#18 071210 The Marvelous Land of Oz Part 1 by L. Frank Baum
Tip is the ward of Old Mombi the witch and like most boys he plays tricks. He makes a man out of sticks and uses a pumkin for his head all in an effort to scare her. Mombi tries out some new magic she's just acquired and brings the pumkin man to life. Tip is careful to remember the spell she chanted to activate the powder of life. Mombi has had enough of Tip and decides to turn him into a statue. Tip takes the powder of life and steals away in the night along with Jack Pumkinhead who thinks Tip is his father. Tip turns a sawhorse into a living creature so Jack will have something to ride on. Before long they're off to the Emerald City.
#19 071910 The Marvelous Land of Oz Part 2 by L. Frank Baum
When the Wizard departed from Oz in his balloon he left the Scarecrow in charge. But the young ladies of Oz have decided to overthrow the Scarecrow. They are led by General JinJur who desires to be Queen of Oz. Using the Sawhorse, Tip, Jack Pumkinhead, and the Scarecrow make a run for it in hopes the Tin Woodman can help.
#20 07/26/10 The Marvelous Land of Oz Part 3 by L. Frank Baum
The Scarecrow escapes from the Emerald City with Tip, Jack Pumkinhead, and the Sawhorse. They head to the palace of the Tin Woodman. With the Tin Woodman's ax in hand they head back to the Emerald City. Along the way they meet the highly magnified Woggle Bug and must overcome the illusions created by Old Mombi who has allied herself with General Jin-Jur. In the end their plans go bandly and they become Jin_Jur's prisioners.
#21 08/02/10 The Marvelous Land of Oz Part 4 by L. Frank Baum
Tip reveals that he still has some of the powder of life and that gives the scarecrow an idea. Assembling some furniture to which the hunting trophy head of a Gump is attached and adding plumes to the sides they create the oddest of flying things and Tip brings it to life. They have the misfortune to crash land into a Jackdaw's nest but manage to escape before the Jackdaws return.
#22 08/09/10 The Marvelous Land of Oz Part 5 - Conclusion
Our entire cast led by Glinda head to the Emerald City to find old Mombi to get her to tell what she did with Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz. But Old Mombi has used her magic to disappear. By luck the Tin Woodman finds her and Ozma turns out to have been hidden in plain sight all along.
#23 8/16/10 The Case of the Hollow Nickel - A True FBI case history
In 1953 a newsboy found a hollow nickel containing a microphotograph of code groups. Four years later the FBI busted a KGB agent in New York who was using two false identities. He had practically a museum of spycraft devices at his command.
#24 8/23/10 Washington and Braddock
This story comes from the Life of Washington by Washington Irving and tells of the defeat and death of Braddock while the young Washington served as his aide.
#25 8/30/10 The9 Loss of New York
The British have 700 ships in New York Harbor and Washington and his men must abandon the city. While glowing reports of success are sent to London the British are coming to realize that Washington is a foe to be respected. It is in this period that some amazing ingenious manuevers are set in motion by Washington.
#26 9/6/10 The Hated and A Filbert Is A Nut - Sci Fi
Two Sci-Fi stories today. There is a new book out called Packing For Mars which explores some of the more unpleasant aspects of a long space voyage. In 1958 Frederic Pohl covered the same ground in his story The Hated. When a crew returns from Mars they must be seperated geographically as each wants to murder the others. In A Filbert Is A Nut, an inmate in an asylum makes an atomic bomb out of modeling clay.
#27 9/13/2010 Celtic Stories
Today's stories come from a collection of Celtic Fairy Tales. In the first, two scoundrals try to drive a poor man from his tiny strip of land so they can take it. In the second a story teller to the king realizes he won't have a new story for the king that night. A beggerman takes him on a great adventure. In the last story Finn MacCool the giant fears another giant who want a fight. Finn's wife outwits him.
#28 9/20/2010 Rip Van Winkle
Everyone has heard some version of this story but today I will narrate from the original text as written by Washington Irving.
