Activated Stories

This week's story is "Beauty and the Beast", an immensely popular folk tale that first appeared in print in France bout 250 years ago. Like most popular folk tales, the story has many versions in many different cultures. It has inspired a number of novels, plays, films, a TV series and a Nintendo game (Donkey Kong). The most successful film adaptations were the 1946 French movie directed by Jean Cocteau, and the 1991 Disney musical edition. "King Kong" was also based on this legend.

The Disney animated feature, of course, has been transformed into a successful stage musical, and we recently attended an outstanding production of it at the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, featuring some of Zephyr's friends in the cast.

Drop Everything and Read! On April 12th stop what you are doing and read for 5 minutes to celebrate Drop Everything and Read day.

Zephyr, by the way, has finally left North Carolina and caught up with us in Chicago, just in time to complete Act!vated Storypark, a new fun activity feature which will be on our website (soon!) based on some of our folk tales, and created with Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Dennis (father), Kimberly (Beauty) and Zephyr (the Beast)

"The Ghost and the Rock" is our retelling of storyteller Jim Flanagan's retelling of a ghost story about Gettysburg. We met Jim at a PTO Convention in Valley Forge, and he allowed us to use this tale, called "The Shadow in the Back Yard", from his book "The School of Scary Stories". This little yarn, which takes place in the present,but involves a classic ghost story motif, makes an important point about respecting and preserving history.

And history was very much a part of our experience this week in Pennsylvania, as we (Dennis and Kimberly) took in about 80 miles of territory on our bikes while Zephyr was practicing and performing with his band in North Carolina.

First, there was Valley Forge itself: we toured on bikes through the park where General George Washington's troops spent a miserable winter in 1777-78 defending the area from British invasion. Although Washington himself, and his wife Martha, were considerably more comfortable in the house that served as the army's headquarters, and which today is open to the public.

Then we pedaled from the town of Plymouth into downtown Philadelphia and had our lunch by Independence Hall, where delegates spent a sweltering summer in 1776 hammering out the beginnings of the new nation. The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution were all signed in this picturesque building that recently guest-starred in the movie "National Treasure". We also dropped in to visit the fabled Liberty Bell, just across the street.

On to Lancaster, where we joined our first ever group bicycle tour for a quaint ride through the countryside, past many Amish farms.

And then there was Gettysburg, the site of another important military operation in another landmark war, nearly a century after Valley Forge. And whereas the soldiers at Valley Forge had to deal with insufficient clothing in a bitterly cold winter, the soldiers at Gettysburg wore stifling wool uniforms in the middle of July. It was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, killing about 50,000 troops. No wonder there are so many ghost stories in the area. And with those wool uniforms, no wonder the ghosts are so restless!

Happy Listening,

Dennis ("dad" and "son") and Kimberly ("mom", "daughter" and "geologist") Goza

We perform this tale with the aid of some special guest stars: Wylie, Nash and Trina, all teenage friends of Zephyr's in North Carolina, as we spend a couple of weeks in and around Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

Winston-Salem is the combination of the cities of Winston and Salem, which joined forces in 1913. Salem was settled in 1766 by members of the Moravian sect, who are still active in the community. This part of the double municipality includes Old Salem, a living history center that features many historic buildings that have been preserved/ restored/ whatever they do to them.

And (shhh!) it may be a well-kept secret, but if you're an avid cyclist and you do some poking around, you'll find an excellent scenic bike trail around Salem Lake, as we did.

Happy Listening.

Dennis (the Dad), Kimbery (the Donkey) and Zephyr (the Son) Goza

"Tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree"... It's been the title of a hit song, and a popular saying associated with several folk-type stories about returning convicts, soldiers and others. It probably inspired the current custom of posting stickers of yellow ribbons to show support for troops. But chances are it all started with an Irish tale about a leprechaun. And it may originally have been a red garter rather than a yellow ribbon. (Come to think of it, did you know that leprechauns themselves originally were dressed in red rather than green?) This week we present "Clever Tom and the Leprechaun", a classic yarn about a fellow who thinks he's about to snag the treasure of one of the Wee Folk, but is not quite as clever as he thinks.

We come to you from Montgomery, Alabama, a city rich in history. Currently the state capital, it was also the site of the first Confederate White House. It was the home of country music legend Hank Williams, and legendary novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. (While stationed here in the army in 1919, Fitzgerald met his future wife Zelda--an encounter that inspired his short story "The last of the Belles").

