The Apple Seed

Has there ever been a time when you felt foolish? Or maybe you’ve watched someone do something and thought, “what a fool” only to have their wisdom be revealed to you? Well on April Fool’s Day, we celebrate those occasions! Because even the wisest of men will have their moments where they seem a little foolish. Here to tell us about some of these moments are David H. Claunch, Eshu Bumpus, Joel Ben Izzy, and Jenni Cargill-Strong. 

On today's episode, enjoy the following:

Radio Family Journal: The Princess and the Clone Trooper

Daily Mix: Rachel Wadham discusses “Leilani and the Distant Sea”

Story Spotlight: “The Peddler” by David H. Claunch on The Circus of Life (9:03)

Storytime: “Wisemen and the Tiger” by Eshu Bumpus on Lion in Love (5:07)

“Hanukkah in Chelm” by Joel Ben Izzy on Lights and Laughter (9:40)

“Reaching for the Moon” by Jenni Cargill-Strong on Reaching for the Moon and Other Wisdom Tales (9:05)

Storyteller Spotlight: David H. Claunch

David Claunch’s journey as a storyteller includes time spent in the Marine Corps and a career in the heavy mechanical construction industry. He calls this the Information Gathering Phase of his journey. Following this he earned a Master's degree in Storytelling from East Tennessee State University. At the same time, he began studying the art of clowning and ballooning. Now he is a storyteller, clown and balloon artist, using his unique style of storytelling to deliverer the wisdom of the old folktales and the universal truths of the human experience.

On today’s episode, enjoy the following:

 

Radio Family Journal: Death Star Trooper

 

Daily Mix: Cole Wissinger discusses “Kung Fu Panda”

 

Story Spotlight: “The Grey Goose” by The Storycrafters

 

Storytime: “Molasses Revenge” by Donald Davis (recorded at the 2018 Timpanogos Storytelling Festival), and “Like Meat Loves Salt” by Elizabeth Ellis, as heard on the Conversations With Storytellers podcast hosted by Simon Brooks.

 

Storyteller Spotlight: Donald Davis

 

Donald Davis, affectionately known as the "Dean of Storytelling," has been a long-time friend of the Apple Seed. He was born in a Southern Appalachian mountain world rich in stories. While he heard many traditional stories about Jack and other heroic characters, he was most attracted to the stories of his own family and places of origin.  

During his twenty-five year career as a United Methodist Minister, Davis began to use stories more and more.  He was also asked to begin performing at festivals and in other settings until he retired from the church to tell stories full time.

The author of eighteen books and more than forty original recordings, Davis is the recipient of both the Circle of Excellence and the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Storytelling Network.

We join Andrew in BYU Radio Studio 7, a medium-small rectangular room with wooden floors. A mic in the center is surrounded by a semicircle of a dozen or so chairs occupied by Sam Payne, Jacob Pierce, and a group of Andrew’s friends and loved ones, invited by Andrew to join the performance. Andrew stands and we check the levels on the microphone. His voice and body are both animated and he instantly draws the audience in by his warm presence and kind gaze. He begins:

 

How long can you hold your breath?

Thirty Seconds?

A Minute?

What about eight hours? That’s my record.

The Umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck three times when I was born.

My brother in law said I was bungee jumping from the womb.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but your boy has cerebral palsy. He may not walk, talk- do not expect him to live a normal life.“

How would you like it if a doctor said that about your baby boy?

And from the first few years, he was prophetic. I couldn’t walk. Good luck understanding me. But the one thing everyone knew about me was I loved Disney! Whenever we went to Disneyland I would sob when we would leave because I believed I was home. In fact, the only reason I knew how to crawl was so I could press the rewind button on the VCR so I could watch “Disneyland fun” over again.

Now my grandpa, “Papa John,” he saw this and he was fed up. He saw me in therapy for hours- physical, speech, and occupational. And for what? To have his grandson lay on the floor and watch mickey mouse all day? Uh uh. Not his grandson. So he pulled out his bribery techniques he used on my uncles. 

“Andrewski- you listen to papa. You walk one step without any help, and papa will buy you any video of Disney you want.” 

“Okay!” 

So he picked me up. My feet were turned in. My knees were bent. I didn’t have good balance. But I wanted that disney video. So I held my breath and took a step. And I got it. And then it was two steps a video, five steps, ten, twenty, one hundred steps! 

My Grandma had to shut off the ponzi scheme because she was losing her retirement. But I had all of these Disney movies. 

You know, something happens when you hear that. You know - “When you Wish Upon a Star - A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes - Bippity Boppity Boo - The Bear Necessities - You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!”

