Activated Stories

The Bamboo and the Stars is our first podcast story from the Philippines. Welcome to the family, Philippines! And it's yet another one of those celestial phenomenon stories that we seem to be uncovering quite a bit lately. (Story starts at 4:00.) We're in Yuma, AZ, just a short hop from the Mexico border. While in town we visited The Camel Farm, where we were able to feed and pet camels, goats, sheep, a zebra, a zeedonk (half zebra and half donkey) and a hinny (half horse and half donkey).  And we held a teeny baby goat, only a week old. We've been driving from East Coast to West coast, taking as much time as we can to see some sights along the way. This has included Saguaro National Park near Tuscon, full of cacti/cactuses/cactus (all are acceptable) that look as if they belonged in a cowboy cartoon. And we saw the Odessa Meteor Crater in Texas, made by a meteor that struck at least 10,000 years ago. So let's call it an even million. Happy Listening, Dennis (Narrator, Aponitolau, Baby, Star) and Kimberly (Na

Wishing On The Moon is a sort of male Cinderella story from the Inuit (Eskimo) people of Alaska/Canada. We wanted to sneak in one more story about the moon before the end of this 50th anniversary year of the walk on the moon. We're currently taking a holiday break in Atlanta, where we'll be for the end of 2019 before we start touring again in 2020. In this story, we mention the 1922 documentary Nanook of the North by Robert J. Flaherty. You can watch it on Youtube but we should caution you to take it with a grain of salt. Flaherty took a great deal of poetic license, including making up the name Nanook for the main character, a man he falsely states died of starvation. He also staged scenes and had his subjects use antiquated tools rather than more modern things they normally used. Still, it's a fascinating cinematic and anthropological relic. Happy watching, happy listening, happy holidays, and happy 2020. Dennis (Nukilik, Man 1) and Kimberly (Narrator, Man 2, Man 3, Akna, Man in the Moon)

Just in time for Halloween, Ameen and the Ghoul from Persia (now known as Iran) tells of a brave man who defeats a terrible monster by using his brains rather than his brawn. It's a story in the tradition of Brave Little Tailor and Dragon of Krakow. We come to you from Warwick, RI, where we are wrapping up our annual fall jaunt in New England by spending some time scaring people at a haunted attraction in Abington, MA. And soon we being migrating south for the winter. Happy listening, Dennis (Ameen) and Kimberly (Narrator, Friend, Wife, Ghoul)

The Wooden Tablet is a simple little story from China about the importance of keeping promises and honoring your elders. We come to you from Seekonk, Massachusetts, having just returned from spending nearly a month touring Vermont for the first time. We were amazed and impressed by the state's unspoiled beauty -- there are no billboards anywhere! We took a train ride and a boat cruise, and did a lot of hiking (and photographing wild mushrooms) and even toured Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, and Cabot Cheese Factory. Now we're getting ready for Halloween once again! Happy Listening, Dennis (Father, Narrator, Grandfather) and Kimberly (Narrator, Ming, Servant)

Rabbit Sells Corn is the first story we've presented from Canada. It originated among Native Americans up north (yes, we can call them Native Americans too, since they lived on this continent) and has undergone some modifications as it was transmitted to white settlers. And we, of course, have done some tweaking of our own. It stems from a tradition of animal stories that also seem to have much in common with African-American tales about tricky and deceptive and clever critters. We come to you from Attleboro, Massachusetts, as we wind down our summer touring season. Recently we performed on Cape Cod, where we took advantage once again of the Cape Cod Rail Trail to do some biking. This time, we rode a tandem bike for the first time ever. We also spent a day in Boston attending Wanderlust 108, an event that features a curious triathlon of running, yoga and meditation. And we took the “Bones and Bells” tour at King's Church, visiting a crypt in the basement of the church and then climbing up to the bell tower, w

Out Of Season is a Cinderella-type story, rather similar to the Russian Vasalisa, which is rather similar to the story of Hansel and Gretel. These stories just won't stay in their own boxes. This is a tale from what used to be called Yugoslavia, before it was chopped up into smaller nations with less humorous-sounding names. We bring you this story from a country that no longer exists, from a town that didn't exist back then: Kill Devil Hills, NC. In fact, it didn't exist in 1903 when the Wright Brothers made history here. So the site of their experiments was recorded as Kitty Hawk, the closest town at the time. We've been taking advantage of the great beaches in this part of this state. We've also said howdy to some wild horses on Shackleford Banks, and we spotted an even dozen wild bears at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. But we did not, alas, spot any alligators or any rare red wolves. On the way here, we dug for diamonds (and didn't find any) at Crater Of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas and pann

The Prince and His Servant from Poland is one of those folk tales that sound like it actually could have happened -- or something like it. It's a tale about betrayal and trickery, with a little plug for literacy thrown in to boot. We come to you from Heber Springs, AR., having just started our summer season of performing at libraries across the country. We drove out from Reno, where we always put together a new show. While we were there, we did a week residency at Acro Enso, a new facility that offers training in a variety of circus arts, including juggling, tumbling and handstands. We picked up some new skills that we plan to insert into our performances. Happy listening, Dennis (Henrik, King) and Kimberly (Narrator, Frederick, Servant)