We present the story with the assistance of guest performers who’ve also discovered this. They are attendees of the annual Families on the Road (FOTR) rally. (We recorded this podcast in a laundry room at a campground jammed with excited people, which explains the ambient sound â a euphemism for background noise.) It was a very successful event, indeed the largest such gathering ever, with 21 families in attendance.
For the second time, we held the rally at Jetty Park, Port Canaveral, FL. This is an excellent location not only because it’s right on the beach (within site of the NASA shuttle launch site) but also because it’s right beside the cruise ship terminal, so we could watch the huge cruise ships pull out, including the Disney line. Among the fun activities the campers enjoyed were a relay race on the beach, a tie-dyeing session, a gross science session, a screening of the movie âRVâ on an outdoor inflatable screen, a bonfire, and a performance by Act!vated Storytellers.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Goatherd), Kimberly (Horse)
Kelby Evans(Hans), Dylan DiMichiel(Narrator), Connor Evans(Peasant with cow), Jayden Dudley (Narrator), Adrian Dudley (Narrator), Sage Bove(Cow), Christian DiMichiel (Scissors Grinder), Rita DiMichiel(Narrator), Pete "Dutch" DeMichiel (Master), Courtney LaPointe (Goose Woman, Narrator), Kati Evans (Goose), Zachary Godwin (Narrator, Grindng Stone, Well)
- Families on the Road
- FOTR podcast 2008
We come to you from a place where we probably won’t have to worry about snow this holiday season: Florida. We’ll be here through the end of January, and our tour will include a performance in Miami. If you decide to fly south for the winter, or you’re already down here, swing on by!
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Owl, Great Spirit) and Kimberly (Crow, Coyote, Turtle and generic critter)
]]>
In the Big Apple, we saw Bon Jovi perform during a âToday Showâ telecast, attended a taping of âLate Night with Jimmy Fallonâ, and attended a fun Broadway performance of the classic musical Finian’s Rainbow a hilarious modern fable featuring a leprechaun and lots of singing and dancing.
We also watched the Veterans’ Day Parade (which included Hollywood legend Tony Curtis) and ran into the purveyors of Myachi, a toy for all ages. We first encountered them in Florida nearly 7 years ago!
Happy Listening (and beware of dragons and leprechauns)
Dennis (Batcha, Serpent King, Wizard) and Kimberly (Narrator, Wife, Dog
- Link to the Today Show featuring Families on the Road and a short clip from an interview with Kimberly
We come to you from Fall River, MA, where we gear up for another haunting season in Salem. We’ve completed our 21st summer season, which took us from Monterey, CA to Medford, MA. Along the way, we performed for the American Library Association’s annual conference on behalf of Scholastic Books (held in Chicago this year) and biked the Katy Trail in Missouri. And Dennis began writing about some of our travel adventures for examiner.com.
Oh yes, and we have a guest star this time who’s hardly a stranger to our podcasts or our shows: our son Zephyr, who now lives in Massachusetts and hadn’t done a podcast with us since January.
Happy Listening! Dennis (De Wing), Kimberly (Narrator, Queen) and Zephyr (Abbot, Wu Gang)
]]>Activatedly Yours,
Dennis (the Cobbler), Kimberly (the Apprentice) and the Dragon
Links:
Compiled from 4 live productions.
Act!vatedly Yours,
Dennis (the Cobbler), Kimberly (the Apprentice) and the Dragon
Links:
Links:
A theatrical tour of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
- Visit Colonial Williamsburg
- Williamsburg, First City of Theater; article at Examiner.com
Act!vatedly Yours, Dennis and Kimberly
Links:
We also talk about our recent drive and bicycling adventure down the Pacific Coast, traveling from Seattle through Oregon and past California’s own giants, the monumental redwoods.
You’ll hear us make a reference in the podcast to working on our set in the garage; but no, no, no that does not mean that we have a house somewhere. We’re still on the road fulltime, just as we have been for the past 17 years. But we do know other people who have houses, including Kimberly’s parents. And it’s their garage where we typically have our marathon production week every May/June.
Now we’re off and running on our 21st summer season. Beginning June 11 in Monterey, CA, we literally tour from coast to coast this year, ending the season in Medford, MA. We hope to catch you somewhere along the way!
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Giant), Kimberly (Tailor), Joey (King) and Jenny (Giant)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
Links:
We were inspired by the famous troll lurking under the Aurora Bridge in the Femont District of Seattle, where we were able to spend a few days showing our guests the sights, including the Experience Music Project, Pikes Place Market, the Chittenden Locks, and Elliot Bay Book Company. None of us got eaten by a troll, but we did get almost dissolved by the rain.
Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, King, Father), Kimberly (Mother, Trittil, Littil, Princess), Libby (Young Man), and Eddy (Oldest Brother, Troll)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
Links:
We come to you from Sacramento, California, where we are doing a series of library performances for National Library Week. And we’re doing stories especially appropriate for Earth Day, which the Sacramento County Library System is commemorating with a green theme.
And speaking of spring, we recount our recent visit to Saratoga, WY, which has a hot mineral spring that anyone can bathe in free at any time, year-round. But while we were there, we encountered some snowy weather, as we did during the entire month of March, which seemed to be anticipating the venting of a great deal of wrath toward May.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (March, Narrator) and Kimberly (April, May, Wind)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
Links:
- Bead Fanatic Beads by Jen Prink
- A!S Fan Page on Facebook
- National Library Week
We come to you from Colorado City (in Colorado, natch), after having driven from Florida in a very short time.
Along the way, we stopped in Mobile, AL to attend part of the Mardi Gras festivities. Many people don’t realize it, but Mardi Gras has been celebrated in Mobile even longer than it has in New Orleans. The festival in Mobile dates back as far as 1703, and the tradition of a parade dates back to about 1830 when one particular merry fellow got one going spontaneously, and the other folks in the community decided it was too much fun not to repeat. This year’s celebration actually got underway last year, with events held back in November. But the party began in earnest in January, a month before Mardi Gras itself. And during that month, there were no fewer than FORTY-TWO parades. We missed forty of them.
We also spent some time in Taos, NM, in the heart of ski country. The town of Taos is rich in history, being among other things the home of legendary scout Christopher âKitâ Carsonâthe house he lived in is now open for tours. But even more historic is the home of an entire tribe of Native Americans: the Taos Pueblo, which was built at least 600 hundred years ago, and quite possibly 1000 years ago. It’s still home today to about 150 tribal residents who still live, as their ancestors did, without electricity or running water.
Like the Pueblo, the entire town of Taos is constructed of adobe buildings. It was a fascinating place to spend a weekend, but we’re relieved to be out of the snow.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, HungBoo, Monsters) and Kimberly (Narrator, NolBoo, Wife, Bird, Monsters)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
Links:
]]>We thought an Anansi story would be particularly appropriate for Black History Month, otherwise known as February. (In Great Britain, it’s celebrated in October.) The month, which was originally just a week, traces its roots back to 1926, when prominent historian Dr. Carter Woodson began crusading to remedy the way his fellow African-Americans had been neglected in the history books. February is also the anniversary of the Fifteenth Amendment granting African-Americans the right to vote, and the swearing in of Hiram Revels as the first African-American member of the U.S. Senate. And February contains the birthday of the early civil rights leader W.E.B. DuBois, who along with Dr. Woodson, helped found the NAACP in 1909âduring, would you believe it, the month of February. And you thought this month was just for presidents, groundhogs and chocolate.
We come to you from Western Florida, a state in which we’ve been sojourning for the past couple of months. But we’re on our way north and gradually back to the West Coast, to the region where we started. We hope you do your share of reading during Read Across America Week, the first week in March.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Hog, Monkey) and Kimberly (Anansi, Goat)
Links Mentioned in this Podcast
- Kall8.com for voice mail service - use our # for reference if you sign up: 800.429-6576
- Details for Share the Love of Reading are at Myownbook.net
- Read Across America Week
- Library Lover’s Month
- On Twitter we are @activated
- The Program Room by Monty Harper - podcast for Youth Services Librarians
- A!S Flier for 2009-10 touring productions to share with your favorite school or library. (PDF format)
We come to you this month from Orlando, Florida, where we’ve assembled quite a cast of guest stars. We’re joined by our son Zephyr, his girlfriend Cassia from Massachusetts, and their friends Amylynn from Chicago, Lani from Denver and Emily from Michigan. And as long as they were coming to Orlando long enough to do the podcast, we decided to dig up something fun for them to do. The best we could come up with was seven days at the Disney theme parks. Sorry, guys.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Frog, Villager), Kimberly (Squirrel, Villager), Zephyr (Coyote, Villager), Cassia (Narrator), AmyLynn (Fire Being), Emily (Fire Being), and Lani (Chipmunk, Fire Being)
Links:
- The Grove, in Glenview, IL - where Amylynn works as an interpretive guide
- Kim Possible Adventure at Epcot
We come to you from Tallahassee, Florida, where we don’t exactly expect to have a white Christmas. But it still looks very like that season around here, because we’re surrounded by Fraser Firs, Canaan Firs, Scotch Pines and White Pines, oh my. We’re babysitting a Christmas tree lot at the Tallahassee Mall, where we have the unheard-of opportunity to remain parked in one spot for more than a monthâwith free electricity thrown in to bootâas we start making preparations for next summer’s tour.
Yes, we’ve been away from the podcast universe for a whileâsince August, to be exact. And we bring you up to date on what’s been happening in the meantime, including our fun, fascinating, productive October in Salem, where we met up with the LOUD Family, the subjects of the TV miniseries âSix for the Roadâ. And we answer that burning question on everyone’s mind: where in the world is Zephyr?
By the way, did you know that you can track the progress of Santa’s sleigh online on Christmas Eve? We’ve been doing it for years. Amazing what they can do with radar these days.
To all of you from all two of us, we wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, and a fantastic 2009.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Man, Neighbor and Elves) and Kimberly (Narrator, King and other elves)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
Links:
]]>We present this tale without benefit of Zephyr, who’s in Oregon attending Not Back to School Camp, an annual gathering for homeschoolers. We come to you from North Attleboro, south of Boston.
Our story selection was prompted by our recent visit to Newport, RI (our first time ever to go there, and it isn’t often that we visit a place for the first time anymore), where we saw the nation’s oldest synagogue, the nation’s oldest lending library, and Fort Adams Park, site of the annual Newport Folk Festival, which has showcased such legendary talents as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger (a co-founder of the event) and Joan Baez. Oh yes, and we also saw the Old Stone Mill, the third stone oddity mentioned above. Nobody knows who built it or when or why, but there has been speculation that Norsemen under Leif Erickson erected it when they allegedly dropped by a millennium ago â its style is similar to that of certain Scandinavian churches. Another popular theory is that it was built as a mill by Rhode Island colonial governor Benedict Arnold, great-grandfather of the more famous (and infamous) individual bearing that name. (Supporters of the Viking theory point out that even if Arnold did use it as a mill, that doesn’t mean he built it, and it could have been much older.) Still another hypothesis is that it was a watchtower constructed or used by a Portuguese explorer around 1500. Hey, maybe all three are sort of true.
We breezed through Newport on our bicycles as part of a 10-day bike marathon, starting from Norton, MA, then proceeding to Plymouth, Cape Cod, southern MA, then Newport and back up to Norton. We covered more than 320 miles in all, spending the nights in a tent and buying food at produce stands. What a great way to see the country! As long as you don’t run over any big rocks.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Farmer, Villager), Kimberly (Narrator, Fairy, Villager) and Zephyr (Marcel Marceau impersonator)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
P.S. Apologies for the audio quality of the past two podcasts. We’ve had major technical gremlins, which we’ve been struggling to put back into their cages. Hopefully, all will be peachy keen next time.
Links:
- BLOCKBUSTER Total Access click to activate coupon for $10 off your first month.
- SkypeOut
Free calls online
- Read about Family on Bikes as they travel from Alaska to Argentina
We talk about the tour that Dennis and Zephyr took of Valley Forge National Park, just north of Philadelphia. During the winter of 1777-78, Gen. George Washington and his men took a very different kind of tour of this property, a military stand to fight back the British invasion. It was a harsh winter and the troops worked under extreme hardships, often having inadequate clothing and little food.
Even Washington had it rough, sharing cramped quarters, with several members of his staff - although he certainly was better off than the troops. At least he was in a fine old house with servants and a comfortable bed; they on the other hand, slept in crude little log huts - or on the ground while they were constructing these!
We were able to see some very accurate replicas of these huts, and they looked anything but inviting, in any kind of weather. We also toured Gen. Washington’s painstakingly restored house on the Schuylkill River, furnished just as it might have been when he was using it, down to the pens and papers on the desk.
We also mention the alternating days of bike touring that Kimberly and Dennis have been doing from Valley Forge to Bristol, CT, getting in as many as 65 miles a day - often on very hilly terrain. At least the soldiers never had do that!