Something happens when you hear that over and over, again and again and again. You begin to believe it. I became an independent walker. I ran in the track meet, I did debate, I danced in the musical. I became an eagle scout. 

But then, I achieved the ultimate dream. I became a cast member at Walt Disney world. I was working in a magic place with pirates and ghosts and tiki birds that sang, and a castle- Cinderella’s castle. I was in a magic place, and I wanted everyone to know that. As I helped people buy their Mickey ears and their Goofy hat and their wendy doll, I would tell them, 

“Have a magical day! Have a magical day! Have a magical day!”

But did they get it? Tinkerbell - the Fairy Godmother - Peter Pan - Mary Poppins - Mickey Mouse - They were real. 

As I said goodbye to the guests one night, waving to them with my mickey glove, a young man in a motorized wheelchair drove up. He looked at me. He got up, his feet were turned in, his knees were bent, he didn’t have a lot of balance. He had cerebral palsy - like me. 

“Do you work here,” he said.

“Yeah, I do.”

“My dream is to work at Disney. Do you think I can make it?” 

I looked at where we were standing.

“Here, magic lives, and here, dreams come true.”

 

*Applause*

We join Andrew in BYU Radio Studio 7, a medium-small rectangular room with wooden floors. A mic in the center is surrounded by a semicircle of a dozen or so chairs occupied by Sam Payne, Jacob Pierce, and a group of Andrew’s friends and loved ones, invited by Andrew to join the performance. Andrew stands and we check the levels on the microphone. His voice and body are both animated and he instantly draws the audience in by his warm presence and kind gaze. He begins:

How long can you hold your breath?

Thirty Seconds?

A Minute?

What about eight hours? That’s my record.

The Umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck three times when I was born.

My brother in law said I was bungee jumping from the womb.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but your boy has cerebral palsy. He may not walk, talk- do not expect him to live a normal life.“

How would you like it if a doctor said that about your baby boy?

And from the first few years, he was prophetic. I couldn’t walk. Good luck understanding me. But the one thing everyone knew about me was I loved Disney! Whenever we went to Disneyland I would sob when we would leave because I believed I was home. In fact, the only reason I knew how to crawl was so I could press the rewind button on the VCR so I could watch “Disneyland fun” over again.

Now my grandpa, “Papa John,” he saw this and he was fed up. He saw me in therapy for hours- physical, speech, and occupational. And for what? To have his grandson lay on the floor and watch mickey mouse all day? Uh uh. Not his grandson. So he pulled out his bribery techniques he used on my uncles. 

“Andrewski- you listen to papa. You walk one step without any help, and papa will buy you any video of Disney you want.” 

“Okay!” 

So he picked me up. My feet were turned in. My knees were bent. I didn’t have good balance. But I wanted that disney video. So I held my breath and took a step. And I got it. And then it was two steps a video, five steps, ten, twenty, one hundred steps! 

My Grandma had to shut off the ponzi scheme because she was losing her retirement. But I had all of these Disney movies. 

You know, something happens when you hear that. You know - “When you Wish Upon a Star - A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes - Bippity Boppity Boo - The Bear Necessities - You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!”

Something happens when you hear that over and over, again and again and again. You begin to believe it. I became an independent walker. I ran in the track meet, I did debate, I danced in the musical. I became an eagle scout. 

But then, I achieved the ultimate dream. I became a cast member at Walt Disney world. I was working in a magic place with pirates and ghosts and tiki birds that sang, and a castle- Cinderella’s castle. I was in a magic place, and I wanted everyone to know that. As I helped people buy their Mickey ears and their Goofy hat and their wendy doll, I would tell them, 

“Have a magical day! Have a magical day! Have a magical day!”

But did they get it? Tinkerbell - the Fairy Godmother - Peter Pan - Mary Poppins - Mickey Mouse - They were real. 

As I said goodbye to the guests one night, waving to them with my mickey glove, a young man in a motorized wheelchair drove up. He looked at me. He got up, his feet were turned in, his knees were bent, he didn’t have a lot of balance. He had cerebral palsy - like me. 

“Do you work here,” he said.

“Yeah, I do.”

“My dream is to work at Disney. Do you think I can make it?” 

I looked at where we were standing.

“Here, magic lives, and here, dreams come true.”

\*Applause\*

On today’s episode, enjoy the following:

Radio Family Journal: Death Star Trooper

Daily Mix: Cole Wissinger discusses “Kung Fu Panda”

Story Spotlight: “The Grey Goose” by The Storycrafters

Storytime: “Molasses Revenge” by Donald Davis (recorded at the 2018 Timpanogos Storytelling Festival), and “Like Meat Loves Salt” by Elizabeth Ellis, as heard on the Conversations With Storytellers podcast hosted by Simon Brooks.

