10.11.25 - Part 2

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, and welcome to Radio Eye's Children's Story Hour. As
a reminder, Radio Eye is a reading service intended for
people who are blind or have other disabilities that make
it difficult to read printed material. Today we will be
reading from various children's books. This book is about baseball.

(00:22):
Your reader today is Diane. We will start with the
book Playball Jackie, which was.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Published by Millbook mill Brook Press, division of Learner Publishing Group, Incorporated,
and has a copyright year of twenty eleven by Steven Grinsky.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Playball called the home Plate Umpire at Evans Fields. It
was Major League Baseball's opening day April fifteenth, nineteen forty seven.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were playing the Boston Braves. More than
twenty five thousand fans settled to their seats. One of

(01:09):
them was Mattie Romano. He was sitting on the grandstand
behind third base. The spring afternoon was cool, and the
air smelled of peanuts and popcorn. Mattie was a big
Dodgers fan. The team had finished second in the National
League in nineteen forty six. Mattie knew they would do
better this year. Just a few more wins and they

(01:31):
would make it to the World Series. A lot of
kids were in the stands, even on a school day.
Mattie's father, like many others, had taken him out early
for the afternoon game free tickets. His father had told
him one of the guys had at work refused to go. Really,
said Mattie, someone gave up tickets on opening day. He

(01:54):
must be crazy. Mattie's father shook his head. Not crazy,
he said, disgusted about what Mattie asked. His father pointed
at first base. The first baseman was pounding his fist
into his mint. Maddie knew his name, Jackie Robinson. He
was a black man. For a lot of people, that

(02:16):
was a problem. Up until now, black men didn't play
Major League baseball. Oh, sure, they played baseball all the time,
and some of them were really good, like Satchel Paige
and Josh Gibson, but they played only in the Negro
leagues where everyone was black. Baseball wasn't the only place
that had banned black people. Maddie had read that in

(02:38):
some parts of the country, black people couldn't eat in
certain restaurants, they couldn't stay in certain hotels. When they
rode a public bus, they had to sit in the back.
Time seemed to be changing. Though black soldiers had fought
for the United States in World War Two, now that
the war was over, black people were doing some things
that couldn't they couldn't before. One of those things was

(03:02):
to talk, was to take part in Major League baseball games.
What do you think, dad, Mattie asked, should Jackie Robinson
be here? I want to see the best players out there,
said his father. I don't care what color they are. Remember,
your grandfather came to America from Italy. Lots of people
didn't give him a chance either. He looked strange to them.

(03:25):
His clothes were shabby, and he spoke English with an accent.
He had to work long, hard for everything he got.
Maddie remembered hearing his grandfather's story around the kitchen table.
Everyone deserved a chance for a better life, his grandfather
and Jackie Robinson too. Maddie watched the Braves shortstop Dick

(03:46):
Coohler come to the plate. Dodger's pitcher Joe Hatton was
on the mound. Come on, Hatton, Mattie's father yelled at
the picture, show him the heat. Hatten pitched one out,
two out, three outs, three up, three downs, said Mannie,
just the way I like it now. The Dodgers came

(04:07):
to bat, Johnny Saying was pitching for the Braves. Robinson
was the second batter. Maddie had his fingers crossed, but
it didn't help. Robinson grounded out to the third. You're
an old man, Robinson yelled one spectator. Maddie turned to
his father, Jackie's twenty eight. His father explained, that's old

(04:28):
for a rookie, but he hit great in spring training,
even with all he had to put up with. Like
what asked Mannie, I read about in the paper, said
his father. Some players on other teams gave him a
hard time, and he couldn't stay at the same nice
hotels as the white ball players. Mattie shook his head.

(04:48):
He knows that some people in the crowd were wearing
I'm for Jackie buttons, most of them were black. On
the field, Jackie seemed comfortable at first base, helping to
turn a double play. Robinson used to play shortstop and
second base, said Mattie's father, but playing first was his
best chance to make being the majors. When Jackie came

(05:10):
up again, Mattie held his breath. This time Jackie flied
out to left field. At least he got some wood
on it. Maddie muttered, you stink, Robinson. Someone shouted behind him,
go back where you belong. Maddie frowned. He knew how
nervous he would be batting in his first major league game.

