OK, people are going to call me an insensitive grouch because I didn't love this solo storytelling performance by Lynn Ruth Miller. After all, she's a tiny, charming woman in her mid-70s from Pacifica, who draws on her life's experiences and humor to reveal the universal themes that connect us all. She's a seasoned pro who's appeared at other festivals. The audience that caught her 45-minute show Saturday afternoon at Spectrum Gallery gave her a rousing round of applause.

So call me a stick-in-the-mud, but haven't we heard stories like this before? Struggles in childhood? Check. A family dog that's prone to biting people? Check. Discover you're not as good at something as you hoped (in this case, singing)? Check.

When this is the territory that you want to tread, you need fresh insight. It's not that Miller isn't entertaining. Her vignettes have funny, and some touching, moments. I liked the story about an aunt's canary and a vacuum cleaner as well her reflections on aging. (On realizing that only the wealthy can afford plastic surgery, an aging woman has to accept that she now is living with "a body that descends into your shoes.")

But this is a primarily a nostalgic piece -- there are references to Shirley Temple and Eleanor Roosevelt and how a dime could buy you a box of Cracker Jack in the old days. So, if nostalgia is a point of interest for you, then you'll probably enjoy this stroll with Miller.

Playing: 5 p.m. Sunday (March 2) and March 8 at Spectrum Gallery, 608 E. Olive Ave.; 1 p.m. March 8 at Veni Vidi Vici, 1116 N. Fulton St. Cost: $4. Rating: G