Storyteller Spotlight: Donald Davis

 

Donald Davis, affectionately known as the "Dean of Storytelling," has been a long-time friend of the Apple Seed. He was born in a Southern Appalachian mountain world rich in stories. While he heard many traditional stories about Jack and other heroic characters, he was most attracted to the stories of his own family and places of origin.  

During his twenty-five year career as a United Methodist Minister, Davis began to use stories more and more.  He was also asked to begin performing at festivals and in other settings until he retired from the church to tell stories full time.

The author of eighteen books and more than forty original recordings, Davis is the recipient of both the Circle of Excellence and the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Storytelling Network.

On today’s episode of The Apple Seed, you’ll hear a performance from Willy Claflin called “The George Washington method for Blues Ukulele,” recorded live at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. It’s not historical in the least, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun (if you know Willy Claflin’s musical storytelling style, you know you’re going to love it). You’ll also hear a piece by Catherine Taylor, an art historian who specializes in examining the images associated with the death and burial of early Christians. Doctor Taylor says she still feels in her work the wonder and magic that she felt when reading books like “A Little Princess” as a young girl. In addition, you’ll hear a conversation with Cole Wissinger, about going to drive-in movies with his folks, and I’m going to take you on a trip to a monastery as it fades away, leaving nothing but memories of prayer and farming, and song, in an entry of the Radio Family Journal. 

 

Today, enjoy the following:

“Bubba and the Snake” by Diane Ferlatte

“The George Washington Method for Blues Ukulele” by Willy Claflin

“Kung Fu Panda,” a conversation with Cole Wissinger

“A Little Princess” by Catherine Taylor

“Monks,” an entry in the Radio Family Journal with Sam Payne

On today’s episode of The Apple Seed, you’ll hear a performance from Willy Claflin called “The George Washington method for Blues Ukulele,” recorded live at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. It’s not historical in the least, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun (if you know Willy Claflin’s musical storytelling style, you know you’re going to love it). You’ll also hear a piece by Catherine Taylor, an art historian who specializes in examining the images associated with the death and burial of early Christians. Doctor Taylor says she still feels in her work the wonder and magic that she felt when reading books like “A Little Princess” as a young girl. In addition, you’ll hear a conversation with Cole Wissinger, about going to drive-in movies with his folks, and I’m going to take you on a trip to a monastery as it fades away, leaving nothing but memories of prayer and farming, and song, in an entry of the Radio Family Journal. 

Today, enjoy the following:

“Bubba and the Snake” by Diane Ferlatte

“The George Washington Method for Blues Ukulele” by Willy Claflin

“Kung Fu Panda,” a conversation with Cole Wissinger

“A Little Princess” by Catherine Taylor

“Monks,” an entry in the Radio Family Journal with Sam Payne

Storyteller Spotlight: Willy Claflin

A headliner and master of ceremonies at the National Storytelling Festival, Willy is a favorite at festivals throughout the U.S. He offers stories for families as well as adults, often weaving music into his performances.Willy is the author of four award-winning children's books, including The Uglified Ducky, which won the Texas Library Association's Blue Bonnet Award for best children's book of the year.

In today's episode, a special visit from South Carolina Storyteller Tim Lowry. Tim will tickle us and thrill us with tales as tall as tall can be (as Tim says, "Here in America, we can lie begtter than anybody; we own the tall tale), jokes about cowboys, dogs, alligators, and horses, and personal tales of travel and adventure in America, all about how Tim came to be the owner of a fringed leather jacket. You'll hear music from Sam, too, and an entry in the Radio Family Journal about a dream of an unusual gathering of loved ones in a living room. That's today, on The Apple Seed!

In today's episode, a special visit from South Carolina Storyteller Tim Lowry. Tim will tickle us and thrill us with tales as tall as tall can be (as Tim says, "Here in America, we can lie begtter than anybody; we own the tall tale), jokes about cowboys, dogs, alligators, and horses, and personal tales of travel and adventure in America, all about how Tim came to be the owner of a fringed leather jacket. You'll hear music from Sam, too, and an entry in the Radio Family Journal about a dream of an unusual gathering of loved ones in a living room. That's today, on The Apple Seed!

Ever wonder why there's animosity between dogs and cats. Well, David Hold and Bill Mooney will explain everything in a story called "Why the Dog Chases the Cat". Sam is joined in the studio by Rachel Wadham.