Activated Stories

There's nothing wrong with trusting your friends, as long as you don't entrust them with responsibilities they can't handle. A certain king learns that lesson the hard way when he sticks his neck out a bit too far in "The Foolish Friend", a folktale from India.

But rather than just tell what happens from beginning to end, we start after the big blunder and do some detective work to piece together what happened. Yes it's "CSI Bombay", our retelling of the story modeled after the hit TV series "CSI Las Vegas", which Zephyr is obsessed with these days. (CSI stands for "Crime Scene Investigation").

We're coming to you from Nickerson State Park out on Cape Cod, where we're taking advantage of one of our favorite biking trails. The campground has rebuilt and regrouped after the disastrous fire that destroyed the historic headquarters building the last time we stayed here.

We just left the historic city of Salem, where we had a return engagement at the library. But we've enjoyed many other visits to this colorful town as well, a town where history seems to seep out of every crack in the pavement and clapboards.

The city is best known for something that actually happened a few miles up the road: the infamous witch trials of 1692 actually took place in Salem Village, or what is now Danvers. Nonetheless, it is the city of Salem that has become associated with the ugly episode in the public ,mind, and Salem has returned the favor by erecting a monument to the victims, and by establishing many tourist attractions commemorating the tragic events.

We have the fondest memories of being in town two years ago for Halloween (a holiday for which this town pulls out all the stops); and thanks to Zephyr's passion for "haunted house" attractions, all three of us were hired by Witch Village to help handle the onslaught of revelers.  Zephyr scared the wits out of people in a "haunted house". Kimberly helped hold down the fort at the information booth. And Dennis escorted candlelight ghost walks, exploring some of the reputedly  REAL  haunts of Salem. When work was done well after midnight, we'd hop on our bicycles and ride to our campground on Winter Island -- in the snow one night!

It doesn't take a forensic investigation to realize that delving into the mysteries of Salem's past can be a very memorable experience.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (Investigator), Kimberly (Queen and Darwin), and Zephyr (Investigator)

Charlotte Brown was a young woman who married Capt. Nelson Cole Haley, skipper of the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan out of Mystic, CT. No doubt about that. But there is a rumor that before she married Capt. Haley, she was ditched at the altar by another man who then heaved ho aboard a whaling ship; and because of that, she disguised herself as a man and signed up as a whaler herself. Because the story is undocumented, that makes it a folktale, and therefore fair game for us to have some fun with. If the yarn is true, then Charlotte joins the ranks of several women who are known to have passed themselves off as sailors -- including some who were pirates.
We heard about Charlotte Brown Haley when we visited Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, where the Charles W. Morgan is anchored. The 105 ft. whaling vessel, built in 1841 in New Bedford, MA., still looks pretty much the same as it did when it hunted down whales and chopped them up in the blubber room. (Yuck!) You can step aboard her (If they called ships her, why didn't they let "hers" work on them too?) and see where the first mate had his own tiny berth, the second and third mates had to share one, and the rest of the crew were sardined in the forecastle. And you also can see photographs of the ship's various captains -- including Haley and his wife Charlotte.
Mystic Seaport has a number of exhibits related to ships and whaling, including a small craft display and an impressive collection of figureheads. And there are a number of activities especially suitable for younger kids, such as rope making. A troupe of three performers also presents the story of Charlotte Brown Haley at various times throughout the day.
Our version of the story is performed with two guest stars who are friends of Zephyr's: Cassia (who also assisted us two weeks ago) and Daniel, the drummer in Zephyr's band who has a mean falsetto.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (Captain), Kimberly (Narrator), Zephyr (Jack), Cassia (Mom) and Daniel (Charlotte)

Three wishes. Three oranges. Three musketeers. Three brothers. Three bears. Three little pigs. And three goats, of course. The pivotal number in folktales and fairy tales is back again with a starring role in "The Three Billy Goats", otherwise known as the "Billy Goats Gruff", a tale that seems to have originated in Poland, Norway and/or Germany. This tale is reminiscent of how some jokes are structured, with the three steps leading up to a punchline. Indeed, there are jokes based on a similar progression in physical size; and this story, you might say, has its own punchline at the end as well.

We come to you from the San Francisco Bay Area town of Walnut Creek. Yep, that's in California. We flew out from Providence for the weekend just to perform three times at the inaugural Chevron Family Theatre Festival at the magnificent Dean Lesher Center. The event was a great success, with sold out houses. We enjoy our shows in libraries and school cafeterias, but it was refreshing to perform again in a real theatre with a lighting technician and the works.