Happy Listening,
Dennis (Maharajah), Kimberly (narrator), Zephyr (Jester/Joker) and Cassia (the wife)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
Links: BLOCKBUSTER Total Access click to activate coupon for $10 off your first month. - Save $10
Learn more about Valley Forge
One reason for the story’s endurance is that it can be interpreted in a number of ways. There’s the concept, for instance, of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. There’s the importance of pitching in to help your neighbors -- it takes a village to feed a village. There’s the principle of making something from nothing, or at least being productive in difficult times. And of course there’s the motif of applying psychology to encourage cooperation -- prompting people to contribute by appealing to their pride in creating a desirable outcome, rather than just telling them their efforts are needed (somewhat similar to Tom Sawyer’s trick with the fence.) We come to you from the outskirts of Philadelphia, where we’ve returned to perform again at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Zephyr rejoins us after spending a couple of weeks in Winston-Salem, while Dennis and Kimberly report on their recent visit to Pennsylvania’s capital city, Harrisburg, where they took a pleasant bike ride on a 20-mile loop that took them one of the finest nature preserves they’ve ever seen.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Soldier, villagers), Kimberly (Narrator, Villagers), Zephyr (Villagers, including the Joker)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
Links:
]]>We come to you, minus Zephyr, from West Virginia, where we are having a busy week during our summer library tour, helping youngsters "Catch the Reading Bug" (that’s the theme of the summer reading program for many of the nation’s libraries this year). Our first West Virginia performance was in Point Pleasant, so named because it is a pleasant point at which the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers come together.
Up until 42 years ago, the town was best known as the site of the first battle between Native Americans and European settlers, which occurred here in 1774. As usual, the Natives (led by Chief Cornstalk) got the worst end of it. There’s an impressive mural of the battle painted on the wall that runs along the riverfront by the national park that commemorates the event.
Okay, that was the town’s old claim to fame. But in November 1966 it was the site of the reputed appearance of a strange creature that came to be known as the Mothman. He stood about 8 feet tall and looked like a cross between a human and a moth. He may have been of extraterrestrial origin, or he may have just been the Reading Bug. Or he may have been someone’s hyperactive imagination. We can’t know for certain, because he did not strut around like a peacock, but hid in the dark like a moth. But whatever he was, he is now folklore, and that’s where we come in. There is a life-size statue of him in downtown Point Pleasant, so you can form your own theories. And be thankful that it wasn’t you who ran into him.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Crane, Farmer) and Kimberly (Narrator, Peacock)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
Links: The Coyote and Eagle can be found on the Out of the Bag audio collection. And here is a kachina activity sheet to print and color (.PDF)
Award winning storyteller Sean Buvala offers teleconferences and coaching for storytellers.
Reading bug PSA courtesy of the Collaborative Summer Library Program
]]>We bring this podcast to you from Quincy, IL and Hannibal, MO, where we return to perform at libraries in both cities. And the libraries, we’re happy to say, were not damaged by the recent flooding of the Mississippi River, though some parts of both cities definitely were soaked. So far, all systems are go for the annual Tom Sawyer Days held during the Independence Day weekend in Hannibal. And we’re back to participate for the first time in several years.
We also tell you all about our recent encounter in Hawaii with Wally Amos, the famous cookie guru who now is heavily involved with promoting reading, particularly reading aloud to children. Not only does he read to kids himself, he is chair of the Read It Loud Foundation, which has a goal of enticing at least 5 million parents to read to their kids each day for at least 10 minutes. He donates 10 percent of the profits from his cookie stores in Kailua and Honolulu to this endeavor, and makes promotional appearances across the country to promote it -- including Savannah, GA., where Read It Loud! Savannah already has enjoyed considerable success. One of the activities of the program in Savannah is to donate a book to the parents of each child born in the community. It’s never too early to start!
We salute Wally Amos and Read It Loud for the admirable work they do -- which, after all, is very much in line with the work we do ourselves.
Happy Listening (whatever your age),
Dennis (Narrator, Cow, Farmer’s Wife, Butcher, Painter), Kimberly (Cat, Farmer, Baker), and Zephyr (Mouse)
Link: Folktales to Read Out Loud ]]>
". This is one of innumerable versions of the Cinderella motif found around the world; but in this case the similarity is more than coincidence. Natives apparently heard the popular French tale, as related by French trappers, and adapted it to their own culture.We present the story with the aid of our guest star Mary, who’s been a friend all her life (literally -- she attended Zephyr’s first birthday party when we lived in San Francisco). She spent 10 days traveling with us under battle conditions, joining us in Reno as we were frantically trying to get our new show together, accompanying us on our 2000 mile dash to Arkansas, then aiding and abetting us during our show’s first two performances in Hot Springs and Conway, AR. What a trooper.
But once the pressure was off, we managed to have some fun, absorbing the local color along historic Bath House Row in Hot Springs, where we also attended an open mic poetry reading at The Poets Loft, the longest running open mic poetry night in the world. Mary wasn’t content merely to observe, but also got up and read one of her own poems, followed by her a cappella rendering of "Goodnight Irene" in Japanese. We also spent an evening at The Brauhaus listening to the music of our friends The Itinerant Locals. And in Little Rock we took Mary to the Clinton Library and Central High School, site of the landmark 1957 school integration conflict.
Now she’s off to The Bay Area again, and we’re off again on another summer tour. See you there!
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Father, Hunter), Kimberly (Sister, Hunter’s Sister), Zephyr (Narrator, Sister) and Mary (Rough-Skinned Girl)
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
]]>We spent a day at the Polynesian Culture Center, soaking in the sights, sounds and tastes (a luau was included in our package) of several Pacific Island cultures. We visited Pearl Harbor, where we stood on a platform that overlooks the USS Arizona, sunk in the water a few feet below the surface.We went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay coral reef, where we were face to face with exotic species of fish we’d never seen before â Zephyr even had a close encounter with a huge sea turtle. We also went swimming at Waikiki Beach and Kailua Beach, where Kimberly used to swim when she lived in Hawaii as a child. And in Kailua we met Wally Amos, the founder of the original Famous Amos cookie company, who now owns a cookie shop there, and also is active in promoting reading to children.
Now we’re back at âhomeâ (I.e., the Continental U.S.) and it’s crunch time to get our new show ready for its premiere on June 11. We’re now a two-person act onstage, since Zephyr recently retired, but you can still hear his voice on the podcasts.
Our apologies for the tardiness of this post. In addition to our trip, we’ve faced a mountain of technical difficulties lately.
Mahalo!
Barefoot Dennis, Flower-Haired Kimberly and Sunburned Zephyr
Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436.
]]>We come to you from the beautiful city of Seattle and vicinity, where we’re presenting a series of performances for the King County Library System. Previously we were in Portland, where Zephyr and Cassia met up with some friends, and dropped in at Powells, the fabled bookstore that may be the world’s largest.
And speaking of books (which Dennis keeps doing in this podcast) we had to put in a plug for a new book called "50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth". We know, there’s already been a book by that title. But this one, by the same author (John Javna, assisted by his teenage son and daughter), is not just a revised edition of that bestseller, but a whole new volume that addresses the realities of the Twenty-First Century more effectively. We’re recommending it not just because John’s a friend of ours, but because it’s an informative and important book.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Washerman and Watchman), Kimberly (Narrator), Zephyr (Fox) and Cassia (Donkey)
Link: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth: Completely New and Updated for the 21st Century
With Sarah in tow, we’re having a busy April performing in Northern California; we’ve been particularly in demand for National Library Week. We’ve been revisiting our roots in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we originated nearly 20 years ago. And where, once upon a time, Kimberly was in a production of "Once Upon A Mattress".
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Prince), Kimberly (Princess, Royal Attendant), Zephyr (King, Other Princesses) and Sarah (Queen, Other Princesses)
]]>
We thought this story appropriate for the moment, because it deals with vehicle problems of a sort, and we’ve just experienced vehicle problems of many sorts driving from Albuquerque to Las Vegas. We include a special guest, Zephyr’s friend Koree, who is visiting us for a few days from Arizona. We include an account of our stay in the Glitz Capital of the world, where Zephyr attended a haunted attraction convention, and the prices are high enough to spook anyone.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Farmer), Kimberly (Mule, Woman), Zephyr (Hercules, Man) and Koree (Woman)
Recommended Podcast: Dancing With Elephants
Link: Not Back To School Camp
Be A Character
We will name a folktale character after you or one of your friends in episode 80. You can be the hero! Or choose to be the villain if you prefer. All who comment will be entered into a drawing. You may enter as many times as you like. Comments do need to be relevant to the podcast (no spam) and may be posted about any episode or the show in general.
To enter all you need to do is leave a comment or review at one of the following sites.
- iTunes
- Leave a comment here at our podcast site
- Do a short write up on your blog
- Podcast Alley
- DramaPod
- Podcast Pickle
- Any podcast directory site
- Or call us and leave a voice mail (206) 202-3976
Please leave a way that we can get back in touch with you. If you don’t want to leave your email on a site just send us an email so if you win we can find out what your preferences are. Otherwise we’ll just do what we want (insert evil laugh here). It is wise to send us an email just so we don’t miss anything. We do not share email address with anyone.
We typically do a podcast every other week. But every now and then we are sneaky and throw in an extra one. We like to record them on Mondays and air them on Thursdays. So if we stick to a normal schedule you will have until May 19th to enter the contest.
]]>We encountered only one bat recently when we walked through the caves at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, and it was dead -- and encased inside a stalagmite! This was inside the Lower Cave, an optional tour that had us Indiana Jones-ing down a slope while hanging on a rope, descending three ladders, and then walking around with headlamps on our helmets. That’s the real way to see a cave! Well, actually the real way to see a cave is in its natural lighting -- total darkness, which we also saw for about 5 minutes.
On our way to Carlsbad, we spent a day in Abilene, TX, where we stumbled upon the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature (NCCIL) and talked to executive director Sarah Mulkey. She told us all about the Center’s mission of exposing the public, and particularly children, to the original artwork of prominent children’s book illustrators. The current exhibition features Gerald McDermott, who illustrated some of the stories that we’ve performed in the past -- and will be performing again.
Happy Listening,
Dennis (Bruce the Bat), Kimberly (Birds & Beasts) and Zephyr (Narrator)
]]>
The camera had to be strapped to the outside of our hand and could not be held or focused when we were on the zipline. But we think it still turned out pretty well. Hope you enjoy the ride!
]]>
This story about a potent tree seemed especially appropriate because we recently got a very good bird’s eye view of some very nice trees, not to mention beautiful Snake Creek (which we just mentioned) at Historic Banning Mills, near Whitesburg, GA. It’s called Historic Banning Mills because historically there were mills here (textile, paper, wood and others), and the ruins still stand. But now there’s a rustic lodge up on the hill overlooking the creek, a serene location for a romantic getaway, a conference, or a wedding. At certain times of the year, the place is also abuzz with all manner of outdoor activities, including hiking, horseback riding, golf, skeet shooting (what did those poor skeets ever do to us?) and kayaking. And there’s a very intriguing-looking ropes course on the grounds -- or rather in the trees. (If you don’t know, a ropes course is a series of physical obstacles that involve climbing, designed to challenge your courage and tenacity and resourcefulness. If you don’t know the ropes when you start, you’ll learn before it’s over.)
Zipping Through the Treetops
But the piece de resistance is what they call the Canopy Tour, a guided walk through the treetops on bridges too narrow even for ballerinas (though Kimberly did a pretty decent impression of one) and even, in some cases, a single cable. But oh yes, we almost forgot. There are also four ziplines, which are cables stretched from trees and/or towers on which the truly daring and/or truly insane soar at speeds up to 60 m.p.h. at altitudes of up to 220 feet. And you don’t even need a pilot’s license. It was the most exhilaratingly terrifying experience we’ve had in ages, and we can’t wait to do it again -- this time with Zephyr, who was off in Massachusetts at the time.
The Inns at Historic Banning Mills, and the Canopy Tour, are family owned and operated, by some right friendly folks. We highly recommend this place. (Note: When you visit their website, we recommend the multimedia tour, which uses an exquisite arrangement of a haunting Civil War-flavored waltz to provide a perfect mood for the slide show.)
Read Across America
In celebration of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday and Read Across America week, we are bringing you this special podcast on a Saturday, even though Thursday is our typical air date. Find out what we are reading as we drive across America. How are you celebrating? You are invited to call in and share what is on your reading list(206) 202-3976.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Jaguar Man and Grandpa), Kimberly (Narrator) and Zephyr (Fernando and Pedro)
Recommended Podcasts: Brazilianisms and RVNavigator
Read a longer version of this story The Sleep Tree
We bring you this story from icy, storm-ravaged Arkansas, where we’re visiting friends and relatives (not necessarily in that order). But we’re recapping some of our adventures in sunny Florida, specifically the two
occasions when we donned snorkels. The first was at Biscayne National Park near Key Biscayne, the only national park that is almost completely underwater. We saw some coral, a few fish, a couple of lobsters (uncooked, of course) and the largest seahorse we’ve ever witnessed.
The second time, we were at Crystal River, where we bathed with a few manatees who, like the humans who marvel at them, vacation in The Sunshine State at this time of year. Having learned our lesson from Key Biscayne, we rented wetsuits along with our kayak. The water was crystal-river clear, and we were able to get within a few feet of
these incredible beasts, who generally stayed quite still on the bottom but occasionally swam right by us. We can understand how sailors might have mistaken them for boulders, but mermaids??
As you may have noticed, this is a bonus podcast, wedged into our biweekly schedule because there’s been just so much material to cover lately!
Happy listening,
Dennis (Hans), Kimberly (Mermaid, Wife, Dog) and Zephyr (Narrator)]]>
We bring it to you from Everglades National Park in Florida, where we took a bicycle tour to snuggle up to those notorious Florida gators in their natural habitat. How many do you suppose we counted on a 15-mile trek on our Treks?
