The Apple Seed

Chances are that sometime in your experience, your life was changed by a teacher. This hour celebrates wonderful teachers in stories and conversation, brought to you by the Apple Seed. We begin with some sixth-grade memories from Sam, in a story called "Pencil Neck." After that, it's time for a story about a particularly admirable teacher in Bil Lepp's fourth-grade romp, "The Teacher in the Patriotic Bathing Suit." We'll round out the hour with a conversation between Naomi Campbell (one of our asistant producers) and her fourth grade teacher, Jeff Flynn, surrounding Jeff's affection for the William Ernest Henley poem, "Invictus." It's all this hour -- an hour filled with stories for you and your family, and brought to you by the Apple Seed.

In this hour, after seeing a production of the comedy farce "Charley's Aunt, Sam reminisces about playing Macduff in Shakespeare's Macbeth. He even invites members of the cast and staff of the play into the studio for a conversation. After that, in an hour dedicated to stories of theatrical activities, hear a story from Bill Harley about kids putting a play together and inviting everyone they know. What could go wrong? Hilarity ensues, in "Battle of the Mad Scientists." That's today, brought to you by The Apple Seed.

Animals are our friends. We certainly treat them kindly and they do the same to us! In this episode, we feature stories about animals from all over the world. We have a poem about a goat by cowboy poet Wadie Mitchell. Then we have a legend about dogs and cats by Charlotte Blake-Alston. Fran Yardley tells us tall tale about another dog -- a beloved famiy pet named Buster. Noa Baum tells us a musical tale about a turkey and a not-so-friendly mayor. Finally, a story about a boy, and a bull who saves his life, told by Lona Bartlett.

In this hour, we'll bring you the story of Jerrie Cobb. Jerrie was an accomplished pilot and She was also part of the "Mercury 13," a group of women selected to undergo physiological screening tests at the same time as the original Mercury Seven astronauts, as part of a private, non-NASA program. You’re going to hear the story from Kate Dudding, whose storytelling work involves gathering and telling the stories of people who have made a difference. She’s told stories of baseball heroes and movie stars, jazz singers and social activists, national tragedies and more. 

You'll also hear a couple of tunes recorded live at BYU Radio by the great songwriter Cherie Call, and an entry in the Radio Family Journal all about sitting on the front lawn and looking at the moon. It's all this hour, brought to you by The Apple Seed.

This hour includes adapted and original stories ranging from South American to Jerusalem. We will listen to “How Beetle Got Her Colors” by Glenda Bonin adapted from Brazil. We have “Weeping Willow,” an original story by Sheila Arnold, and “The Beggar King and the Field of Two Brothers” by Joel Been Izzy -- a story from Jerusalem. We're also hear Roll-a-rama, a childhood story told live by Adam Booth at the Speak Story Series in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

We’ve brought all kinds of stories to you over the years: folk tales, fairy tales, tall tale. A lot of them are made up, an a most of them are shared with us by  folks who tell stories from stage – they do it for a living.  But every once in awhile, we find a real-life story, shared by regular folks, so interesting that we’ve just got to bring it to you. Today, we'll share the story of a guy who made a fortune in the art business, and then – discovering that he had cancer – decided to put some of his treasure in a 14th-centry treasure chest – we’re talking about gems, Aztec gold, and more, worth millions of dollars -- and then decided to hide it somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, where anyone could find it. And he hopes they do. In his autobiography, the guy shares a poem designed to give people clues to find the treasure. We’re talking about the treasure of Forest Fenn, and we’re going to bring you the story of the treasure today, with the help of the Apple Seed team, geologist Paul Ramsey, and real life treasure hunter, filmmaker, and blogger Dale Knightsell. It’s a modern-day treasure hunting fairy tale that Forest Fenn says has coaxed more than 350,000 people onto the treasure-hunting trail over the years.