Our stage manager for the event was Zephyr's friend Libby, who is our guest voice on this week's podcast. And now we're back on the East Coast until our next cross-country flight -- two weeks from now for the 17th Annual HSC Homeschool=Education Conference in Sacramento Aug 16-19.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (narrator and biggest baddest goat), Kimberly (middle and none-too-bright goat), Libby (little goatlet in the gauntlet) and Zephyr (troublesome troll whose goat gets got)

"Orpheus" is a Greek myth about a musician who was so good (or so "awesome" in contemporary musicians' lingo) that he truly inspired awe in all living creatures. Unfortunately, his talent didn't help build his patience any, and it proved to be his undoing when he had an opportunity to rescue his wife Eurydice from tragic death.

We chose this tale mainly because of Cerberus, the three-headed dog. What does this have to do with anything? Well, the three headed dog appears in one of the Harry Potter books -- only he's given the name Fluffy. And this isn't the only bit of folklore and mythology that J.K. Rowling borrows. There's the phoenix, the fabulous bird that is reborn out of its own ashes; the hippogriff, which is similar to the griffin, which she also uses. And in the story of Orpheus, as in Harry Potter and many other stories, the serpent is used as a symbol of evil.

So what does this have to do with anything? As if you didn't know, this past week marked the release of the seventh and final book in the series. And we, of course, were in line at midnight to buy our copy like millions of other folks.

Were you surprised when you found out in an earlier book that Remus Lupin was a werewolf? Well, you wouldn't have been if you'd been as familiar with Latin as Rowling is. The name provides two very strong clues: "Lupin" is from the Latin word lupus meaning wolf (if something is wolf-like, it is said to be lupine) and Remus was the brother of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. According to legend, the two boys were raised by ... wolves! (This also inspired the story of Tarzan.) In this episode, we discuss these Latin clues, as well as some of the other mythology in Harry Potter.

Our special guest this week is Zephyr's friend Cassia from Massachusetts; she spent a couple of days living with us and got a first-hand look at the glamorous life of a touring actor.

Happy Listening!

Dennis (Orpheus), Kimberly (narrator and Cerberus head), Zephyr (Charon, Hades and Cerberus head) and Cassia (Eurydice and Cerberus head) 

"The Elves and the Shoes" from Holland is one of the simple but charming little accounts of the interaction between humans and elves, who were always playing pranks (the elves, that is -- although the humans may have done so as well). In this case, the prank involves the wooden shoes for which the Dutch are famous.

The Dutch are also famous for chocolate, so what better time to do a Dutch story than when we're in the chocolate capital of the world -- Hershey, PA. Especially since it's in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. True, the Pennsylvania Dutch are not really Dutch for the most part; they are descendants of settlers who came to the area primarily from Germany. (The German word for German is Deutsch, pronounced "doitch", which sounds like Dutch.)

Hershey is named for Milton Hershey, the king of chocolate, who was born in the area in 1859, and after many years of hard work, developed his chocolate-making process, established his factory, and built up an entire community around it. The factory is still here, of course, pumping out the enticing aroma of coacoa all around. So is Hershey Park, which he also developed, although it has grown into an amusement park with some of the most thrilling rides around. (We're especially fond of the coaster called Great Bear.) And there's a visitors' center called Chocolate World, which offers a Disneyesque ride through a simulation of the factory, except with singing dairy cows.

Mr. and Mrs. Hershey used their vast fortune to improve the lives of the less fortunate, and they were especially dedicated to assisting disadvantage children. To that end, they established Hershey School, which occupies 10,000 acres and currently has a student body of 1100. We performed at the school 15 years ago in the luxurious and cavernous Founders Hall, and we were astounded by the facilities and the type of care the students were provided.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (elf), Kimberly (elf) and Zephyr (Styff)