We also spent some time in Homestead, where we caught a Mardi Gras parade in the city’s old town section, a parade that included an outstanding (or outmarching) band and some wild animals -- including an alligator!
And what would a homestead be without an outhouse? Hopefully the outhouses they had in homesteading days stayed stationary, unlike the ones we saw, which were on wheels and used in races. It was the 14th annual chili cook-off and outhouse race (is there a connection there?), and it was quite a memorable event that included some artistically designed and decorated outhouses.
And then there was a truly unique homestead in Homestead, the Coral Castle. It was constructed by Latvian immigrant Edward Leedskalnin from about 1920-1940, though he continued to modify it until his death in 1951. Though Ed was physically very small, he built this imposing complex by himself from granite blocks weighing several tons. Nobody knows exactly how -- one might call it (and many have) the Florida Stonehenge. He certainly was a brilliant technician, and also very good at fashioning tools from scrap metal. you’d be amazed how comfortable it can be to sit on a chair made of coral!
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Herdsman), Kimberly (Narrator & Woman) and Zephyr (Servant, King, Chief’s Son)
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"Saving Spring", a Scandinavian folktale, is one of numerous stories from around the world dealing with the cycle of the seasons -- such as, for example, the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. "Naturally", since this particular tale comes from Scandinavia -- a region that consists of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (sometimes Finland and Iceland are lumped with them as well) -- should revolve around a harsh winter, which is something they get a lot of in those parts.
But we’re not getting it in the parts where we currently are. This podcast was recorded at Port Canaveral, Florida, where the cruise ships leave from and come back to -- including the Disney line and the Carnival Line. We could watch these enormous vessels depart in the afternoon, floating by so close that we could just about touch them with a fishing pole.
Families On The Road
We were there for the third sort-of-annual sort-of-rally of Families on the Road (FOTR), an online community of families who live on the road full-time. And the folks who came to this one truly fit the bill. And there were oodles of them, too -- at least 15 families, making this by far the best-attended event yet of this kind. And we of course made use of as many extra voices as we could round up to be guest stars on this podcast. When you got talent like this, you gotta use ’em!
We crammed about 25 people into one RV to record this episode. Below are some of the families we interviewed (in no particular order):
- The Davis Family (Stephanie and Kayla)
- The Evans Family (Kati, Auvi and Conner)
- The Elliot Family (Sue and Savannah)
- The Whitcomb Family (Tim, Sue, Tyler and Natalie)
- The Miller Family (Lara and Joey)
- The Smythe Family (Deb and Jonathon)
CAST in order of appearance
Announcer ..... Abby Bennett
Narrators ...... Zoe Evans, Dennis Goza, Kimberly Goza, Cindy Whitcomb
Mayor .......... Tim Whitcomb
Oscar ..... Zephyr Goza
Greta ..... Auvi Evans
Wolf ..... Conner Evans
Animals and Crowd .... an RV full of FOTR
Guard #1 and #4 ..... Tyler Whitcomb
Guard #2 ..... Gayle Bennett
Guard #3..... Cindy Whitcomb
Winter ..... Chris Elliot
Spring .... Sue Elliot
Happy Listening!
Dennis, Kimberly & Zephyr
We get some very capable help this time around from Zephyr’s friend Cassia, making another appearance as guest performer. She’s visiting us from Massachusetts, spending five days with us at Fort Wilderness, the Disney campground adjacent to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. She and Zephyr are spending a day exploring each of the four theme parks, and they give us a report on the two they’ve hit so far-- namely, Animal Kingdom and Epcot. (Next on the agenda are Magic Kingdom and Disney Hollywood Studios, formerly known as Disney MGM.)
And this podcast was recorded on National Appreciate a Dragon Day, so if there’s a friendly dragon in your neighborhood, give it a hug for us.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator), Kimberly (Fish/Dragon), Zephyr (Husband) and Cassia (Wife)
Podcast Recommendation: Nina Kimberly The Merciless
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We begin 2008 from Orlando FL., where we spent most of December. We did, however, take a brief jaunt to St. Augustine, the oldest city in America, and home of Castillo de San Marcos, a 300-year-old fort. (It’s not 400 years old, as we mistakenly state in the podcast, but the city itself is OVER 400 years old.)
Back in Orlando, Zephyr made a couple of pilgrimages to Universal Orlando, where he made observations and took notes to assist him in his own theme park planning ambitions. You can hear some of his feedback about the park on this podcast.
We wish you the happiest of new years all year long and then some!
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, King), Kimberly (Princess) and Zephyr (Frog Prince)
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It’s our holiday podcast from Orlando, Florida, where the weather hasn’t been exactly North Pole-ish lately, so we decided to seek chillier climes on the inside. Namely, at "Ice" the special exhibit of magnificent ice sculptures on display at the Gaylord Palms Hotel Convention Center through Jan. 3. This exhibit is now in its fourth consecutive year (at holiday time, only, of course) and is carved from 400-lb. blocks of ice -- some frozen quickly to give it a milky hue, some frozen slowly to make it clear, and some colored with food dye and sculpted into delectable shapes to make Hansel and Gretel salivate. There are deer, there are polar bears, there’s a train, there’s Santa’s sleigh, and of course the obligatory nativity scene. All of it kept at a refreshing 9 degrees Fahrenheit. But we were issued parkas to keep us not quite frozen solid. One of the most fun things about the exhibit is a big slide that kids of all ages can slide down -- and like everything else in the place, it’s constructed entirely of ice.
The sculptures are created every year by artisans (a fancy word for wizards, it appears) brought over from China, where such ice festivals are a really big deal -- and have been since at least 400 years ago, when the tradition began with lanterns made of ice in Harbin.
And, in keeping with the holiday spirit of charitable giving, part of the proceeds from this event go to Give Kids the World Village, a resort for kids afflicted with life-threatening illness.
May you have a Cheery Christmas, a Happy Hannukah, a Quality Kwanzaa, a Cool Yule, a Fabulous First, and an all-around unforgettable 2008!
Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Oak Tree, Old Man winter), Kimberly (Bird, Fir Tree) and Zephyr (Birch Tree, Jack Frost)
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Harris was born in 1848 in Eatonton, GA., which we just happened to pass through on a Sunday morning in December, so we couldn’t pass up the Uncle Remus Museum, with its statue of Brother Rabbit ("Br’er" Rabbit) in the yard. The museum, which features mementos from the life, times and work of Harris, is housed in a building comprised of two former slave cabins joined together. (You can see the seams on the sides.) It’s on the property once occupied by the family of Joseph Sidney Turner, the "Little Boy" in the "Tales of Uncle Remus".
We also dropped in at the Laurel and Hardy Museum in the hometown of Norvell "Oliver" Hardy, Harlem, GA. This town is so proud of its celebrated native son that the water tower sports a picture of him and his skinny partner, Stanley Jefferson -- who gave himself the shorter name of Stan Laurel so it would fit on signs better. This pair of comedy titans made over 100 films together of varying lengths over a period of about 30 years, and were also the best of friends. And they had a major influence on virtually every comic performer to come afterward -- including, no doubt, us.
Happy listening,
Dennis (Narrator and Fox), Kimberly (Rabbit) and Zephyr (Jack Sparrow, natch)]]>
Several years before the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by settlers in Massachusetts, another group of rugged immigrants established the first English colony in the new world by the James River in Virginia, a settlement near present-day Williamsburg that came to be known as Jamestown. Since 1957, Jamestown Settlement has provided visitors a colorful glimpse into the beginnings of our nation. The site features not only an extensive indoor museum, but also replicas of Fort James, the Powhatan Indian Village, and the three ships on which the colonists arrived. Hands-on activities include opportunities to "steer" one of the ships, and to help dig out a dugout canoe, which the Native Americans fashioned from logs with the aid of fire.
If you come here before April 2008, you can view a major, one-time, yearlong showcase called "The World of 1607". To commemorate the colony’s 400th birthday, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation sent word to other nations that they were seeking artifacts from that time frame for a special exhibit. They expected SOME response, but they were absolutely SWAMPED with items from all over -- too many to exhibit at once, so they were divided into four parcels, to be displayed in rotation. It’s amazing to think that while John Smith was struggling to get a new country started, Shakespeare was in his prime.
The Settlement portrays the experiences and contributions of three cultures: the English, the Native American, and the African. Slaves on a ship bound for Central America were seized by British privateers (a fancy word for pirates with a permit) and redirected to Virginia, where their forced labor helped the new civilization survive and thrive. Their chapter in the story is often given scant notice in the history books, so it’s especially welcome to see so much coverage of it here.
We do hear a great deal about the Native Americans, of course, but what we hear is often wrong. The chief of the Powhatan Indians was not named Powhatan (accent on the first syllable, if you please); that’s just what the settlers called him, after the tribe itself. And that romance between John Smith and Pocahontas? Forgeddaboutit! (What? You mean Disney got some things wrong??) Actually, when John Smith arrived, Pocahontas was only 8 years old. We also asked our guide (and they have many knowledgeable guides here, many in period costume) about the legend of Pocahontas saving him from execution at the last minute. Wasn’t that really a staged initiation stunt or some such? Well perhaps, he said. But note that John Smith (yes, that was his real name) traveled to several countries, and kept lengthy journals; and it seems that just about everywhere he went, he reported that some princess had saved his life. Hmmm... Looks like he may have been a fellow spinner of folktales himself.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (old man), Kimberly (old woman) and Zephyr (narrator) assisted by various beasts
It was a fairly busy time for our business, so we went to a number of schools; but one of the more memorable schools was a red one-room schoolhouse that only tourists enter these days. Its most famous visitor ever was not a person but an animal -- specifically a lamb. And the lamb’s owner was a little girl named Mary. No, we’re not kidding -- that little poem, one of the most famous in the world, was inspired by a true incident, and not even names were changed to protect the silly. This schoolhouse, built in 1792, was once attended by young Mary Sawyer, who secretly brought her pet lamb to school and hid it under her desk. Just how you’d keep that a secret is beyond us, but it definitely depends a great deal on the silence of the lamb. And this one didn’t cooperate for long -- when Mary went to the head of the class to recite something, the lamb stopped being sheepish and made so much noise that Mary was no longer able to pull the wool over the teacher’s eyes. The rest of the class was delighted, including John Roulstone, who was visiting from another community. Later, he scribbled down the first few lines of the soon-to-be-famous verses and handed them to Mary. In 1877, the little snatch of doggerel (sheeperel?) would provide the first words ever recorded on a phonograph -- recited by none other than Thomas Edison himself.
The schoolhouse, which is open for tours during the summer (we just missed the season, but we were able to to peer into the window at its period furnishings) originally stood in the nearby town of Sterling. No, it didn’t crawl or slide to Sudbury; it was moved in 1923 by none other than Henry Ford to its present location, a very fitting neighborhood for popular lines of poetry. Such as "I shot an arrow into the air./ It fell to earth I know not where." Or "Beneath a spreading chestnut tree/ The village smithy stands." Or "into each life some rain must fall". Or "ships that pass in the night". Or "I heard the bells on Christmas Day". Or "This is the forest primeval." Or "Listen my children, and you shall hear/ Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere." All of these are from poems written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), who had a strong association with another building just a few yards from Mary’s lamb’s schoolhouse.
It’s the Wayside Inn, which Longfellow immortalized in his collection of narrative poems entitled "Tales of a Wayside Inn" (1863), including the celebrated verse version of Paul Revere’s less than stellar ride, which Longfellow Hollywoodized into an epic achievement. The inn has been in operation since 1716, making it reputedly the oldest operating inn in the country. Many of the rooms have been preserved as they might have appeared nearly 3 centuries ago. Well mostly, restored is probably a better word than preserved, since the property was heavily damaged by a fire in 1955, revealing for the first time in ages a stairway that had been sealed off, and is now open to public viewing.
From Sudbury, we headed to Salem for Halloween, hoping to land jobs at a haunted attraction as we did two years ago, and we scored. Zephyr was in hog heaven doing a Capt. Jack Sparrow impersonation. As always, we camped at Winter Island, the former Coast Guard Station that has been converted into a public park and campground.
And before Libby abandoned us to head home to California, we took a train excursion to the Big Apple to catch a Broadway show. And then our "daughter" left the nest, and we’re back to "normal", if that word ever applies.
Happy Listening, Dennis, Kimberly, Zephyr & Libby
]]>We come to you from Pennsylvania, with our special guest star Libby, Zephyr’s friend from the San Francisco Bay Area. A glutton for punishment, she’s spending the entire month of October touring with us, to get a taste of the glamorous life.
Amish Farm and House
We report on our visit to the Amish Farm and homestead in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a preserved two-story dwelling open for public tours. In the heart of a busy shopping and tourist district, the Amish attraction sits right smack next to a Target store. But step inside, and you quickly forget that you’re in the Twenty-First Century. A knowledgeable guide explains the facts of the Amish lifestyle and answers your questions -- and there were some interesting questions from our inquisitive tour group. The 15-acre farm, which was opened for public tours in 1955, features a stone farmhouse built in 1803 and a one-room schoolhouse opened for tours last year.