Today’s stories deal with magic, dreams, and youth. From Leslie Norris telling us the story of Merlin the wizard and the search for the snake's egg in verse to Robin Shulte detailing her young son’s disillusionment after a magic show, these stories will have you laughing, pondering, and remembering up until the last second. This hour features tellers Leslie Norris, Robin Shulte, Antonio Sacre, Joe Herrington, and Joel Ben Izzy.

Antonio Sacre often performs on stage with props: often the writings and illustrations from elementary school students. He shows them to audiences to inspire them, and inspire them he does. Antonio is passionate about bringing his own story as a writer to young people all over the country, in hopes that his tale of the ups and downs of building his own career will help them see their way clear to follow their own dreams, even though it might not always be smooth sailing. In this hour, hear conversation with Antonio, as well as a handful of tales that come from Antonio's Cuban-Irish heritage.

To learn more about Antonio and to find more of his work, visit www.antoniosacre.com

You’re listening to the Apple Seed: Stories and Tellers, some time just about just about every

day dedicated to the art of storytelling. I’m your host, Sam Payne, and today we have some great

stories for you from all over the world. From tellers

Laura Simms, Charlotte Blake

\-

Alston, Wadie

Mitchell, Danielle Bellone, Antonio Sacre, Lani Peterson, and Margaret Read MacDonald, let’s get

started.

You’re listening to the Apple Seed: Stories and Tellers, some time just about just about every

day dedicated to the art of storytelling. I’m your host, Sam Payne, and today we have some great

stories for you from all over the world. From tellers

Laura Simms, Charlotte Blake

\-

Alston, Wadie

Mitchell, Danielle Bellone, Antonio Sacre, Lani Peterson, and Margaret Read MacDonald, let’s get

started.

You’re listening to the Apple Seed: Stories and Tellers, some time just about just about every

day dedicated to the art of storytelling. I’m your host, Sam Payne, and today we have some great

stories for you from all over the world. From tellers

Laura Simms, Charlotte Blake

\-

Alston, Wadie

Mitchell, Danielle Bellone, Antonio Sacre, Lani Peterson, and Margaret Read MacDonald, let’s get

started.

You’re listening to the Apple Seed: Stories and Tellers, some time just about just about every

day dedicated to the art of storytelling. I’m your host, Sam Payne, and today we have some great

stories for you from all over the world. From tellers

Laura Simms, Charlotte Blake

\-

Alston, Wadie

Mitchell, Danielle Bellone, Antonio Sacre, Lani Peterson, and Margaret Read MacDonald, let’s get

started.

In this hour, you'll enjoy stories fantastical and foreign (as well as a few stories athat feel like home).  You'll hear Laura Simms with a Belarusian folk tale about Animals and their tails (call it an Animal "Tail" if you like). YOu'll hear Charlotte Blake Alston with a story about Mantis and his bid to be a god. You'll hear Waddie Mitchell with a little poem about working to do things right the first time, as second chances are harder to come by than they might seem. You'll hear Antonio Sacre with a miracle tale about the building of a church to the Virgen of Guadalupe. You'll hear a Ukrainian folka tale about a dragoness from Margaret Read Macdonald, and finally a wonderful performance of an Anansi story by the terrific teller Amina Blackwood-Meeks. It's a trip around the world with the Apple Seed as your guide!

On today's episode, Sam is joined in the studio by Apple Seed assistant producer Jenny Goldsberry, for an hour of tales that begins with a story as old as the 11th century. This version, told by Fran Yardley, is called "The Clown of God." We'll follow that with a story by David Holt about playing "Louie Louie" at a party when he was a kid, and a tiny little story by Andy Offutt Irwin about his fictional great Aunt Marguerite and her tombstone. There'll be a thoughtful story form Richard Martin about holding death captive in a nut (and whether it's a good idea). We'll end the episode with a nostalgic story from Barbara McBride-Smith called "Mama's Coat." It's a journey with many destinations, today on The Apple Seed.