#29 9/27/2010 The Runaway Asteroid
This is the first part of the serialization of the second novel in the Starman series. Lurton Zimbardo was part of a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Mars. Now he and his pirate band operate out of an asteroid which is actually an abandoned alien space ship. He carries out an attack against Mars to demonstrate his power and then sets his sights on earth. The Starmen must stop him.
#30 10/4/2010 The Runaway Asteroid Part 2
The Starmen have been sent to a mining camp on an Asteroid to talk with the owner whom it is said described an Asteroid that was actually a space ship. They came in an unmarked ship dressed as civilians. While they are there the camp is attacked by the pirates who want to eliminate the same man. Back on the asteroid/space ship, Lurton Zimbardo plans his attacks on Mars.
10/25/2010 Story-Tell Lib
In the town of Green Hills lived a badly handicapped girl who lived with her aunt. She was a gifted story teller. Her stories were collected by my cousin Annie Trumbull Slosson and published in 1908. I'll narrated half of them today and the remainder next week.
11/8 and 11/15/2010
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
This is a story in seven parts concerned with Kay, the playmate of Gerta who has been taken to the palace of the Snow Queen and Gerta's adventures in finding him.
11/22/2010
Fairy Tales as the Bros Grimm Collected Them
Most of the fairy tales we grew up with were collected by the Borthers Grimm. Stories never remain fixed. They are adapted to the times and the culture. So don't be surprised when I tell you that a story as originally recorded by the Bros. Grimm might be considerably different from the way you heard it. Today I will narrate 3 stories in the original. They are Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. I think you'll be surprised.
11/29/2010
The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte
Blue-Jays by Mark Twain
Four people are ejected from a mining camp and head out over a mountain range to reach another camp. Instead of pressing on to their destination they make camp on the mountain and thereby seal their fate.
Mark Twain's story is about a blue-jay trying to fill a hole with acorns. He can't understand why there is still room left.
12/06/2010
Jeeves to the Rescue by P.G. Wodehouse
When P.G. Wodehouse created Jeeves the brilliant butler and Wooster his somewhat dim master I'm sure he had no idea how long people would go on enjoying the stories. They've been done on radio, TV, and film any number of times. Today I narrate the first of the stories, Jeeves to the Rescue.
12/13/2010
Josef Marais and Miranda
At this time of the year I usually post some recordings by Josef Marais and Miranda because I took such delight in them when I was a child. Rather than do a narration this week I've put together and hour of their music. They had a lot to do with my developing an interest in folk music and folklore.
12/20/10
Three Stories For the Season
Our first story is The Last Leaf by O. Henry. A woman watches the ivy leaves blowing away as winter advances and feels her life will be gone when the last leaf is gone. The second story is the Potato Child. An orphan is taken into a home as a servant. The setting is a stark one with little love and no toys. She finds a potato and makes clothes for it out of scraps and gives it the love only a child can lavish on a favorite doll. The last story is The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen. He gives us Christmas from the tree's point of view.
12/27/2010
The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) is best known for his story "Wind In The Willows". In today's story a dragon has taken up residence in a cave on some pasture land. He is peaceful as dragons go. He'd rather write a sonnet than devour a maiden. But the locals send for St. George to kill him mainly because they love a fight and even more they love to bet on a fight.
01/03/2011
Railroad Stories
On this show I narrate two stories about trains. The first comes from the Rootabaga Stories of Carl Sandburg. It is "How They Broke Away To Go To The Rootabaga Country". It is a marvelous bit of nonsense. The second story is "Hobos That Pass In The Night" by Jack London. It is his personal account of the time he spent riding the rods and it's a favorite of mine.
01/10/2011
Honolulu by Somerset Maughn
In this story the skipper of a small ship who has his own history of trouble gathers some more when he runs afoul of his first mate over the love of a native girl.
01/17/2011
Pale Horse Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter Part 1
Katherine Anne Porter was born in Texas and worked for newspapers, theaters, and the movies. She was mostly known for her short stories and essays. Her novel Ship of Fools was a best seller in 1962 and became a movie. One of her cousins was William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry. While working in Denver in 1918 she became a victim of the influenza that caused 50 million deaths world wide. Young people were very vulnerable as this flu made their immune response excessive. It was a world of funeral after funeral and all the hospitals were full. Meanwhile World War I was going on. She wrote this fictionalized account of her experience in 1939 just as we were on the cusp of World War II. It was to become one of her most popular stories.