Field of Screams
But the reason we were in Lancaster to begin with was so Zephyr and Libby could "work" (i.e. volunteer) at Field of Screams, which many consider the premiere haunted attraction in the country. (If you build it, they will scream.) Every October, this place comes alive with the sounds of ghouls and goblins and patrons getting their wits scared out of them. The complex features two haunted houses, a haunted hayride, and a special "Little Screamers" section for the younger ones. And it is, we can attest, an extremely popular place.
Happy Listening,
Dennis (narrator), Kimberly (wife), Zephyr (husband) and Libby (sparrow)
]]>This week, we bring you our wacky version of the tale we call "Niagara", which is perhaps the best-known account of how this majestic landmark came to be. It’s certainly more poetic than the scientific version of a huge glacier trucking through 10,000 years ago, and it also features an important theme about the hazards of greed and the importance of revering nature. Niagara apparently comes from a Seneca word, but nobody’s certain which word or exactly what the name means -- our favorite version is "thundering water". Originally located about 7 miles north, near Lewiston, NY and Queensland, Ontario, Niagara Falls moved southward to its present location over the years due to erosion. (Yes, you read that right: these waterfalls are nomadic, just like us!) There are three waterfalls in all, although the smallest one, Bridal Veil, is the Cinderalla of the group, tucked behind an island where most people don’t even see it. There’s Horseshoe Falls, which is 173 feet high and 2600 feet wide, and American Falls, which is 70 feet tall and about 1100 feet wide. (American Falls was taller until 1954, when a massive rockslide deposited some enormous boulders at its base. Hmmm... it was sort of like the Native American story.) Fed by the 35-mile long Niagara River -- one of the few rivers on this continent to flow north -- Niagara Falls drops 100,000 cubic feet of water per second over the cliffs in peak season. We reminisce about our past visits to this splendid sight, including our first time during a very harsh winter, when the falls were surrounded by ice and snow.
Maid of the Mist
And we talk about our excursion this time on a Maid of the Mist boat, one of the vessels that have been taking tourists out to the bottom of Horseshoe Falls since 1846. In 1960, one of these boats rescued a 7-year-old boy who was swept over the falls, the first person ever to survive such a fall without protective gear. Other foolhardy folk have made the plunge over the years in barrels, and some have survived -- one 63-year-old woman did so in 1901. One man survived the feat, spent 6 months in the hospital recovering, and later died from injuries sustained when he slipped on an orange peel in the street. On this podcast, we also discuss Zephyr’s latest jaunt to North Carolina to perform with his band; and how in his absence mom and dad took a bicycle ride to Canada.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Water Spirit); Kimberly (Girl) and Zephyr (Old Man)
Podshow PDN {podshow-8b43d004c51befb0130f707c57757718} ]]>
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Johnny the seedy), Kimberly (Mom) and Zephyr (boy and snake) ]]>
But we got a look at an even more impressive tower, which affords an even more impressive view: Pilgrim Monument, the 252-ft. monolith in Provincetown, right on the tip of the Cape. The tower commemorates the arrival of the Pilgrims in November 1620, when they hammered out the groundbreaking Mayflower Compact. The cornerstone was laid in 1907 by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt for this controversially designed structure modeled after the Torre del Mangia in Siena, Italy, and construction was completed in 1910.
We biked to Provincetown from Nickerson State Park, a distance of about 35 miles, and stayed at a campground just outside town in our teeny tiny tents. Then we used our bikes to explore this colorful little seaside resort with lots of historic buildings, the largest percentage of Portuguese population in the country, and also the largest percentage gay population. Although the year-round census is only 3500, it explodes to 50,000 during the summer.
There are three resident theatres in this town that was once the home of playwrights Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neil, as well as novelist Norman Mailer.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Chief), Kimberly (princess) and Zephyr ("Hulk")
]]>We chose this story in part because Zephyr came back to us with streaks of red in his hair â from Not Back to School Camp in Oregon. He attended a weeklong session there at the end of last summer as well, and had a great time and met some great new friends that heâs been in touch with since then. Not Back to School Camp is an opportunity for homeschooled teenagers from across the country to get together and exchange experiences, talents, creative projects and annoying habits. Thereâs even a prom just like a regular school (Not. Well, there is really a prom, but we can’t vouch for the rest.)
While he was away, mom and dad caught a ferry from Cape Cod to Marthaâs Vineyard, an island about 20 miles offshore thatâs long been a favorite vacation resort for politicians (including, of course, the Kennedys) and other celebrities. In the seventies, MV residents started a petition to have the island become our 51st state â but as of now, itâs still officially part of Massachusetts.
We spent two days biking around the island, and stayed at a campground with our tiny tent. (There was nothing tiny about the camping rates, nor anything else on the island.) In the town of Oak Bluffs, we saw the Flying Horses, the oldest continuously operating carousel in the U.S., having been built in 1876. And we thought WEâD been going around in circles for a long time!
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator), Kimberly (Hen) and Zephyr (Goose, Duck, Lamb)
We recorded this story with guest stars Joey (age 13) and Jenny (age 11), who are our nephew and niece respectively; and Ellie (age undetermined) whoâs our âadopted daughterâ?.
We were in Sacramento for our second cross-country flight in less than a month, this time for the Homeschool Association of California Conference.
And what a great conference it was! We presented a well-attended performance in addition to workshops on writing, sign language, physical comedy, mask making and reflections on our 15-year odyssey across America. Our programs were met with enthusiastic response, and we also had a good time attending other presentations. There were a fire twirling demonstration, a rocketry demonstration (you know how cool kids think it is to see things blow up), a skygazing session with large telescopes set up in the courtyard, a swing dance class, a dance for the teens, and a jam session for aspiring musicians, among other activities. We very much hope to return next year!
Our apologies to Libby, Hannah, Melia, and Molly, who did some great work on the FIRST version of this podcast, which we recorded with them before they all left the conference. And then, due to technical difficultiesâ
Happy Listening,
Dennis (the Hip Hippo) and Kimberly (the Narrator) with Ellie (Tortoise), Joey (Monkey) and Jenny (Hippolyta)
]]>But rather than just tell what happens from beginning to end, we start after the big blunder and do some detective work to piece together what happened. Yes it’s "CSI Bombay", our retelling of the story modeled after the hit TV series "CSI Las Vegas", which Zephyr is obsessed with these days. (CSI stands for "Crime Scene Investigation").
We’re coming to you from Nickerson State Park out on Cape Cod, where we’re taking advantage of one of our favorite biking trails. The campground has rebuilt and regrouped after the disastrous fire that destroyed the historic headquarters building the last time we stayed here.
We just left the historic city of Salem, where we had a return engagement at the library. But we’ve enjoyed many other visits to this colorful town as well, a town where history seems to seep out of every crack in the pavement and clapboards.
The city is best known for something that actually happened a few miles up the road: the infamous witch trials of 1692 actually took place in Salem Village, or what is now Danvers. Nonetheless, it is the city of Salem that has become associated with the ugly episode in the public ,mind, and Salem has returned the favor by erecting a monument to the victims, and by establishing many tourist attractions commemorating the tragic events.
We have the fondest memories of being in town two years ago for Halloween (a holiday for which this town pulls out all the stops); and thanks to Zephyr’s passion for "haunted house" attractions, all three of us were hired by Witch Village to help handle the onslaught of revelers. Zephyr scared the wits out of people in a "haunted house". Kimberly helped hold down the fort at the information booth. And Dennis escorted candlelight ghost walks, exploring some of the reputedly REAL haunts of Salem. When work was done well after midnight, we’d hop on our bicycles and ride to our campground on Winter Island -- in the snow one night!
It doesn’t take a forensic investigation to realize that delving into the mysteries of Salem’s past can be a very memorable experience.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Investigator), Kimberly (Queen and Darwin), and Zephyr (Investigator)
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Mystic Seaport has a number of exhibits related to ships and whaling, including a small craft display and an impressive collection of figureheads. And there are a number of activities especially suitable for younger kids, such as rope making. A troupe of three performers also presents the story of Charlotte Brown Haley at various times throughout the day.
Our version of the story is performed with two guest stars who are friends of Zephyr’s: Cassia (who also assisted us two weeks ago) and Daniel, the drummer in Zephyr’s band who has a mean falsetto.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Captain), Kimberly (Narrator), Zephyr (Jack), Cassia (Mom) and Daniel (Charlotte)
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We come to you from the San Francisco Bay Area town of Walnut Creek. Yep, that’s in California. We flew out from Providence for the weekend just to perform three times at the inaugural Chevron Family Theatre Festival at the magnificent Dean Lesher Center. The event was a great success, with sold out houses. We enjoy our shows in libraries and school cafeterias, but it was refreshing to perform again in a real theatre with a lighting technician and the works.
Our stage manager for the event was Zephyr’s friend Libby, who is our guest voice on this week’s podcast. And now we’re back on the East Coast until our next cross-country flight -- two weeks from now for the 17th Annual HSC Homeschool=Education Conference in Sacramento Aug 16-19.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (narrator and biggest baddest goat), Kimberly (middle and none-too-bright goat), Libby (little goatlet in the gauntlet) and Zephyr (troublesome troll whose goat gets got)]]>
We chose this tale mainly because of Cerberus, the three-headed dog. What does this have to do with anything? Well, the three headed dog appears in one of the Harry Potter books -- only he’s given the name Fluffy. And this isn’t the only bit of folklore and mythology that J.K. Rowling borrows. There’s the phoenix, the fabulous bird that is reborn out of its own ashes; the hippogriff, which is similar to the griffin, which she also uses. And in the story of Orpheus, as in Harry Potter and many other stories, the serpent is used as a symbol of evil.
So what does this have to do with anything? As if you didn’t know, this past week marked the release of the seventh and final book in the series. And we, of course, were in line at midnight to buy our copy like millions of other folks.
Were you surprised when you found out in an earlier book that Remus Lupin was a werewolf? Well, you wouldn’t have been if you’d been as familiar with Latin as Rowling is. The name provides two very strong clues: "Lupin" is from the Latin word lupus meaning wolf (if something is wolf-like, it is said to be lupine) and Remus was the brother of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. According to legend, the two boys were raised by ... wolves! (This also inspired the story of Tarzan.) In this episode, we discuss these Latin clues, as well as some of the other mythology in Harry Potter.
Our special guest this week is Zephyr’s friend Cassia from Massachusetts; she spent a couple of days living with us and got a first-hand look at the glamorous life of a touring actor.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Orpheus), Kimberly (narrator and Cerberus head), Zephyr (Charon, Hades and Cerberus head) and Cassia (Eurydice and Cerberus head)
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The Dutch are also famous for chocolate, so what better time to do a Dutch story than when we’re in the chocolate capital of the world -- Hershey, PA. Especially since it’s in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. True, the Pennsylvania Dutch are not really Dutch for the most part; they are descendants of settlers who came to the area primarily from Germany. (The German word for German is Deutsch, pronounced "doitch", which sounds like Dutch.)
Hershey is named for Milton Hershey, the king of chocolate, who was born in the area in 1859, and after many years of hard work, developed his chocolate-making process, established his factory, and built up an entire community around it. The factory is still here, of course, pumping out the enticing aroma of coacoa all around. So is Hershey Park, which he also developed, although it has grown into an amusement park with some of the most thrilling rides around. (We’re especially fond of the coaster called Great Bear.) And there’s a visitors’ center called Chocolate World, which offers a Disneyesque ride through a simulation of the factory, except with singing dairy cows.
Mr. and Mrs. Hershey used their vast fortune to improve the lives of the less fortunate, and they were especially dedicated to assisting disadvantage children. To that end, they established Hershey School, which occupies 10,000 acres and currently has a student body of 1100. We performed at the school 15 years ago in the luxurious and cavernous Founders Hall, and we were astounded by the facilities and the type of care the students were provided.
Happy Listening,
Dennis (elf), Kimberly (elf) and Zephyr (Styff)
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We come to you from Maryland, after the three of us have been reunited in Washington, DC. Zephyr tells us about his latest weeklong getaway to North Carolina to work with his band. And Kimberly and Dennis finish the account of their leg-thrashing bicycle tour from Pittsburgh to DC, including a stopover in Harpers Ferry, WV, where John Brown staged his famous raid in 1859, an event that may have sparked the Civil War. It was Kimberly who concluded the trek in Washington DC, at the end of the canal where there’s a gate that was formerly used to let the water through. Nowadays, it’s near a luxury apartment/office complex called... well, you know.
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr (the entire cast of Star Wars)
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There’s also one
Today, the canal, is a national park, and it’s paralleled by
a bicycle path 184 miles long that we’ve been wanting to trek on out Treks for
a long time. With a week off during our busy summer schedule (because of,
appropriately, the Fourth of July) and with Zephyr off in North Carolina again,
Dennis and Kimberly decided this was the time to do it, even though it means we
have to alternate days, and thus each only do half the route, son one person
can drive the RV along too.
But wait! We didn’t have to settle for just one trail. We
discovered another one in
Happy Listening,
Dennis (John) and Kimberly (the Foreman) Goza
We discuss two places that demonstrate how wishes can come true, especially for smaller children: the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and COSI, the science museum in Columbus, Ohio. We drove through both of these cities this past week on our way to Pennsylvania, and we’ve spent a good many hours in both museums, particularly when Zephyr was younger.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is a four-floor affair, and has been called the largest children’s museum in the world. Every Halloween, the museum mounts an imaginative haunted house, built around a different theme every year. This is where Zephyr got bitten by the haunted house bug (or was it a vampire?) at age 9.