(05:31):
Maybe Jackie was nervous too. He certainly looked tense his
second time up, heading into a double play. At the
seventh inning stretch, the Dodgers behind three to two. Maddie
stood in line to buy a hot dog. Two white
kids were talking to a black boy in front of them.
That's stupid, said one, pointing to the eye for Jackie

(05:51):
button the black boy was wearing. Negroes should stick to
their own kinds, said the other. They'll never make it
in the big leagues. Robinson zero for three today. Just
you wait, said the black boy. Jackie will show you.
There are plenty of good black players out there. The
first kid laughed. But this is the majors, he said.

(06:13):
It sure is, said Maddie. That's why it's so important
for the Dodgers to have the best team possible. If
some of the best players are black, they're the ones
who can help us get to the World Series. That's
what we all want, isn't it. The boys nodded, everything
all right, asked his father when he got back. I
see you got a button. Maddie nodded. It was a

(06:34):
gift from a new friend. Oh we met these two kids,
may explain They didn't think Jackie belong on the team,
and his father asked, Maddie grinned. We straighten them out.
Jackie came to bed again. In the bottom of the seventh,
the ball rolled towards first It's Jackie ran the baseline.

(06:56):
The first baseman, Earl Torkinsen, charged the ball. He filled
it cleanly, but hurried his throat. The ball hit Jackie
on the bike and rode into right field with it.
Stansgill first. He bunted down the line. By the time

(07:17):
right fielder picked it up, Jackie was on second base,
Stanky was on third. Good hustle, Jackie yelled Mattie. His
father was impressed. Did you see that? He just exploded
out of the box. The next batter was Pete Riser.
He was one of Mattie's favors. Come on, said Mattie,
we need to tie it. At least. Riser hit a

(07:39):
double just inside the right field line. Both runners got
home easily. It was Jackie Robson's first run in the
big leagues. We're ahead now, said Matty, hopefully for keeps.
His hope came true. The Dodger scored once more that
inning and won the game five to three. So what'd
you think, Mattie's father asked as they stood to leave.

(08:02):
Maddie laughed. I think the guy you work with is
crazy crazy. Why is that because, said Maddie. I wouldn't
have missed Jackie Robinson for anything. As Maddie and his
father filed out of the stadium, they saw a lot
of happy faces. I wonder how nervous Shacky was, said Maddie.
I'll bet he's glad to have that game behind him.

(08:23):
The Dodger's new first baseman had done well. For Rookie.
It was a good sign watch out world series, Maddie shouted,
here we come. This was going to be a season
to remember. He just knew it. The next book is
about watermelon. We will start with Watermelon Madness, which was

(08:55):
published by swittt To Publishing and has a copyright year
of twenty eight teen. By tag Reed Najar NeuRA is
a little girl who loves to eat watermelon. Sheats watermelon
in the morning, she eats watermelon in the afternoon. Sheats

(09:17):
watermelon in the evening. One day, Nura sat down to
eat with her family. Mama scooped mylakaya with chicken and
rice onto Nura's plate, but Nura turned up her nose.
I don't like mochia, I don't like chicken. I only

(09:39):
want watermelon. Chicken is good for you, NeuRA, Baba insisted,
and malakaya is yummy. NeuRA roared watermelon, watermelon, I only
want watermelon. Mama was angry and said firmly, first you
eat your malakaya, then you you can have watermelon. That evening,

(10:03):
Nura snuck into the kitchen and saw big watermelon sitting
on the table. She stood there for a moment and thought, yum,
that is a very big watermelon. I want to eat
it all by myself. Nura took the watermelon and rode
under her bed so that she could eat it. After
everyone had gone to sleep, she fell asleep thinking about

(10:24):
the big watermelon under her bed. In the middle of
the night, Nora felt her bed shaking. She opened her
eyes and saw the watermelon growing bigger and bigger, and
bigger and bigger. It got so big that her bed
almost touched the ceiling. Nura slid down the watermelon. Oe O,