01/24/2011
Pale Horse Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter Part 2
01/31/2011
Pale Horse Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter Part 3
02/07/2011
Jeff Briggs Love Story by Brett Harte Part 1
Jegg Briggs runs a wayside inn in the Sierras and frankly is losing money. There is a violent Sierra storm and the stagecoach is late. When it does come it is caught in road ruts and floading. Yuba Bill the driver and a male passenger make it to the inn. Jegg Briggs and the driver go back out into the storm to carry the man's wife and daughter to safety. Jeff has the daughter slung over his shoulder protected by a bear skin. He thinks he's carrying a child only to learn a bit later that Jesse Mayfield, the daughter is a young lady. Almost immediatly the sparks begin to fly. Both are independent and cautious and have their share of pride. There is the added complication that Jeff is broke and Jesse is rich.
02/28/2011
Jeff Briggs Love Story by Brett Harte Part 4
In part 3 it was obvious that Jeff and Jesse were smitten with each other, but cautious. Jesse secretly uses her wealth to get Jeff out of a jam. This week Jeff has an attack of pride and feels he must do something to prove his own worth and not rely on Jesse's money.
03/07/2011
Jeff Briggs Love Story by Brett Harte Conclusion
This narration consists of ch 5, 6, 7. We learn what Jeff Briggs is doing out in the world and wrap the story up with gunshots and a desperate ride. Oh yes, Jeff and Jesse do come together.
03/14/2011
The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
Two swindlers need to replenish their funds in order to mount a scheme requiring more capital then they have. They decide to kidnap the son of the richest man in Summit, AL. The kid turns out to be far more than they had bargained for.
03/21/2011
The Mississippi Scheme Part 1 & 2
From 1717 to 1720 France was caught up in one of the worst bubbles in history. The Scotsman John Law had the ear of the Regent and his bank made paper money fashionable. At the same time everyone high and low was speculating in the stock of the concern that would exploit the riches of French holdings in the new world.
03/28/2011
The Mississippi Scheme Part 3
Both the rich and poor speculate. People who should know better speculate. At the end of today's program some traders and dealers convert their paper money to specie and ship it out of the country. Law and the Regent try to prop up the paper currency but it is too late. Distrust is abroad in the land.
04/04/2011
The Mississippi Scheme Part 4
The conclusion of our story about the bubble of 1717-1720 in France is one of riots in the streets, people pressed to death in the crowd at the bank trying to convert paper to coin, Law moving in with the Regent for his own safety, and the unraveling of speculation and the sobering up of an entire nation that had been on a binge.
04/11/2011
The Bones of Kahekili by Jack London
Hardman Pool was one of the white men to come to Hawaii in the 1800s and he's done very well for himself. He married into the royal family and has a large plantation and many cattle and a large staff of Hawaiian cowboys working for him. Yet he longs to learn a secret. It is what happened to the remains of the great chief Kahekili. Only one man knows the answer and Poole is determined to learn it.
04/18/2011
Tales of Sholom Aleichem
Two stories from the writer whose tales and characters inspired the musical Fiddler On The Roof.
Tevye Wins A Fortune and The Miracle of Hashono Rabo
4/25/2011
Stories of Don Marquis and The Prince and Three Fates
Don Marquis was a newspaper man and short story writer who is best remembered for his sense of whimsey. He was the creator of Archie, the jounalistic cockroach, and Mehitabel the cat. We start out with three of Archie's reports banged out letter by letter as in the middle of the night he jumped on the keys of a typewriter belonging to Marquis. Then we have a fairty tale that's unusual in that the prince of the title is to die by one of three agents. What saves him? A smart wife.
05/02/2011
The Man Who Could Work Miracles by H. G. Wells
What if an ordinary man was granted the power to wish for anything? In today's story such a man starts out in all innocence and amusement. Then he teams up with a cleric. The slide downhill from there is swift.
05/09/2011
Boar's Head Tavern, East Cheap by Washington Irving
Seeking an angle on Shakespeare not covered by other writers, Irving visits East Cheap.
