Sometimes, time moves by unbearably slow. Days are filled with work, waiting, and then more waiting. Don’t you ever wish that you could fast forward to the exciting parts of life and skip past the boring minutes - or years? That’s what the main character in Dolores Hydock’s “The Golden Ball” wishes for, and at first, he couldn’t be more delighted! However, over time, he finds that he begins to long for the quiet moments he once thought so dreadful. Will he ever get a chance to enjoy the peaceful passing of life once again? We’ll find out today as well as hearing stories from Donna Washington, Mark Binder, and Jenni Cargill-Strong.

 

On today’s episode, enjoy the following:

“The Golden Ball” by Dolores Hydock from Once In A Blue Moon (22:14)

Dolores Hydock is an actress and storyteller having performed and received awards all over the country. In this story, an impatient young boy is given a golden ball by a mysterious old woman that helps him skip past the mundane moments of life.

 

“Epaminandus” by Donna Washington from Fun, Foolerly, and Folktales (13:16)

Donna Washington grew up as an army brat, traveling all over the world and collecting tales as she went. In this tale, Epaminandus is a young boy who gets sent to his grandmother’s house when he’s simply too much for his mother to handle. I’m sure many mothers out there can relate and be grateful to grandparents for helping out with their children. However, when Epaminandus’s grandmother sends him home with a gift, he always finds a way to mess it up before it reaches his mother. But this won’t stop his family from loving him anyway.

 

 “Goldylocks” by Mark Binder from A Chanukah Present (6:50)

Mark Binder is an author and storyteller with more than 20 published books and 20 years of performance experience. Today he shares with us his telling of “Goldylocks”, but instead of Goldylocks running into a house of three bears, she wonders into a house of three bubbies. Bubbies, for those who don’t know, are grandmothers! So this story both playfully and lovingly reflects many things we find so unique and wonderful about our own grandmothers. 

 

“With My Own Two Hands” by Jenni Cargill-Strong from Reaching For the Moon (3:04)

Jenni Cargill-Strong is a storyteller who believes in the power of storytelling to make the world a better place. This song is about how much of a positive impact one person can make.