(10:48):
I'm so happy. I'm so happy. This whole watermelon is
aw for Mena walked through, walked around the watermelon and
found a door on its side. She opened the door
and went inside the watermelon. She walked down a long
hallway until she reached a bright, pink room. Inside were
a table and chair made out of watermelon seeds. Nurra

(11:13):
sat at the table. I'm so happy, I'm so happy,
this whole watermelon is all for me. Nora ate her
first piece of watermelon. Yum, this watermelon is so delicious.
I want more, and another piece of watermelon appeared right
in front of her. Nura kept eating and eating and eating,

(11:34):
and she kept eating, and she kept saying, I want more,
I want more, I want more. The moment she finished
a piece of watermelon, another one would appear in its place. Suddenly,
Nurra stopped eating. She felt herself getting bigger and bigger
as the watermelon got smaller and smaller. Nera grabbed her

(11:55):
belly and cried ow owl owl my tummy, heurts. I
don't want anymore. I don't want anymore. Nara opened her
eyes and fell Mama sitting next to her and patting her.
What's Rawmara, what's the matter. There was a giant watermelon
under my bed, and I ate so much of it
I felt like it swallowed me. Mama took the watermelon

(12:19):
out from under Neura's bed. Who put this watermelon under
your bed? Nera? Nera felt embarrassed? I did, I'm sorry, Mama.
I wanted to eat the whole watermelon all by myself,
but I started getting bigger and bigger as the watermelon
got smaller and smaller. Mama smiled, Go back to sleep now, Nura.

(12:40):
We'll talk about the magic watermelon tomorrow. Nura turned over
in her bed and fell asleep right away. The next
morning of breakfast. At breakfast, Nera ate her fried egg
and the tar with olive oil, and drank all of
her milk. Today we will be reading from a book

(13:06):
about fishing. We will start with the book Fishing Day,
which was published by Hypering Books and has a copyright
year of two thousand and three by Andrea Davis Pickney.

(13:29):
When Saturday comes Mama and I wake long before the
sun so we can catch the fish right when they wake. Mama,
you up, I call, But before Mama even answers, I
smell Homani cooking in the kitchen. Mama leans in the
doorway of my bedroom. I've been up, she says. Make
sure we got us a hot breakfast. I pull on

(13:52):
my overalls and buckle them fast before the coat has
a chance to reach my bones. In the kitchen, Mama says,
eat good now, Reenie. We've got a long fishing day ahead.
Mama and me, we sure love fishing. We've got a
special fishing place along the north bank of a wide
money stream folks around here called jim Crow River. Mama

(14:15):
bates each of our hooks with a kernel of corn
from her sick, then cast the rest into the water.
We watch the corn pellet's float just below the water's surface.
We wait for the carp to come along and nibble
the tiny jewels of foods. Today, the carp aren't taking
up our bait, not even a nibble. I say, patience, Reenie,

(14:39):
Mama says softly. Fish can be finicky at the start. Suddenly,
a little stone skips across the water, Lee's crunch up
behind us. It's mister Billy Troup and his boy Pigeon.
Pigeon's not his real true name. His real name is Peter.
I call him Pigeon because when he and his daddy
come to fish, pigeons doing everything but sitting still. He's

(15:03):
always flitting somewhere, just like an old jumpy bird. Mister
Troops got his bucket of bait and two fishing rods.
Pigeon races off towards the river's edge, skipping another stone,
messing up the waters. Calm Mama shakes her head. That
boy suffering from want. She says, it's a shame too,

(15:23):
because all of us, even the fish, suffer from flurry.
The flurry he makes a shame, I say, Mama's told
me that Pigeon in his steady have it harder than
most folks. She says. They don't fish just for the
love of it. They need to fish so they can eat.
And all the time we've been fishing alongside Pigeon and
his stady, we've never said a word to them, and

(15:44):
they've never said a word to us, not a word.
Today's no different. At first, the troops pretend they don't
see us. But when I look in pigeon's direction, he
hopes on with his eyes like he wishes he could
speak to me. Watch the wateringie, Mama says, her face
getting tight. Mister Troup puts a hand on pigeons back.