COSI, on the site of the old Columbus High School (the front facade of which is still preserved) is one of the biggest and best science museums in the country. But we liked it even better back when it featured "Adventure into the Unknown", the archeology-inspired (think Indiana Jones) interactive exhibit that sent kids and kids at heart scampering to uncover clues, solve riddles, and find the ultimate treasure -- which turned out to be some very useful advice on the art of problem-solving. It was all done in a very detailed, moodily lighted, inspiring atmosphere. Oh, why are we telling you all this when you can’t go attend it anymore? Well, maybe you could pressure the museum to bring it back.
And this, by the way, is our 50th podcast! Phew!
Happy Listening,
Dennis (axe swinger), Kimberly (sausage woman) and Zephyr (Narrator, elf) Goza
P.S. We recommend another podcast favorite of ours "123 Listen to Me" produced by family from South Africa.]]>
This week we saw a sneak peek for a film that we just had to talk about.
"Sicko" by Michael Moore opens nationwide June 29th.
We hope you enjoy our review. Please check back on Thursday for the regular episodes of Activated Stories.
D, K and Z Goza
]]>This week, we come to you from the heart of the bustling resort town of Hot Springs, Arkansas. (Technically, it’s called Hot Springs National Park -- the entire city of 35,000 residents plus hordes of tourists is a national park!) We recorded next to the Visitors’ Center, beside one of the many fountains where you can fill up jugs with 143 degree mineral water that’s been brewing for 4000 years before spouting from the 47 springs around here. We were right there on "Bathhouse Row" which at one time sported several trendy bath houses and health spas that were frequented by such notable visitors as Al Capone. Today, these structures are preserved as historic buildings, but only one remains in operation as a bath house-- although other bath houses can be found at some of the hotels in town. We mourn the Libbey Memorial Physical Club, the truly unique establishment we luxuriated in on out last trip here. Nothing else like it in Hot Springs or anywhere. (Read about our previous visit to the Bath House)
At our performance at the Garland County Library, we met another boy named Zephyr! Moreover, his parents are performers too. That night, we watched their hilarious oom-pah rendition of various American pop songs and originals at the Brauhaus German restaurant. Zach and Cheryl, who moved here from Seattle, call themselves The Itinerant Locals, and they have quite a memorable sound!
After Hot Springs, we wrapped up our tour of Arkansas with an experience that can be duplicated nownere else in the world: we went digging for diamonds in the diamond fields near Murfreesboro. We didn’t find any of the precious gems (an average of about 2 per day are found there - infact a big one was found by a 13 year old not too long ago) but we had a great time playing in the mud!
Happy Listening,
Dennis (the Spark), Kimberly (the Water) and Zephyr (Half-A-Chick) Goza
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The Dillard Family is quite a presence in this region, and the Dillard name crops up everywhere. And it’s been that way at least since the 1920’s, when two Dillard Brothers opened up the now-defunct Dillard’s Ferry, the site of which was the endpoint of our excursion. It was a 10.5 mile jaunt, which took us about 5 hours, a gallon of water and several ounces of sunscreen. And we figured 5 hours was just barely enough to get into the "zen" of the experience. How we envied the scout troop we encountered who were spending an entire week on the river!
Our story this week is "The Greedy Brothers" from India, a fable about family relations and the wisdom of fathers - just in time for Father’s Day!
Happy Listening,
Dennis (Father), Kimberly (brother) and Zephyr (Napoleon Dynamite brother) Goza
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The Dutton Family
One family business we encountered this week was the Dutton Family operation in Branson, MO. When you think Branson, you probably think country music, and if so you’d be partially correct, but certainly not entirely. There are plenty of hillbilly song and comedy revues in town, but there are also many other types of entertainment as well. This little city of about 6000 people also features a Ripley’s museum (What tourist town doesn’t?) and an extensive exhibit of Titanic artifacts housed in their own building-- a reduced scale, half-segment ship-shaped (and presumably ship-shape) building colliding with an ersatz iceberg. There’s a troupe of Chinese acrobats appearing in town, and at the Dutton show we attended, there was a preview of a Samoan fire-dancing performance.
Even the musical acts themselves are richly varied. There’s a rock’n’roll revue, a Beatles tribute, and one of the countless knock-offs of "Riverdance". Many famous singers have opened their own theatres here, including Bobby Vinton (Oh, how Kimberly’s late grandma adored Bobby, a fellow Pole) and Andy Williams -- yep, he’s still kicking, and his Moon River Theatre, it appears, is still full and flowing.
Which brings us back to the Duttons. We went to their show expecting essentially bluegrass or something along those lines, but we were very pleasantly surprised. There was some country music, of course (it’s hard to leave it out in Branson) but the songs they performed were classics like "Wabash Cannonball", rather than the over-commercialized ear candy that often passes for country these days. We were also delighted by their rendition of the tongue-twisting Hank Snow staple "I’ve Been Everywhere", which very well could be our theme song. But the program also included classical music (which actually is what they cut their teeth on), pop, ethnic, a touching tribute to veterans, and even Broadway, including a suite from "Mary Poppins" with rather elaborate set and costumes. Toss in some jaw-dropping razzle-dazzle musicianship (it seems to be in their genes to be able to play just about any instrument behind their backs) and some side-splitting humor, and you have a show guaranteed to please even Oscar the Grouch.
And the theatre isn’t the only thing the Duttons (all three generations of them) have going for themselves; their inn is right behind the theatre, and their cafe is right next door. Oh yes, and if you appreciate homemade fudge, you’ve found paradise.
Happy Listening,
Dennis (Larry), Kimberly (Curly) and Zephyr (Moe)
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We recount not only our experiences with many significant Civil War sites over the years, but also our recent visit to Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa. This complex sprawling over many acres features both indoor and outdoor exhibits and demonstrations, including an Ioway Indian Farm from around 1700; an 1850 settlers’ homestead; a farmhouse from 1900; a farming museum; and an entire recreated village from around 1875. The latter includes an elaborately detailed bank, newspaper office, milliner’s shop, and other businesses. And since we were visiting the facility on Memorial Day, we also witnessed a procession down the center of town to the cemetery, where a ceremony was held honoring veterans in general and particularly those of the Civil War. And this was followed by a baseball game, played with rules and uniforms from a bygone era when there were no gloves, no multimillion dollar contracts, no unsportsmanlike behavior, and no bloated egos.
Strolling about Living History Farms (well, you’re transported part of the time by a dusty tractor-drawn trolley), you get to ask questions of guides in period costume, and see how our ancestors lived up close. You can see their tools, their livestock, their buildings, and when we were there we had plenty of opportunities to witness how lunch was cooked on an open fire by various pioneers from several different eras. Zephyr even had a chance to help out on the farm, dumping a bucket of corn into a one-horse-power grinder. Somehow, we don’t think he was persuaded to make a career of it.
And speaking of Zephyr, he figures prominently in another tale we spin this week. And this one, unfortunately, is quite true. Or perhaps fortunately, since it ended well--namely with everyone getting a good laugh.
Happy Listening
Dennis (Narrator, General Lyon), Kimberly (Mother, soldier) and Zephyr (Drummer Boy, rest stop attendant)
P.S. We found another podcast by another family you might enjoy "Dancing with Elephants"
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Well, for this podcast, we are fortunate enough to have another very talented youngster fill the role: Devon Wood, a 10-year-old Iowan whom we met last year when we did a residency at her school. She and her mother and aunt drove many miles to see us perform this week at a school in Altoona, Iowa. We wanted so much to use Devon’s talents on our podcast that we recorded it ahead of schedule, before we’d even outlined a script. No problem: she can improvise with the best of us, and everything you hear her say just came off the top of her head.
Bicycling Capital
We also discuss our recent visit to Sparta, Wisconsin, which bills itself the Bicycling Capital of America. In addition to being the home of the world’s largest bicycle, the town is the site of the intriguing Deke Slayton Memorial Space and Bike Museum. Space and bicycles in the same facility?? Hey, why not. Weren’t Wilbur and Orville bicycle mechanics?
Deke Slayton, one of the Mercury 7 astronauts, grew up in Sparta and attended Sparta High School. Alongside memorabilia of his distingusihed career, you can view some really incredible speicmens of bicycle design from the entire history of the critter, including some about which very little is known. See an ice skating bike with a blade insted of a front wheel, a lawnmower bike with mower blades up front (the Huffy), a velocipede, a Draisine, and other contraptions too numerous to mention. (And this is only half the museum’s collection--the others are in storage!)
Oh yes, and there’s a delightfully dreadful bike safety film from 1963 called "One Got Fat", which has kids riding bikes wearing hokey monkey masks and tails, and meeting their demise one by one when they ignore various safety rules. (The tenth rider in the group, the only human, follows the rules and survives, and is therefore able to gorge on the lunches of everyone else--thus the title.) It’s amazing to think this film - narrated by the superannuated Edward Everett Horton, who among other things narrated the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons - was actually shown to school students, some of whom it may have traumatized for life. But as a kitschy relic, it alone is worth a visit to the museum.
And we mustn’t forget the gift shop, in which you can purchase bicycle-shaped pasta. How could we possibly pass that up!
Happy Listening!
Dennis (the narrator), Kimberly (Marfa) and Zephyr (Vasili) Goza
with Devon Wood as the Snow Maiden
P.S. You can now find us at Odeo (odeo/24cd4db7aea23f13)
]]>Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Dells is officially the water park capital of the world, and we took advantage of one of the indoor water parks, as those outdoors are not yet open for the season. We also played a couple of rounds at some of the town’s numerous miniature golf courses.
We visited the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory, a hands-on science museum that features one of three editions of Mir, the Russian space station that stayed in orbit above the earth for 10 years. The one housed here is one of two still in existence, and you can actually go aboard it! Nearby is the arena for the Tommy Bartlett Show, a spectacular 90-minute stunt production that features boats and water skiing.
No visit to Wisconsin Dells would be complete wihtout a tour of Wizard Quest, a unique indoor theme park/ scavenger hunt that challenges your wits and powers of observation. You have 90 minutes to free 4 virtual wizards (The wind wizard is called Zephyr--how cool is that) by solving riddles--the answers are cleverly concealed in the exhibits. Fun for all ages as you discover secret passages and compartments, slide down chutes and wrack your brains.
Come Play IN the Folktales!
Take a ride on logging trucks working at Paul Bunyan’s new lumber mill. One adventure will take you on a journey with a young girl and her friend the Water Spirit. But beware! Evil forces are at work, and you’re stuck between the ultimate battle of good and evil! Will you survive when the battle sends you over the edge of a 121-foot drop to the frigid waters below?
Act!vated Story Park is free to download and play with RollerCoaster Tycoon 2.
Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator and 2nd Son), Kimberly (3rd Daughter and Princess), and Zephyr Goza (Simpleton "Kirk")
And our special guest stars the Krucks Family: Tim (Old Man, Farmer and Parson), Pam (1st Daughter), Cody (1st Son and King) and Sarah (2nd Daughter)
Haunted Attraction Convention
HauntCon is the annual convention and tradeshow for the haunted attraction industry, of which Zephyr is an enthusiastic accomplice. He’s worked at a number of noted (or notorious) haunted houses, even dragging mom and dad into the act a couple of years ago in Salem, MA; he also designs his own haunts, of course.
This event featured an exhibition of the latest props and gizmos, movie screenings, seminars and a costume ball that featured vampires, ghouls and demons milling about in the hotel lobby among the (hopefully) amused business travelers. Zephyr also participated in a tour of the world’s largest (and possibly other kinds of -est) haunted house, the four-story Erebus in Pontiac.
Happy Listening,
Dennis (the rich man), Kimberly (Agnatha) and Zephyr (Theocles)
]]>We bring it to you from Chicago, where we’ve been holed up for the entire month of April--well, except for Kimberly, who’s spent the past week visiting her parents and grandmother in Nevada. This is the first podcast that Dennis and Zephyr have done on their own.
Why did we choose this particular story? Well, if we must have a reason, let’s say we did it because Rabelais gave us the word "gargantuan", and that describes the Sears Tower in Chicago, which we visited this past week. It’s the tallest building in North America, and for 25 years it was the tallest in the entire world. The 110-story titan stands 1450 feet tall, with the antennae on top adding another 275 feet for a total of 1725. The structure is actually a cluster of nine towers of various heights, with only two going the distance (The base is laid out like a tic-tac-toe board!) One of the designers allegedly illustrated the concept to a colleague by pulling cigarettes out of a pack at different lengths. And you thought those things were utterly worthless!
We also saw another famous tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Well, not exactly. We saw its twin, the Leaning Tower of Niles. Well, okay, so it’s only a half-size twin. It still is a close enough copy to save us airfare to Italy. Standing 94 feet tall with a tilt of 7 feet off center (as opposed to the original’s 177-ft. height and 15 and a half ft. tilt), the Leaning Tower of Niles was completed in 1934, only 700 years after its famous lookalike.
