingly funny and heartwarming stories to Chico Monday night. In front of a sold out Laxson Auditorium, Keillor told stories and jokes pulled from his childhood involving his strict religious upbringing in rural Minnesota, sidesplitting moments of sexual realizations as a young boy, and stories of sheer innocence as he found his way through life.

Displaying his wonderful storytelling ability, he brought anecdotes full circle, relating them to his current life and his experiences as a child, ranging all the way from a present-day urologist appointment to a younger self’s embarrassing erection in Sunday service, both involving the same woman.

With his signature Baritone voice and precise timing, Keillor entertained an audience of all ages. He spoke of the beginnings of his career in radio, and the path that led him to his long-standing weekly stake on NPR. “When you don’t know what you’re doing,” he humbly mentioned, “It takes you a long time to figure it out.”

Utilizing vivid memories, detail and unparalleled delivery, Keillor captured the audience, and invited every member’s imagination to walk along side him on a frigid Minneapolis sidewalk, through his father’s home garden, or along the shores of apocryphal Lake Wobegon.

Offering these captivating and nostalgic tales of self-discovery, love and loss, the “Prairie Home Companion” host proved that regardless of our age, our sense of youth can never fade.

Dylan de Wit can be reached at [email protected] or @DylanTdeWit on Twitter.