But it was the city's role in the civil rights movement that really secured its place in modern history. In 1955, a 42-year-old seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, as African-Americans were expected to do at that time (a refusal motivated in part because she'd had a previous incident with the same driver), and after being arrested, agreed to become a guinea pig for a court case testing the city's segregation of the buses. The arrest sparked a year-long boycott of municipal buses, and a civil rights drive headed by a 26-year-old Baptist minister named Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Listening,
Dennis ("Tom"), Kimberly (Narrorator) and Zephyr (the "Leperchaun" - catch him if you can!)

Do they give tornadoes names as they do tropical storms? We'd like to propose the name Tappin for the tornado that we recently dodged in Alabama.

"Tappin the Land Turtle" is an African-American fable about a turtle whose family was hungry because times were so hard. But he noticed that the uppity eagle had plenty of food for his babies. So he asked the eagle about this, and enlisted the eagle's help in finding more food. But when he incurred the eagle's displeasure, he ended up on a magical adventure that brought him even more abundance than he'd anticipated.

It's a tale that goes back to the days of slavery and incorporates several reminders of that era: the hunger, the separation of "higher" and "lower" classes (the turtle and the eagle) and the dream of a life of plenty, symbolized bt the cornucopia-like dipper. In some versions of the story, Tappin returns to the Sea King and receives an enchanted cowhide, which, as it turns out, whips everyone (like the overseer on a plantation) and causes the markings on Tappin's shell, like those on every turtle thereafter.

We thought about this story because we were rather like a turtle ourselves when the tornado whipped through. We'd just performed a couple of shows in Ozark, AL., and heard that severe storms were on the way. Keeping abreast of the developments by listening to the radio, we realized that the twister would bypass us, but we could get hit by hail. So we took refuge under the canopy of a car wash--our own turtle shell. (But we weren't the only ones who got this idea.)

We were thoroughly impressed by the work done by the staff of local radio station KMX, who handled the crisis calmly and efficiently, providing up-to-the-minute information and putting in some very long hours. Visit the station's website for the local take on the disaster, and some information about how you can contribute to relief efforts.

We also talk about Dr. George Washington Carver, a former slave who settled in Alabama and became one of the world's great scientists, despite not even obtaining a high school education until his twenties. How many products did Dr. Carver derive from the peanut? The answer may astonish you!

And be the first to hear the news about an upcoming Roller Coaster Tycoon project that Zephyr is working on for the web site.

Happy Listening,

Dennis (Eagle/King), Kimberly (Narrator) and Zephyr (Tappin) Goza

We're in Georgia, but we're talking about Springfield, Massachusetts, home town of Dr. Seuss--some of the things and people he saw there growing up figured in his books, thinly disguised. Mar. 2 is his birthday, so we wanted to pay tribute to him by performing one of his stories. Unfortunately, we can't afford the royalties; so we opted instead to do a Seuss-like story: Robert Browning's verse retelling of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin". Like a Seuss book, the tale features colorful characters, animals, a fanciful plot, a valuable lesson, and most important of all, catchy and light-hearted rhymes.

The Pied Piper legend is much older than Browning, dating back to 13th Century Germany. The earliest known reference to it is a depiction on a church's stained glass window around 1300. It includes a likeness of the notorious musician and a group of children, and apparently refers to a real tragedy that either caused a number of children to lose their lives or leave the city. (It may have been a flood, an avalanche, or a plague. Or the piper may have been a real person who actually lured them away. Nobody knows.) The story has been popular for ages, and has been the subject of at least eleven films, beginning in 1903.

Robert Browning (1812-1889) was, like his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one of the great poets of the Victorian Era. His line "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be" was borrowed by John Lennon for his song "Grow Old with Me". Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) wrote the famous line "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" to her husband. Browning's version of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" was written in 1842. Robert Browning is one of the few poets who ever lived who never supported himself by any other means but writing poetry. He also had the distinction of being the first person ever to have a recording of his voice played after his death.

Dr. Seuss was born to German immigrant parents (Seuss actually should be pronounced to rhyme with "voice".) in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. Before becoming a successful children's author, he drew political cartoons and worked in advertising--his slogan for a popular pesticide, "Quick Henry, the Flit!", became a popular catchphrase for many years. Among his other achievements, apparently, was coining the word "nerd". Although he was one of the most popular children's authors ever, he had no children of his own.