And we visited another building in Chicago, the Old Post Office. Normally, there’s not much interesting about it, but this week it was the location for the shooting of a scene from the new Batman movie. We didn’t arrive in time to to see any filming, but we were able to get a glimpse of the set, which represented Gotham National Bank.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator and Sniffer), Zephyr (Baker and Judge) and Kimberly (mime)
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It happened in the Sixteenth Century in Rome, when Pope Sixtus the Fifth decided to have an enormous obelisk moved to a new location in St. Peter’s Square, under the direction of architect Domenico Fontana. A worker named Bresca di Bordighera exhibited a great deal of courage and perhaps saved many lives. His descendants are still honored today.
We learned of this story while visiting Fermilab in Batavia, Ill., just outside Chicago. Founded in 1967, Fermilab (named after Nobel Prize winning Italian physicist Enrico Fermi) is a huge research complex dedicated to studying the composition of matter with the aid of "particle accelerators", which smash subatomic particles so scientists can get a look at their innards.
Fermilab occupies 10 square miles formerly occupied by farms, and by the defunct village of Weston. Some of the barns and other buildings have been preserved to use for storage and social events.
Also in Chicagoland, we visited Ahlgrim Acres, a funeral home in Palatine. Wait a minute? Why on earth would we go to a funeral home? Why, to play miniature golf, of course. No joking; for the past 42 years, the basement of this establishment has featured a 9-hole miniature golf course, as well as shuffleboard, ping pong, pinball and other amusements. All open to the public, free of charge! And it’s a very challenging and fun golf course, designed in a haunted house motif, complete with spooky sound effects.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Domenico Fontana), Zephyr (Bresca) and Pope Kimberly the First and Last.
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According to tradition, Pele is accompanied by a white dog, which she sends out to warn people that Mauna Loa is about to erupt. Supposedly, rangers spotted such a dog before the eruption of 1959, but were unable to locate it afterward. (No word on anyone seeing the canine before the volcano’s most recent eruption in 1984.)
It’s been said that anyone removing volcanic rock from Mauna Loa (a violation of law) will be cursed with bad luck. This is one reason we thought the tale of Pele would be suitable for Earth Day, an event designed to remind us that we all must respect nature or bring misfortune upon ourselves.
The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, and was the result of years of effort, spearheaded by Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who first proposed the idea in 1962, getting a favorable response from President Kennedy. While the first year’s event was observed by 20 million people, it is now observed each year by about 500 million worldwide. The date, April 22, may have been chosen in part because it is the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day.
The legend about lava theft from Mauna Loa, rather than being an ancient tradition, is actually of modern origin: it appears to have been invented by a park ranger. Which is appropriate, since we’re also commemorating National Park Week (April 16-22). Accordingly, we discuss some of our favorite national parks and some of the memorable experiences we’ve had exploring them.
Happy Listening,
Dennis "Namakao", Kimberly "Pele" and Zephyr "Kamohoali’i"
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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.
D.E.A.R.
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.
Happy Listening,Dennis (father), Kimberly (Beauty) and Zephyr (the Beast)
]]>Bicycling through 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
]]>Winston-Salem
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
]]>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!)
Tappin the Land Turtle
"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.
Hiding from Tornadoes in Alabama
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.
George Washington Carver Trivia
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.
Pied Piper of Hamelin
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
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).
Share Your Ideas
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
]]>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
]]>Happy Listening,
Dennis "The Bard", Kimberly "Mom" and Zephyr "Lenny"
http://www.activated-storytellers.com
The Act!vated Storytellers are currently in Orlando, Florida
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We chose one of these stories for this week because we just paid our first visit to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina hit. We found the city itself in pretty good shape, but in St. Bernard Parish, the destruction is still jaw-dropping 16 months after the disaster.
We were in town to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, expecting to wield hammers and saws in the reconstruction of damaged buildings. Instead, we were hooked up with a partner program called Play Helps, created by the Children’s Museum of Manhattan to use the arts as therapy for children traumatized by 9-11. We spent a couple of days at Andrew Jackson Elementary School (formerly Andrew Jackson High School) having fun playing with musical instruments and playing with the students who were playing with them. We also participated in a family fun night at the school, and made up a theatre/sports game for the occasion.
We worked with a retired gentleman named Danny, who, like us, is a fulltime RVer. He demonstrated for the kids a Native American flute and a Tibetan singing bowl. It was, we hope, reassuring for the students to meet folks like us who live in an RV by choice, since most of them have been living in FEMA trailers out of necessity.
Happy Listening,
Dennis "Susanowo", Kimberly "Amaterasu" and Zephyr "Tsuki Yomi"
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.
Texas
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.)
Families on the Road
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.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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
]]>"Simple Ivan" is one of the classic "noodlehead" stories, with variants found in many cultures. (Ivan is the Russian equivalent of John or Jack.) Ivan is lazy and likes to just sit at home staring at the wall, so to trick him into going outside to get some exercise, his mother tells him that he might find some money. He takes the bait and goes out on an excursion, but doesn’t find money; instead, he has a series of encounters in which he meets people under different circumstances, and doesn’t know how to behave. He returns home after each incident, and explains to his mother what happened. She advises him what he should do, and he follows her advice on his next outing, but finds his newly acquired behavior to be totally and hilariously inappropriate for the next situation he discovers.
Although we are in Albuquerque this week, we discuss our experiences last week in Las Vegas, where we opened our new production. We try to wrangle some of the secrets out of Zephyr that he learned on his backstage tour at "Star Trek: The Experience". (He stays tight-lipped.) We also recount our delightful evening watching Penn and Teller’s show; and Dennis recalls when he first saw them, then as two-thirds of a trio, performing in San Francisco in 1980.
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly (mom) and Zephyr (Ivan) Goza
We’re in Las Vegas, but we’re talking about Reno and the Sierras. That’s because this is our first podcast in three weeks, as we took a couple of weeks off during the holidays. So this week, we catch you up on what we were doing during that time - namely visiting Kimberly’s parents in Reno and working feverishly to get our newest production ready. Don’t think for one minute that we were taking a hoiday vacation - although we did manage to sneak in a skiing excursion to the Sierras.
And since we’ve spent some time lately in and near the California Gold Rush country, we bring you a story from tht region, a tale told by Chinese immigrants who helped build the railroad. We call it "The Iron Dragon", and it involves a group of laborers who come over to seek their fortune and instead find very harsh and dangerous working conditions. Several of them die on the job and one of the deceased workers returns in spirit form to haunt his comrades. They decide that in order to give rest to the souls of their fellow Chinese laborers, they must undertake a special construction project on the side.
A wonderful illustrated version of this story can be found in the book The Iron Moonhunter by Kathleen Chang (San Francisco: Children’s Books Press, 1977).
The Iron Moonhunter (Fifth World Tales)
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>We’ll be back on Thrusday with a new story and tales of our travels to Reno and Las Vegas.
Thanks for hanging in there!
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>
The Gift of the Magi
This week’s story is "The Gift of the Magi", which is appropriate for two reasons. First, it is of course a classic Christmas Story; and after a 3-month buildup, Santa is just about ready for his yearly cruise. Additionally, the author of the story, William Sydney Porter (better known by his pen name of O. Henry) was a native of the same area Zephyr has been visiting. He was born in Greensboro, N.C. (where the band’s drummer lives) in 1862 and died in 1910. During the last few years of his life, he wrote fiction at a whirlwind pace, and became famous for his trademark surprise twist endings, such as the one in "Gift of the Magi". (He also, incidentally, coined the term "banana republic".) It’s likely that the character of Della in this story was modeled after his first wife, who died of tuberculosis, from which he also suffered.
Dennis shares his favorite Christmas story, an incident he read about in the news two or three years ago, and recalls as best he can, despite being unable to find the details anywhere. If anybody has any info on this story, please pass it along to us.
And as we make it clear in our podcast, we extend happy holiday wishes to everyone, regardless of their religion, customs, or brand of holiday cheer - or lack thereof. See you in 2007!
Happy Listening,
Dennis (the narrator), Kimberly "Della" and Zephyr "Jim" Goza
]]>High above the East Bay town of Castro Valley, California - just a few miles across the bay from San Francisco - is Lake Chabot Campground, part of the California State Parks. It’s one of the few campgrounds available in the S.F. Bay Area, and just about the only reasonably priced one. So we’ve stayed there often during the years, and have many colorful memories of the place, some of which we’ll share on this week’s podcast. Dennis and Kimberly are spending a few days at this campground (while Zephyr is in North Carolina recording with his band A Simple Disaster) to focus on getting the new productions together.
The Swan Maiden
Since we are encamped overlooking a lake, we thought it would be appropriate to bring you the Swedish folktale of The Swan Maiden, about a hunter who sees three beautiful swans alight at a lake, and then before his eyes they remove their feathery cloaks and become beautiful young maidens who swim in the lake. Later, they put their feathers back on and fly away. He falls in love with the youngest of the swan maidens and can’t get her out of his mind. So on the advice of his mother, he goes back to the lake and awaits their return, whereupon he steals the youngest swan’s feathers, so she cannot turn back into a swan. She agrees to marry him (what other answer could you possibly give to a guy who steals your feathers?) and for a time it seems they are living happily ever after. But ultimately, the hunter pays a heavy price for "clipping the wings" of a free creature.
This story has parallels to many other tales, including Swan Lake (the basis for the Tchaikovsky ballet) and Lohengrin (the inspiration for the Wagner opera - what is it with composers and swans, anyway?) as well as several other variants-some involving other types of fowl-from China, Japan and India. There’s even a similar story in The Arabian Nights.
Happy Listening,
Dennis "the Hunter" and Kimberly "the Swan Maiden" Goza
]]>Have a listen and then vote for your favorite by logging in on the Pickle Site, logging in to the forums (Yes, they make you log in twice) there you should see the place to vote and make comments. If not, click on Forums > Podcast Discussions > Pickle Tales Round 2 (it is pinned on the top).
UPDATE
Voting for this round begins December 13th (not the 11th or 12th as originally scheduled) and ends at noon (ET) a couple of days later - that’s 9 am on the west coast. Please check the Pickle site for details as we will be off sewing costumes for a new show up in the woods and Zephyr is off recording with his band in North Carolina.
Thanks for listening,
Dennis (Red’s Wolf), Kimberly (Red and the Director) and Zephyr the announcer
]]>Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was a notorious federal prison from 1934 to 1963, and a military prison and military base for many years before that. On a return trip to our old hometown of San Francisco, we finally took a tour of The Rock, beginning with a ferry ride from Pier 33. Once on the island, we participated in ranger-led tours (the island is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area) and an audio tour that told us about the prison’s colorful history - including a riot in 1946 that left 3 guards and 2 inmates dead. On hand was Darwin Coon, who was an inmate here from 1959 to 1963, to promote his book "Alcatraz; the True End of the Line".
Rapunzel
This week we present the Grimm Brothers story "Rapunzel", one of the best known fairy tales in the world, and one of the central plots in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Into the Woods". The story involves a woman who craved greens from a neighbor’s garden so strongly that she was willing to give up her firstborn child for them; and the neighbor, unfortunately, was quite willing to take the child. This epitome of a nightmarish neighbor also happened to be an evil sorceress who imprisoned the girl (whom she named Rapunzel) in a tower, climbing up to see her by way of Rapunzel’s long, long hair. But even a tower can’t keep her away from handsome princes foreverÃïÂ
Upcoming Public Performances
They are live and they are free (thanks to your public libraries and community centers)
- Dec. 20th in Palo Alto, CA
- Jan. 17th in Rio Rancho (near Albuqurque), NM
- Feb. 1st in Laurel, MS
- Mar. 10 in Prattville, AL
- ...more (too many to list here!)
Happy Listening,
Dennis the Prince (also husband and narrator), Kimberly "Rapunzel" (and wife), and Zephyr the "crone"
]]>What better way to spend a Thanksgiving than by going to Disneyland? Well actually there must be dozens of better ways. The place was packed like a glass slipper on the foot of Cinderella’s stepsister. But that didn’t deter Zephyr and his "big sister" Ellie from spending a full day there, and we do mean a full day - from 9:00 a.m. until nearly time for the RV to turn back into a Thanksgiving pumpkin. They found the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride to be totally remodeled to pay homage to the movies that pay homage to the original version of the ride. The newly revamped Space Mountain was also back in operation after too long in inoperation, and the Haunted Mansion was given a complete makeover for Yuletide.
Santa Monica and Venice
A couple of days later, we took a stroll, for the first time ever, from the Santa Monica Pier (where we rode the roller coaster) to Venice Beach, soaking up the colorful atmosphere of street performers, arts and crafts vendors and inline skaters skating in anything but a line.
The Three Little Pigs
For no particular reason, we decided to present "The Three Little Pigs" this week, or as we call it, "The Pee Little Thrigs". That’s because we thought it would be fun to tell the story in spoonerisms, a type of slip of the tongue (or "tip of the slung") that involves switching the first letters between two words. Thus, "hung out the flags" becomes "flung out the hags". Spoonerism was named after Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), an instructor at Oxford University. Telling fairy tales laced with spoonerisms was popularized by comedian Archie Campbell (1914-1987), writer and star of the TV series "Hee Haw"; it was also used by the dwarf Doc in the Disney classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" (more correctly Dwarfs). Hey! We knew there was a logical reason we decided to do it this week!
Get "Act!vated Stories" on your cell phone!