05/16/2011
The Defenders by Philip K. Dick
This story comes from the Jan 1953 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine. The final war has erupted and mankind and his factories have gone underground. The surface is too dangerous for humans and robots conduct the war. It turns out the robots have their own agenda.
05/23/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch1-3
The Xenobots were defeated 12,000 years ago by the residents of the 4th planet. We call it Mars but they called it Amanyah. The planet was laid waste by the attack and refuge was sought in an ark hollowed out of the interior of a large asteroid. The earthmen call it Thasos. Now there is an alliance between earth and Amanyah as the Xenobots mount another attack that seeks to take the power of our sun and use it as a weapon.
05/30/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch4-6
06/06/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch7-9
06/13/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch10-12
The Xenobots attack the sun.
06/20/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch13-15
06/27/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch16-18
07/04/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch19-21
07/11/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch22-24
07/18/2011
Heart of Danger - A Starman Story - Ch25-epilogue
The Street That Wasn't There
07/25/2011
The Joey Stories by Roy Trumbull
Joey is a creation of mine and today I'm narrating the 4 stories I've written in which Joey is the main character.
Joey and the P-Ball - Joey invents a golf ball that can't be lost
Joey and the Portal - Joey learns about MRI imaging and uses that knowlege to rescue his uncle.
Joey and the Perfect Golf Clubs - A set of clubs is made from a legendary metal that can be molded by the mind.
Joey and Young Mister Tom - Joey joins a young Thomas Edison on a train adventure to Detroit and back.
08/01/2011
Musical Duets
I enjoy musicals and at one time had a radio program devoted to them. This week I'll take a pause from story reading to play for you some of my favorite duets from musicals.
08/08/2011
Novelty Tunes
I always liked the unusual on radio. This is another musical program featuring novelty tunes from Spike Jones, Phil Harris, Nervous Norvus, Stan Freberg, Yogi Yogensen, Barbara Dane with the Muddy Waters Jazz Band, Chad Mitchell, and Little Jimmy Dickens.
08/15/2011
Leave It To Jeeves
A P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves and Wooster story. Bertie's friend Corky fancies himself a portrait artist and while waiting for his first commission he is totally dependant on an uncle for support. Now he wants to wed and he must come up with a way to introduce his fiancee to his uncle without getting cut off. Bertie turns to Jeeves for a plan and he comes up with one. It works but not in the intended manner.
08/22/2011
Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest
Lady Malvern arrives unannounced with her son Motty. She's a friend of Bertie's dreaded Aunt Agatha. She wants to leave the lad with Bertie while she travels to do research for a book. No sooner is Mum out of sight than Motty cuts loose to engage in riotous behavior. Bertie turns to Jeeves for a way to control the young man.
08/29/2011
Bud and Travis
This is a musical programs about two remarkable performers in the folk genre who had such a promising start, did a lot of concerts, clubs, TV, and recordings, but somehow failed to catch on with the larger audience they deserved. Both are gone now. Bud died in 1989 and Travis in 2009. This is a look back at their music.
09/05/2011
Repeat - Bud and Travis
09/12/2011
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde Part 1
Lord Arthur learns from a palm reader at a party that he is to murder someone. As he's about to wed, that presents a problem. Should he commit the murder before or after the wedding? And who would make a good victim?
09/19/2011
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde Part 2
Part 2 of the story and in addition Wilde's children's story "The Happy Prince"
09/26/2011
Ian and Sylvia
A musical program about these Canadian folk singers which includes an interview from 1965 when they were appearing at the hungry i in San Francisco.
10/03/2011
Grasshopper - An American Indian tale of a man of prodigious strength and vigor cast in the same vein as stories about Paul Bunyon or Pecos Bill.
10/10/2011
The Red Swan - An American Indian Tale about three orphan brothers who live in isolation in the woods. Each is a great hunter. One day the youngest encounters a red swan and spends all of his arrows without success. He retreives three magic arrows from his father's medicine pouch and scores a hit with one of them yet the swan flies off. Thus begins a great adventure.