What happens when animals and objects start talking? Unless you're watching a Disney musical, it might be rather confusing. In "The Talking Mule", a whimsical little story from South Carolina, we see how such an incident could put things into perspective; and even more perspective is provided by one animal who thinks it's ridiculous to believe reports about all the others being so eloquent. This doubtlessly is derived from an older African fable in which it is a talking stool that scoffs at the notion of a yakkity yam.
We present the story with -- well, we don't really present the story at all. Zephyr does it all by himself, which is only fair, since we've had to do several stories without him. And he places the action long ago in a galaxy far, far away, giving him a chance to do some of his best character voices.
We come to you from Maryland, after the three of us have been reunited in Washington, DC. Zephyr tells us about his latest weeklong getaway to North Carolina to work with his band. And Kimberly and Dennis finish the account of their leg-thrashing bicycle tour from Pittsburgh to DC, including a stopover in Harpers Ferry, WV, where John Brown staged his famous raid in 1859, an event that may have sparked the Civil War. It was Kimberly who concluded the trek in Washington DC, at the end of the canal where there's a gate that was formerly used to let the water through. Nowadays, it's near a luxury apartment/office complex called... well, you know.
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr (the entire cast of Star Wars)

heroes associated with specific occupations, like Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, Old

Stormalong and Febold Feboldson. But the incident depicted in the many versions

of the John Henry ballad actually may have occurred in some fashion. There's

just no way to know when, where, how and wherefore. But it's nice to believe

there's some to truth to this parable about people being stronger than the

machines they create. One reason it's so difficult to trace the mists of myth

is that John Henry is a common name, and it appears to have been especially

common among African-Americans working on the railroads. According to one

version of the tale our hero was a former slave, and in another version, he was

a prisoner rented out as a laborer. The town of Leeds,

Alabama claims to be the site of the famous

episode, but so does Tackett,

West Virginia, which even has

erected a statue of the most famous hammer-wielder since Thor. There's also

more than one Big Bend Tunnel; but there's only one C&O Railroad.

Canal. Or at least there

was. Well, the canal's still there, but it's no longer canaling. Begun on July 4, 1824, the

canal was planned to extend all the way from D.C. to Ohio

(thus the name Chesapeake and Ohio Canal)

but was halted at Cumberland,

MD. During the period of

operation, this shallow waterway ferried coal, grain and other freight on boats

pulled by mules. Crews working on these boats sometimes brought their families

along on these slow journeys, making them the 19th century equivalent of RV

families.

a bicycle path 184 miles long that we've been wanting to trek on out Treks for

a long time. With a week off during our busy summer schedule (because of,

appropriately, the Fourth of July) and with Zephyr off in North Carolina again,

Dennis and Kimberly decided this was the time to do it, even though it means we

have to alternate days, and thus each only do half the route, son one person

can drive the RV along too.

discovered another one in Pittsburgh (YRT) that

connects with the C&O in Cumberland.

And our last show before the break was in Pittsburgh.

So instead of divvying up a mere 184 miles, we're doing 330. There now we feel

more akin to John Henry.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (John) and Kimberly (the Foreman) Goza

"The Three Wishes", a European tale that comes to us by way of The Brothers Grimm, is one of many stories dealing with the well-known motif of wishes coming true -- including "Aladdin", for instance. In this example, a rash and foolish waste of opportunities leads to regretful results in the end. (It reminds us of people who win the lottery but end up broke.) But in the process, we learn about a comical usage for a string of sausages.

We discuss two places that demonstrate how wishes can come true, especially for smaller children: the Children's Museum of Indianapolis and COSI, the science museum in Columbus, Ohio. We drove through both of these cities this past week on our way to Pennsylvania, and we've spent a good many hours in both museums, particularly when Zephyr was younger.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a four-floor affair, and has been called the largest children's museum in the world. Every Halloween, the museum mounts an imaginative haunted house, built around a different theme every year. This is where Zephyr got bitten by the haunted house bug (or was it a vampire?) at age 9.

COSI, on the site of the old Columbus High School (the front facade of which is still preserved) is one of the biggest and best science museums in the country. But we liked it even better back when it featured "Adventure into the Unknown", the archeology-inspired (think Indiana Jones) interactive exhibit that sent kids and kids at heart scampering to uncover clues, solve riddles, and find the ultimate treasure -- which turned out to be some very useful advice on the art of problem-solving. It was all done in a very detailed, moodily lighted, inspiring atmosphere. Oh, why are we telling you all this when you can't go attend it anymore? Well, maybe you could pressure the museum to bring it back.

And this, by the way, is our 50th podcast! Phew!

Happy Listening,
Dennis (axe swinger), Kimberly (sausage woman) and Zephyr (Narrator, elf) Goza

P.S. We recommend another podcast favorite of ours "123 Listen to Me" produced by family from South Africa.

Bonus Episode

This week we saw a sneak peek for a film that we just had to talk about.