Now you can listen to our stories on your cell phone! Just enter your cell phone number here
Happy Listening,
Dennis: the narrator, Hester the 3rd Pig (also the Brick Seller), Kimberly: mother pig and Lester the 1st Pig (also the straw seller) , Zephyr: the wig bad bolf, Jester the 2nd Pig (also the stick seller) Goza
]]>For this round we were issued 3 sound effects and told to come up with a story. So, we told the "Fiddlestick Family and the Eggs" a traditional folktale from the Ozarks that we just made up.
Listen to the six stories in this round. Some of the other stories may be "PG-13" (ours is "G").
One of the stories in this round will be eliminated (we are hoping it won’t be us!). Voting happens today Nov. 27th through the 30th (ends at noon Eastern) at Podcast Pickle
You can also get there by going to the Podcast Pickle homepage, then looking under Forums > Podcast Discussion > Pickle Tales Round II.Thanks for your support,
Dennis "Pa Fiddlesticks", Kimberly "Ma" and Zephyr the narrator and "Cousin Clem"
]]>Welcome to our ThanksGIVING episode! This week we are focusing on putting the "giving" in Thanksgiving and spreading Random Acts of Kindness.
Last week we talked about the Green RV in which college students travel the country, usimg their life on the road to find their road in life. This episode expands on that as we talk about the Extreme Kindness Tour. In 2002 four young men from Canada decided to hit the road on a 3 month Extreme Kindness Tour. Find out about what they did to promote kindness and "pay it forward".
- Check them out at ExtremeKindness.com where you’ll find their blog, information about their tour, a schedule of upcoming appearances, a counter to log kindness and some video clips from their tour.
We’ve also got some other stories about people who have made a difference in the world by focusing on "paying it forward", including Larry Stewart of Lee’s Summit, Missouri who decided at Christmas time in 1979 to take $200 out of his bank account and anonymously pass it around to those who were less fortunate than himself. He has been known only as the "Secret Santa" as he continued his giving spree throughout the years, giving more and more. He is now dyeing of cancer and has decided to reveal his identity so that others may continue his legacy. His story was in the news this week.
Also find out a bit about Podcamp West; and Zephyr tells his tale about his run-in with mall security while trying to give out "Free Hugs" in Massachusetts.
- More about Pay It Forward and Random Acts of Kindness
The Lion and the Mouse
In the spirit of giving and doing for others we bring you the Aesop fable about the unlikely acts of kindness between a lion and a mouse. A mouse promises to help the fierce lion if only the lion won’t eat him. But how will the mouse repay the lion?
Folklore and Philanthropy Lesson Plans
- If you’d like to extend the connection between folklore and the spirit of generosity with your children or in the classroom be sure to visit LearningtoGive.org.
Round II of the Podcast Pickle Storytelling Contest
Thanks to those who voted in round I of the Pickle Tales Storytelling Contest. THANKS to you we’ve made it to round II and have been issued a new challenge! This time we have to tell a story incorporating 3 sound effects selected by the folks at Podcast Pickle. Come find out how we did it in the never-before-heard "folktale" from the Ozarks that we just made up. Enjoy "The Fiddlesticks Family and the Eggs" and 5 other stories and vote for your favorite November 27th-30th.
Your Turn!
What will YOU do to pass along kindness? We’d love to hear about it. Leave us comments and we’ll share your random acts of kindness with the world. Remember, it’s cool to be kind!
Happy Listening,
Dennis (the narrator and hunters), Kimberly the "mouse", and Zephyr the "lion" Goza
]]>Road Trip Nation
We’re revisiting our roots and catching up with old friends in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we stopped in at San Jose State University to attend a presentation about Roadtrip Nation, a PBS program that dispatches teams of 3 college students to travel the country for 6 weeks in a green RV exploring career options by interviewing prominent personalities in business, entertainment, law, public service, and other fields. The team of students we met today interviewed the CEO of Starbucks and leaders of other well-known businesses, as well as stand-up comic Wanda Sykes and talk show host Wendy Williams. And their experience on the road this summer has given them valuable insight into what directions their own lives should take.
MuLan
This week, we present a story about someone else who had to courageously forge her own path: The Song of Mu Lan, a folk tale from China. (Which we’ve been performing onstage as part of our production "Daring to Dream".) It’s the saga of a teenage girl who disguises herself as a man in order to join the army and fight in place of her ailing father, thus preserving family honor. And according to tradition, she served her country extremely well and even became a high-ranking officer.
We don’t know for certain whether The Song of Mu Lan is a true story, but it was written as a poem about 1500 years ago. The name "Mu Lan", which is translated as "Magnolia", means literally "wood flower", a very appropriate name for a person who appeared as delicate as a flower but turned out to be as durable as wood.
- Study Guide for The Song of Mu Lan
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>Six of the twelve stories have already been released in episode "A" and were voted on Nov. 6th-10th. "Simple Ivan" is a part of the "B" group that was released today, Nov. 13th. Voting for this round will end on Nov. 16th at noon (ET).
Anyone can listen and vote. Some of the stories may be "PG-13".
If you would like to participate in the voting process you will need to register at http://www.podcastpickle.com (it’s painless). You’ll see the log in/sign up box on the top right of the page. Then go to the forum to vote for your favorite story (under "Podcast Discussion").
And so long as you are there, why not to add us http://activated.podcastpickle.com to your favorites and leave us your comments.
Voting for this round ends Nov. 16th at noon (ET). The top six stories will go on to the next level.
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
http://www.activated-storytellers.com
We are back in San Jose, having been to Sacramento to appear on the ABC-affiliated show Sac and Company and to Modesto to perform at the library this week. We’ll tell you a bit about the inner workings of a live TV show. And right now Zephyr is helping pull apart Callson Manor, the haunted house he worked at last week, while we babysit the property at night.
Nominated for Storytelling Podcast Award!
Our story "Simple Ivan" has been selected as one of 12 finalists in the Pickle Tales "Tell Me a Story" Podcasting Competion. Now listener votes will determine if it moves to the next round.
Register with Podcast Pickle so you can participate in the voting process November 13-16!
And so long as you are at it be sure to add us to your favorites http://activated.podcastpickle.com and leave us your comments.
Please check back for more information and links November 13th.
Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel get ditched in the woods and have to escape an evil hag who lives in a sweet house and find their way back home. In our version they meet a few other storybook characters who give them some bad directions along the way.
National Geography Week
We’ve been traveling full time since 1992 and have had more than our share of bad directions. Nowadays, we use GPS, computer map programs and Google Maps on our cell phone to get where we are going. But way back when we started touring, we had to rely on people to give us directions. It’s amazing we got anywhere! Hardly anyone knows the name of the streets in their hometown. And we have repeatedly scratched our heads after hearing "Well, you turn left at the old Jones place and if you come to the train tracks you’ve gone to far!". And "Just turn right at the corn field." We’d like to point out that we are in Kansas and surrounded by cornfields but don’t have the heart.
So bottom line, study those maps and read those street signs so you can help someone find their way. And if you want to get anywhere, learn your geography and how to use a GPS! Or else you will have to leave some bread crumbs!
- Rescources for National Geography Week
Children’s Book Week
Zephyr has been reading the entire "Series of Unfortunate Events" to mom and dad this month. And in this episode Dennis recounts his encounter with Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket).
Reading out loud is an excellent way to celebrate Children’s Book Week. We hope you’ll celebrate by following a map to your local library to see what special events they have planned. And while you are there, check out some childrens’ books. Especially in the folktale section (Dewey Decimal 398.2).
And be sure to get a copy of "Tales from Under the Crevice" or the sequel "Tales from Under the Nook" by our resident young author Zephyr Goza at your library or bookstore, or online at CreviceTales.com.
- Activities and ideas for Children’s Book Week at Education World
Happy Listening!
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>San Jose is home of the Rosicrucian Museum and burial site for many of the Donner party, pioneers who struck out on the Oregon trail, took a wrong turn and got stuck for the winter.
Mummies, tombs, and hieroglyphics!
At the Rosicrucian Museum, the curators who were decked out in full Egyptian regalia (since we visited on Halloween), led us on a tour of an ancient tomb replica. The hieroglyphs at the tomb’s entrance welcome visitors who brought the deceased food. Hey, you get hungry when you’re dead and have to wait 20 years before entering the afterlife! Once inside the tomb we learned that the East wall represented birth and life since the sun rises in the east. The south wall depicts scenes of hunting and fishing portraying the deceased as being very skilled. The wall to the west is where the sun sets and so upon it we see the dead meeting the gods of the afterlife. And upon the north wall is a scene of judgment including a scale with a heart weighed against the feather of truth. And on the ceiling was the goddess who eats the sun and gives birth to the moon and then eats the moon and gives birth to the sun each day. Wonder if she gets a tummy ache?
The ancient Egyptians believed that whatever is depicted in hieroglyphics becomes true and therefore heiroglyphs were very sacred. And because of this power, only a few scribes were trained in the art. To become a scribe you had to be a boy and a rich one at that. Then you had to attend school, where you get to sit for eight hours copying the same text over and over. And if your teacher felt you weren’t quick enough they would beat your back. If you were dedicated and studied hard enough you would become a scribe, one of the most prestigious positions in the Egyptian society.
You can visit the Rusicrucian Museum online at http://www.egyptianmuseum.org and find a virtual tour and an audio tour that you can download. Better yet visit it in person whenever you are in San Jose.
The Rosicrucian Museum is located in Rosicrucian Park, a picturesque facility encompassing an entire city block. It’s the world headquarters of the Rosicrucian Order, a mystical society dating back to antiquity. Many notable historical figures are said to have been Rosicrucians, including Francis Bacon and Benjamin Franklin. The French impressionist composer Claude Debussy was a member of the order, and his music reflects its mystical nature.
Isis and the Seven Scorpions
While we were at the Rosicrucian Museum we learned this story and thought we’d share it with you. Isis, accompanied by her seven scorpions, makes her way to a town in the Nile Delta. The scorpions Petet, Tjetet, and Matet led the way, Mesetet and Mesetetaf walked beside her, while Tefen and Befen brought up the rear. Upon their arrival to town a noblewoman refused to give them shelter, which angered the scorpions. Meanwhile, a peasant girl offered her humble dwelling to Isis who was seeking refuge. However, the scorpions decide to teach the noble woman a lesson by poisoning her son with their venom. Distraught, the noblewoman seeks help for her dying son. Find out what happens to the boy, what Isis does, and what becomes of the noblewoman and the peasant girl.
"Isis and the Seven Scorpions" reminds us of another folktale with seven little guys who care for a maiden...
And here is another Egyptian story incase you missed it back in August: Rhodopis, the Egyptian Cinderella.
More Egyptian
- An introduction to Egyptian hieroglyphic writing and numbering. Interactive examples allow users to create hieroglyphic numbers and fractions.
- Write in hieroglyphics
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>Lake Shasta Caverns
We tell of our recent trip to Lake Shasta Caverns, discovered by Charles Morton in 1878 near Mt.Shasta. The caverns are situated by Lake Shasta, the second-largest manmade lake in the country--it covers five former towns and contains sturgeon up to 30 feet long! We took the three-part tour (boat, bus and shoe leather) of the caverns and discovered some of the most graphic rock formations we’ve ever seen in the many caves we’ve toured.
Learn how to tell stalactites from stalagmites. We’ll give you a couple of ways to tell them apart. And find out what helictites are. (No, they’re not a frozen dessert on a stick, but they look like it.)
- More about Lake Shasta Caverns
The Dragon of Krakow
The story of "The Dragon of Krakow" (sometimes known as "The Dragon of Wawel Hill" or "Krakus and the Dragon") is a folktale from Poland. We’ve been touring the country with this story since May 2006. Just a few more months to see it live on the west coast, as it will be closing in December to make way for our new production.
- Check the Tour Schedule for upcoming shows
What happens when a young boy learns to deal with the trouble he has stirred up? A shoemaker’s apprentice, egged on by peer pressure, awakens a sleeping dragon, which devastates the village and terrorizes the people. When the villagers are unable to defeat him, the apprentice realizes he must correct his own mistake, which he does with imagination and resourcefulness.
More Dragon Stories brought to you by Tina Hanlon of Ferrum College.
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>Costumes, props, sets, Shakespeare. What goes into putting together the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland? We tell you some of what we learned on the backstage tour at the Festival (a tour conducted by veteran Festival actor Rex Young), including an inside glimpse of the Elizabethan Stage (America’s first Elizabethan theatre), the Angus Bowmer Theatre (named after the Festival’s founder) and the New Theatre.
Begun in 1935, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival runs 11 shows in three theatres from February through October every year. This year 82 actors protrayed 195 characters in close to 800 shows. Each actor plays 2 to 3 roles and understudies one to two other parts. And for every actor that you see on stage there are 4 people working backstage designing and building the costumes, sets, lights, and making the magic happen.
- More information about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Zephyr Haunts Ashland and Tumwater
Science Works Museum in Ashland offers hands-on educational (and fun!) exhibits for children, including the paper airplane launcher for flying airplanes they have been taught to make. A special exhibit of toys and games is coming soon, as is a Halloween haunted house which Zephyr helped design - having recently contributed his talents to a much larger attraction called Twilight’s Terror in Tumwater, Washington.