10/17/2011
The Limeliters
A musical program with songs and an interview with the original Limeliters.
10/24/2011
Three Indian Tales from the collection Indian Fairy Tales.
10/31/2011
A Halloween Special. Ankal the Witch and traditional myths and legends.
Ankal is my latest creation. She is a traditional witch who finds herself up against a modern witch and modern technology.
11/07/2011
Judy Collins
A show of songs sung by and an interview with Judy Collins. Songs featured were written by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Shel Silverstein, Tom Paxton and others. The show is timely in that we talk about protest songs and their value.
11/14/2011
Freddie Martin
Freddie Martin was a dance band leader with a sweet sound noted for its virtuosity and complexity. He was raised in an orphanage but knew from an early age he wanted to be a musician. He mastered the tenor sax and the clarinet. His teenage band was so good that it subbed for Guy Lombardo when he had an out of town date. Starting in 1933 he was booked into all the major east coast hotels. Coming west he played the Cocoanut Grove supperclub at the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel which is where I interviewed him in 1961. He told me he had played there for over 20 years.
In 1941 he had an idea for a record that RCA Victor wasn't too thrilled about. They finally agreed to issue it as the “B” side of a single. It was an overnight sensation. Freddie had taken the theme from the Tchaikovsky piano concerto and squeezed it down to fit onto a 78 rpm record. It was later released with a vocal under the title “Tonight We Love” In the interview we talk about his career and also his run as “Concerto King”.
11/21/2011
Three tales of the supernatural by Ambrose Bierce
The Secret of Macarger's Gulch, A Diagnosis of Death, Moxon's Master
11/28/2011
H. G. Wells - Edith Nesbit
The Magic Shoppe is a little known story by H. G. Wells but it is quite entertaining. A father takes his son to a magic shoppe which in itself is magic and only the right sort of child is permitted to enter and see the wonders within. The Book of Beasts is a story from Edith Nesbits Book of Dragons. Nesbit is well known in England but not so well known here. She was a very inventive writer.
12/05/2011
From Edith Nesbit's Book of Dragons, the story Uncle James. Today our second story is a short story by L. Frank Baum, The Box of Robbers.
12/12/2011
Today another of Edith Nesbit's dragon stories, the Deliverors. Also we hear about Elsie, an orphan, who makes a doll out of a potato and desses it with scraps. She works for Miss Amanda who isn't inclined to buy toys.
12/19/2011
Three stories by O. Henry. A Retreived Reformation, The Cop and the Anthem, and The Last Leaf.
12/26/2011
This week we have a story and some music. The story is "A Visit to Grandpa's" read by the author Dylan Thomas. It's always been a favorite of mine. The music is songs done by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.
01/02/2012
From Edith Nesbit's Book of Dragons the story of "The Ice Dragon". And an American Indian story "The Toad Woman".
01/09/2012
The Music of Tom Paxton. Back in the mid 1960s I did an interview with singer song writer Tom Paxton and I've put it together with his songs of that period which showed such promise. Today he has a long discography and his songs have been sung by many of the best known individuals and groups.
01/16/2012
The Island of the Nine Whirlpools by Edith Nesbit, The Land of Souls - An American Indian story similar to the Orpheus Legend, and Calamity Jane - an account by the famous rider and sharp shooter.
01/23/2012
The Dragon Tamers from Edith Nesbit's Book of Dragons. Blue Jays by Mark Twain. The Michigan Counterfeit by George Ade.
01/30/2012
Today we have two essays by that fire breather H.L.Menchen. He was never at a loss for words. The first is about Politicians and the second about the Scopes trial in Dayton Tennessee which is often called the "Monkey Trial". Scopes crime was he'd taught evolution at the local high school. And we conclude with a story by O. Henry about a long married couple who want a divorce and go to the Justice of the Peace to get it.
02/06/2012
Honolulu by Sommeset Maughn. This story is a favorite of mine. It is about superstition and the black arts played out in a modern setting. A skipper and his first mate both desire the same woman. The skipper over-reacts and in return his native first mate prays him to death. A Sommerset Maughn novel that I recommend to you is "The Moon and Sixpence". It's a real page turner.