We've finally left Florida behind after spending about a month there, and are heading north. During the past week, Zephyr put in the last of his appearances at Universal Orlando, where one can find a tribute to Dr. Seuss.

Another great tribute is the Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden (catinthehat.org), beside the Springfield Library. We talk about visiting it a few years ago, and getting soaked in a Seussian downpour. And we also have a listen to a musical tribute, the song "Seuss on the Loose" by Mr. Billy. (misterbilly.com).

What are you doing to Celebrate Read Across America week? Visit nea.org for more ideas and leave your comments here.

Happy Listening,

Dennis (the Mayor), Kimberly (narrator) and Zephyr (the Piper) Goza

Did you know that "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is not really a folk tale? That's because it was written, at least in its present form, by the English poet Robert Southey (1774-1843) although he may have based it on an actual folk tale of some sort. In our version, which is based on his, Goldilocks is a Valley Girl and Papa Bear is a hippie. And does anybody really eat porridge?

We come to you from Orlando, Florida, where Zephyr has made his umpteenth venture into Disney MGM and Disney's Animal Kingdom. In the latter, he rode the brand new ride Expedition Everest. He also made his presence known for the first time at Universal Orlando, devoting a day each to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. (His offical judgment is that the Spiderman ride is "officially awesome".)

Meanwhile, mom and dad had a brand new experience at SkyVenture, a training facility for skydivers. They didn't jump out of any planes, but they did float on a column of air and felt like Spiderman for a few minutes.

Happy Listening,

Dennis (Mama Bear), Kimberly (like-Goldie-ya know?) and Zephyr (Papa and Baby Bear) Goza

This week we present the Japanese folk tale of Amaterasu, a goddess

We chose one of these stories for this week because we just paid our

We were in town to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, expecting to

We worked with a retired gentleman named Danny, who, like us, is a

Happy Listening,

Dennis "Susanowo", Kimberly "Amaterasu" and Zephyr "Tsuki Yomi"

Who was the tallest, strongest, most "Texas" tall tale hero of them all? Why, it was Pecos Bill.

In the heyday of the cattle drive, when cowboys would gather around the campfire after a hard day's work, they might entertain themselves by outdoing each other in spinning whoppers. Pecos Bill grew (and grew, and grew) out of those informal contests; and many fantastic deeds and adventures were attached to him. In our version of the narrative, we relate how he was lost on a cross-country  trip as a baby and raised by coyotes, then rejoined the human race as a cowboy. At this occupation, he earned a name for himself by inventing the lasso and taming a cyclone. And then there was his legendary courtship of Slew-Foot Sue.

During the past week we crossed the Pecos River, and we even passed through Pecos, Texas, where we had a rehearsal next to the West of the Pecos Museum and the National Rodeo Hall of Fame--which was established here because Pecos was the site of the world's very first rodeo, back in 1883. (The word "rodeo" comes from the Spanish word meaning "surround", which is what cowboys did a lot of.)

We also attended a gathering in Dallas for Families On the Road (FOTR) a nationwide group of RV'ers (and often homeschoolers) who stay in touch online. The gathering was held at the clubhouse of the Dallas KOA. And the following day we drove to Houston and visited the Free Range Family, a homeschooling family who are preparing to go on the road fulltime--and who attended two of our performances last year while they were living in New Jersey.

Happy Listening,

Dennis (cowpoke), Kimberly (Slew-Foot Sue) and Zephyr ("Bill")

"The Spirit Wife", a legend from the Zuni tribe of New Mexico, parallels the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It tells of a young man whose wife has died, and he goes on a quest to reclaim her from the land of the dead, with the aid of some enchanted animals. He does succeed, in a way, but he also pays a heavy price for his impatience. We present this story in the style of an old-fashioned movie trailer.

This week we tell of our recent stay in Albuquerque, during which we performed at the brand spanking new Rio Rancho Library, took a chilly 20-mile bike ride that passed through Old Town, and toured the National Atomic Museum. We learned some interesting facts about radiation, saw a quaint display of atomic medical quackery, and viewed a film about the development and use of the bombs that devastated Japan. We also talk about the exhibit honoring the Navajo "code talkers" during World War II.

Happy Listening!

Dennis (the husband), Kimberly (the Spirit Wife) and Zephyr the narrator