Romeo and Juliet
(The Four Minute condensed comical version)
William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy about star-crossed lovers from dueling clans has roots in the Greek legend "Pyramus and Thisbe" (which he also invoked in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream") and has inspired books, plays, movies and tv shows throughout the ages. Variations of this tale exist in many other cultures as well; a hit song on the radio in the Sixties called "Running Bear and Little White Dove" related a similar story involving Native Americans from warring tribes. "Romeo and Juliet" illustrates Shakespeare’s extraordinary ability to transform a borrowed plot into something wholly original, and uniquely his own.
And coming up for 2007 our own national tour of "Shakespeare Shazam", an introduction to the Bard’s work. We act out passages from such Shakespearean masterpieces as "Romeo and Juliet", "Macbeth", and "Hamlet", in both the original version and modern English.
- More about Shakespeare Shazam
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>Sea Lion Caves
The Sea Lion Caves was voted one of the top 10 places in America to go out of your way to see by USA Weekend. It’s the largest sea cave in the world, within sight of the most photographed lighthouse in the world.
- More photos of the Sea Lion Caves and Heceta Head Lighthouse
- Visit the Sea Lion Caves
The Gingerbread Man
A stop at the Gingerbread Village restaurant in Mapleton inspired us to tell the story of the Gingerbread Man (or Boy). He’s running as fast as he can. He’s running from the little old lady, the little old man, some threshers, some mowers, a cow, a pig, and a fox. Will anyone catch the Gingerbread Man? And what is a thresher??
More Act!vated:
Next week is Teen Reading Week! So go read a teen, if you can.
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>We enjoyed the huge Queen Alien and memorabilia from Sci-Fi movies, TV shows and books; played the keyboards, electric guitars, and drums and sang our hearts out in the jam rooms; and we learned to look at art in new ways.
Visit these awesome museums at the Seattle Center
The Bremen Town Musicians
A worn out donkey decides to head to town to try his luck at being a musician. Along the way he meets a hound dog, a cat and a rooster and convinces them to join the act. Find out what happens when our troubadours meet up with a band of robbers! Will they get that record contract?
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>This week we survived a 27 mile bike ride which took us across the floating bridge and up the hills of Seattle (both ways).
Visit The Museum of Flight
Yes, there really is a flying car or "AeroCar". And have you heard of the X-jet? It’s a personal transportation device - or what we’ve dubbed the "flying podium". It goes up 10,000 feet and 60 miles per hour. Take a tour of Air Force One, a Concorde jet and see the original Boeing factory where they made planes out of wood and canvas. And how about flying a plane for a month? Hey, where is our flying motorhome?
The Museum of Flight has an upcoming exhibit "Leonardo Da Vinci; Man, Inventor, Genius" opening October 1st (closes January 28th, 2007). Leonardo Da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, architect, art historian, natural scientist, writer and inventor. The drawings in his notebooks included designs of flying machines.
You will find the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington or online at www.museumofflight.org/
Zoro, the Flying Apprentice
Around 1485 Leonardo Da Vinci drew detailed plans for a human-powered ornithopter (a wing-flapping device intended to fly). And legend has it that a young apprentice named Zoroaste (egged on by the mischievous Salai) took the machine out for a spin.
You’ll find another version of this story in a book called "Leonardo and the Flying Boy" by Laurence Anholt.
It’s Banned Book Week (Sept. 23-30)
You won’t believe some of the books that have banned! Such as "I Am the Cheese", the Harry Potter series, and "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes. Catch the Activated Storytellers performing a live musical production of "Alias, Don Quixote" at a library. Upcoming appearances are scheduled in Oregon and California. Check the itinerary for more information. And learn more about banned books at the American Library Association site.
Happy Listening!
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>"The Most Beautiful Thing in the World" from China
This is one of the stories we use when we conduct one of our weeklong Artist-in-Residency programs in schools. We direct students in all aspects of theatrical production, including developing the script from a story, designing and building props and costumes, and acting.
In this tale, a king sends his three children out into the world to find the most beautiful thing. The one that succeeds will inherit the crown.
Post Your Thoughts
What do you suppose is the most beautiful thing in the world? Is it a smile? Is it a place? Something someone did? We’d like to hear YOUR story! You can post your thoughts here and we’ll read the best ones in an upcoming podcast.
Geocaching & Letterboxing
Since the theme this week is seeking treasures, we decided to focus on Geocaching, the game where you are the search engine. If you are new to Geocaching, Geocaching.com and a GPS unit will get you started. Type in your zip code, copy down the clues and get ready to do some real life treasure hunting. Be careful though and don’t let the muggles spot you!
Geocaching got its inspiration from letterboxing, which started about 150 years ago, and is still practiced today. But Geocaching as we know it, with the aid of a GPS device, started only about 6 years ago.
We chose to focus on Geocaching because the Olympia area has quite a number of interesting caches, some of historical interest. In addition to being a lot of fun, this game offers an opportunity to learn things while challenging your detective skills.
Inspiration
A couple of weeks ago we presented the story of "The Apple Dumpling" and pointed out how it reminded us of the guy who swapped a red paperclip on craigslist.org for something bigger and better, until he got his dream - a house. Well a family of listeners heard the story and decided to try it for themselves! This family’s goal is to live on the road like we do, but first they need a bus. So they decided to trade a little red matchbox bus for a real one! You can check their progress at A Bus 4 a Bus.
National Tour
We are bringing our live theatrical productions to schools and libraries on the West Coast through December and then we’ll be heading east. Please visit our web site for more information about school assemblies and residency programs, or to find a free show sponsored by a public library to bring your family to. If you’d like to pass on information to your school you also find a flyer that you can download, print and share on our site.
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>Back in 1843 families started heading west. They heard the stories of a better life. They saved up about $900 dollars ($100,000 in todays market) and made their way to Independence or St. Joseph Missouri to hook up with a wagon train. Loading 2000 lbs of supplies into a small closet sized wagon they were off on a 4-6 month journey following the Little Blue river northwest. They left in May headed west past Chimney Rock where they stopped to sign their names and on to Independence Rock hopefully by the 4th of July, past the Rocky Mountains along the Snake River and to the Oregon Territory. By the way, the Oregon Territory at that time included not only Oregon but Washington, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming.
The pioneers on the Oregon Trail were primarily well educated families who brought books with them and continued to school there kids on the treck. Books by Hans Christen Andersonand titles such as "Little Women", "Hamlet", "The Robber Kitten", "Little Red Riding Hood" could be found bouncing along with the bacon, coffee, rice and churning butter. So this week we tell the story of the little girl in the red cloak on her way to grandmother’s house.
Learn more:
- About the End of the Oregon Trail Museum and Interpretive Center and
- About modern day Families on the Road
Happy Listening!
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>Read the MSN story about trading a paper clip for a house.
Happy Listening,
Dennis and Kimberly Goza
]]>We’re just getting our feet reaccustomed to American soil having landed yesterday from our wonderful 2 week trip to Japan. We bring you greetings from our Japanese hosts and the true story of "Sadako and the 1000 Cranes" and WWII.
We’ll also give you a sneak peek at Tokyo DisneySea’s new ride the Tower of Terror (opening Sept. 4th).
"This is our cry, This is our prayer, Peace in the world".
- Learn how to fold a paper crane.
- Join the Thousand Crane Club and make cranes for peace.
- Manzanar National Historic Site http://www.nps.gov/manz/
- Holocaust Memorial Center in Michigan http://holocaustcenter.org/
- US Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. http://www.ushmm.org/
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>This week we visited Tokyo Tower, Ginza shopping district, the Hei Jinja shrine and met the folks from Japanese Pod 101 http://www.japanesepod101.com in Tokyo.
We also took a boat ride down Arakawa river and visited Edo Wonderland - a living history park with costumed characters and live theatrical performances.
This week we bring you "Toyama no Kin-san" a Robin Hood type story that we saw performed at Edo Wonderland.
(Our apologies for the inferior sound quality on this podcast but our sound equipment is back in the U.S.)
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
Learn about the flight over, eating out in Japan, a haunted house (Obake Yoshiki "Ghost Mansion") for Obon (Festival of the Dead).
Presenting "Follow the Buzz", one of the stories from the show "Daring to Dream" http://www.activated-storytellers.com/shows.html which has been touring the U.S.A. since May 2005. (Available on the West Coast through December 2006.) Check your library for "The Bee and the Dream".
Vocabulary:
Nippon/Nihhon - Japan
go-shujin - husband
okusan - wife
tomodachi - friend
yume - dream
mitsubachi - bee / bees
hai - yes
takara - treasure
baka - crazy
arashi - storm
za za - "rain"
goro goro - "thunder"
kuma - bear
goto - robbers
hajimemashita - nice to meet you (first time)
kochira koso - same here
yoroshiku onegaishimasu - please be kind to me as I will be to you
ki - tree
gomen nasai - I am sorry
hon - books
To learn more Japanese please visit Japanese Pod 101. http://www.japanesepod101.com
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>Our podcast story this week is "The Boy Who Listened to Birds", one of the "noodlehead" stories from Russia.
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>Paul Bunyan was soooo big. How big was he? Why when he was just a baby his parents had to put his cradle out to sea. Follow Paul and Babe the Blue Ox on their journey to the logging camps across America. There was the summer that was soooo hot and the winter that was soooo cold. How hot was it? How cold was it? Well you’ll have to listen to find out of course.
After the story the Activated Storytellers discuss the origins of Paul Bunyan stories.
Paul Bunyan Activity Map
Download the official Paul Bunyan Activity Map (.pdf) and print it out.
Enjoy coloring and using the map to follow Paul’s Journey.
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>Stories about wolves have been told for as long as we can remember as have stories about a Cinderella type of character.
The Egyptian Cinderella is the oldest Cinderella story known to man. It comes from Egypt and it may even be true--at least we know that it’s based on real events. The prince became the pharaoh Amasis, who ruled over Egypt for 44 years. And he really did marry a former slave girl from Greece. In this version of the story, the slave girl is named Rhodopis, and the prince must find a bride by his 21st birthday. He turns for help to his pet falcon, since falcons were revered as messengers of the sun god Horus.
Wolf Pictures on our travel blog:
- Wolf Haven (July 24, 2006)
- Wolf Park - a Halloween treat (November 1, 2003)
Visit:
- Wolf Haven in Washington
- Wolf Park in Indiana
Extend the story with the Cinderella Trillogy Lesson Plan from ArtsEdge
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
]]>This week’s story is the Knee-High Man, an African American tale from Alabama, about the importance of recognizing one’s own unique gifts.
Also: a couple of little stories about bumping into one of our fans and a past cast member in some unexpected locations. And this week our Web site Activated-Storytellers.com was awarded one of the best educational resources on the web by studySphere!
Happy Listening,
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>The Activated Storytellers bring you the great American legend "Alfred Bulltop Stormalong". What will Old Stormalong do when the pirates attack? How will he defeat the mythical sea creature the kraken?
This week we attended a kite festival in Westport, Washington. We’ll tell you all about the festival and the parachuting teddy bears!
Thanks to the students and residents from the Quinault tribe who played the pirates and crew members in this podcast.
- Read Old Stormalong (even more adventures!)
- See parachuting teddy bears, kites and rain forest pictures
- Make a paper kite
- See the Act!vated Storytellers live!
- More kites! At the Kite Museum in Long Beach, Washington
Happy Listening!
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza
a.k.a. The Act!vated Storytellers
Read the story and play with the "animuls" at Davy Crockett
This week we are podcasting from a campground in Rochester, Washington. We recorded on the 4th of July and reminisce about our past few years when we spent the Fourth of July in "America’s favorite hometown" Hannibal, Missouri. We’ll give you some background information and insider tips about the National Fence Painting contest which takes place yearly in Mark Twain’s Boyhood home and the setting for his books "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn". You’ll find pictures and more information about Hannibal, Mo on these pages:
- Hannibal - July 02 (article)
- Hannibal in July 03
- Hannibal in July 04
- Hannibal in July 05
- Hannibal in Winter 2001
Read about our most recent trip to the Alamo
Happy Listening!
Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr
]]>"That’s great. Wish I could listen but, I don’t have an iPod."
Well, here is the good news:
You don’t need an iPod ...
(or PDA or any other type of device) to tune in to an Activated Story.
All you have to do is click on the POD image or the direct download link and the audio file should open in your prefered media player. It may take a few moments to download (depends on the speed of your internet connection). Just turn the sound on your computer and happy listening.
The Gozas
(who don’t own an iPod either)
This week we bring you Han’s Christian Anderson’s story "The Emperor’s New Clothes". Hear the story adapted from the touring theatrical production and listen to tales about Lewis and Clark, the fort and the fire.
You will find pictures of Fort Clatsop (scroll down to 6/26) and "The Emperor’s New Clothes", the stage production on our web site http://www.activated-storytellers.com
]]>The Activated Storytellers bring you the story of "The Coyote and The Eagle", a Zuni legend of how the sun and moon came to be in the sky.
Listen to the story and hear about the Goza’s recent visit to the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park. Visit our website to see pictures from our trip to Mesa Verde.
Read a story, catch a live performance or bring us to your school or library. For more information please visit the Activated Storytellers web site
]]>The "six legs" belong to the three performers: Dennis Goza, his wife Kimberly, and their 15-year-old son Zephyr. The "eight wheels", of course, are their "home" on the road; they log an average of nearly 4000 miles per month bringing educational entertainment to schools, libraries, museums and other venues to audiences ages 2 to 102.
And starting this Thursday, June 22, 2006 they’ll be bringing "Activated Stories" to your computer!
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