The Apple Seed

If you’ve listened to the show for awhile, you know that every once in awhile we gather a few actors, a musical guest, and a studio audience for seasonal readings of stories from literature – some of the stories are familiar, some obscure. Today’s episode features one of these gatherings. You'll hear the Jacob Marley scene from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," a couple of Scandinavian Christmas tales (one featuring Trolls, and the other featuring a skeleton with long, yellow hair), and a story translated into English by Leo Tolstoy called "Papa Panov's Special Christmas." You'll also enjoy musical guests Omar and Lori Hansen.

We’ll begin today’s episode with a favorite from the great storyteller Donald Davis. The story is called “Look it Up,” and it’ll ring bells for anyone who has ever loved a dictionary. After that, it’ll be more personal stories, like “Some Enchanted Wednesday” by Syd Lieberman, and a fairy tale to boot – “The Golden Headed Fish” told by Ed Stivender. You’ll hear a little Michael Reno Harrell thrown in for good measure, too!

This hour of stories, music, and conversation begins with a Radio Family Journal entry: a remembrance of sorts for Reed and Loa Fae Palmer, whose joint funeral was attended by all the kids whose bikes Reed had supplied and repaired. The kids had festooned their bikes with yellow ribbons and shown up to the funeral in their Sunday best, a serious way to honor the couple they had come to love, and to whom they were now saying farewell. We’ll also meet a bunch of kids from the Castle Valley Acting Company, and we’ll sit in on a production of theirs featuring Robin Hood stories. We’ll talk to some of them about their work, and to their director, Catlin Iverson. And we’ll hear a great conversation with Grammy-winning storyteller, author, musician, and performer Bill Harley. And, of course, you’ll hear music from the songwriting team of Cherie Call and Lyndy Butler.

In today’s episode you’ll hear stories that span the years between childhood and adulthood. We’ll start with a Paul Lawrende Dunbar poem, written in the dialectical verse for which he was famous. The poem is called “The Spelling Bee,” a tale filled with good-natured competition, hard words to spell, and even young love. It’s performed for us by Mitch Capel. You’ll also hear a story of Sam’s – a memory of playing Emile de Becque in a high school production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. The episode wraps up with a rollicking story about a trip to Africa, by the great storyteller and mime Antonio Rocha.

This hour of stories, music, and conversation begins with a Radio Family Journal entry about playing wedding gigs, and, in particular, wondering what good counsel this version of Sam might give to the Sam from years gone by, or the years to come, if they could all sit down and talk. We’ll follow that up with a conversation with astronaut Jerry Linenger, who spent more than 130 days about the Russian Space Station Mir. His story is not only about his own adventures, but also his desire to talk about those adventures with his son. We’re excited to bring you that conversation. And we’ll going to visit Creve Coeur, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis, to chat with a terrific duo of young storytellers called The Bible Players. They’re bringing Torah stories to life on stage in a way that makes them feel like part of a conversation that’s been going on for thousands of years.  You’ll also enjoy songs by the UK songwriter Wrenne.

On today’s episode of The Apple Seed, you’ll enjoy one long story from Donald Davis, recorded live at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Lehi, Utah, right here in our backyard. It’s a tale of mischief with a chemistry set, and of looking for love somewhere in the ranks of the casserole brigade. You’ll also hear Kim Weitkamp’s rendition of You Are My Sunshine, and a story from Bil Lepp that really stinks (because, well, it’s about skunks).

This hour of stories, music, and conversation begins with  Radio Family Journal segment about falling in love very briefly with Heather Parkinson in third grade. And even before the soft glow of young love fades, we bring you a fascinating conversation with storyteller Clare Murphy (which we kick off with a wonderful Celtic tale about an unusual graveyard). Finally, in the hour’s last segment, you’ll hear a piece about the effects of a wonderful piece of music on important memories. It’s a piece that focuses on the very moving settings of A E. Housman poems by George Butterworth, written in the years before World War I. You’ll also hear a few songs from the wonderful folk band Molly in the Mineshaft.

On today’s episode, weshare with you a couple of Christmas tales, and one about, well, about being concerned about one’s weight, which we thought made it a tale perfectly suited for holiday telling. Firstup, a story from Kim Weitkamp about a friendly Christmas competition at church. Whose cookies will win the prize this year? Kim will regale you with a story to answer that question. After Kim, we hear from Donald Davis, with a classic Christmas tale of concern for how the jolly old elf will get into the house after an innovation to the heating system. The story is called “Don’t Kill Santa!” Finally, as if in anticipation of everyone’s annual Christmastime concern and subsequent universal New Year’s resolution, we’ll bring you a story from Carol Birch called “Weighing In.” That’s today, on The Apple Seed. Tellers and Stories on BYUradio.

On today’s episode, we’ll warm you up for a couple of Christmas stories with a tidbit from Antonio Sacre about parenting young children. The story is called “The Worst Parent on the Playground,” and it was recorded live at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, one of the largest storytelling festivals in the nation, currently held in Lehi, Utah. Antonio’s story will get us all primed for an actual Christmas story: Bil Lepp’s tale about Big Sal, detailing the unusual effects of microwave cooking on a particular Christmas turkey. We’ll end the episode with a childhood sled-ride fantasy from Kim Weitkamp --a delightful story called “The Forbidden Souped-up Sled Ride.” Holiday treats abound on today’s episode of The Apple Seed.

On today’s episode, we warm up for a couple of Christmas tales with a tale of summer by Catherine Conant. The story is called “Doin’ the Dishes,” (so maybe that’s the holiday connection right there, for anyone who spends the season throwing parties and cleaning up after them). After Catherine takes us back to the carefree days of summer, we launch into two Christmas tales. The first, from a collection called Christmas at Grandma’s, is a story called “The Children’s Christmas Play,” by Donald Davis. And we’ll follow that story up with a piece from Andy Offutt Irwin, one of his stories about Aunt Marguerite (the fictional great aunt who at 80 years old went to medical school, and who forms the backbone of Andy’s canon of original stories). It’s called “The Glass Christmas.” Happy Holidays, from The Apple Seed.