(16:07):
Keep with this side of things, he says. That's when
Mama tells me how the river got his nicknamed Jim Crow.
Is the law of the land, She explains, the law
that says black people have a place, white people have
a place. And the two shits steer clear of each other.
But Mama, I say, rivers are for everybody. Mama tries

(16:28):
to help me understand. That's true in nature's eyes, Reenie,
But folks who fish have their own ideas. We and
white folks have kept our distance here for as long
as memory serves. Mister Troop and pigeons set down their
gear on the river bank, not far from Mama and me.
Their voices pierce the dawn. Come away from the waters, son,

(16:50):
Mister Troop calls, you'll spook the fish with all that commotion,
with all that flitting. I say so, only Mama can hear.
Mister Troop baits his hooks with nightcrawlers he and pigeon
ever catch any fish with those crawlers. Someone needs to
tell them that the crawlers are too scrawny this time

(17:10):
of year, that carp like corn and bread ball's best.
There's a chili bite to the air. Mister trooper has
got his cat pulled down lower over his eyes. Pigeons
singing bogle mo a ditty that I bet a whole
doll makes the carp want to plug their ears. Mama

(17:32):
tosses another handful of corn into the water, still not
even a nip. I secure my pole between my elbow
and my hipbone and reach into my pocket to pull
out my gloves. Only got one glove. When my line
jerks up then forward, I don't waste time with my
second glove. I struggle with this line, then cut. It's
some slight. Finally I reil in the line. Sure enough,

(17:55):
I've hooked a nice big carp a keeper. Mama says
she's beautiful, beautiful. After we've linked our first catch to
the carry chain, Mama's line starts to dance. She's got
a feisty one. Another keeper. We link her catch with mine,
invade our hooks again. This time I toss the corn kernels,

(18:15):
and I can see the carp coming to greet them.
The news is out that we got corn, Mama says
the carper, telling all their friends. She laughs, Pigeon and
mister Trup having caught a thing. When mister Troup adjusts
the grip on his poe his real brakes, he looks
like he's trying hard to keep his eyes on fixing
his poe, But I see him sneaking glances at Mom

(18:38):
and me. They always get a catch, I hear pigeon wine.
Hush up, boy, mister Troup says, I mind your own business.
He stomps off to where he's parked on the other
side of the hill. We just need some flyers from
a truck. It's is all. Pigeon gets down, sets down
his poe next to his daddy's, and starts sending little

(19:00):
stones into the river again. But he's not skipping the
stones now, he's flinging them. He blows into his cup
hands to keep them warm. He sniffs hard, like he's
trying to hold something. Then he's back to chucking stones,
but this time he's chucking stones towards Mama and me.
The first one he throws doesn't come close, but the
second one nicks me on the knee. I let go

(19:21):
of my rod and rub my leg hard. Mama, I will.
Mama hugs me to her, helping me ease the steam
that's charging up in me. That boy's hurting me, she says,
her jaw firm, and he can't help but spread his
herd around. Let's get home, Mama, I snap. Mama shakes

(19:43):
her head. No. She gathers up her sack of corn
and our rods. We go to a place further down
the river. Mama's quiet. My line tugs for the second
time that day. I've got another carp, a long one.
It's yellow belly, listening under the morning sun. Pigeons looking
and straight at us. Even from where we're fishing, I

(20:03):
can see he's working hard not to cry, and there's
shame on his face. He looks sorry for what he did.
Mama and I carefully string my fish into the carry
chain with the others. Then I reach into our sack
for a new corn kernel to bait my hook. As
soon as I feel my hand curl around those nubby kernels,
I know what I've got to do. I gather up

(20:25):
the corn to sack and start towards pigeon, slighting Mama
a single backward glance. She nods. When Pigeon sees me
coming with our bag of corn, he looks scared and
glad all at the same time. I can see that
his hands are wraf from the code. My name's Rennie,
I say, giving him the glove from my pocket. I'm Peter,
Peter Troop. He turns his eyes towards the hill. There's

(20:48):
no sign of his daddy. I pull out a fist
full of corn from my sack. Here, I say, offering
the colonels to Peter. They'll call up the corp, I
tell him. He nods like he know he already knows,
but he won't take the corn. I baite Peter's hook
for him. Now, all you gotta do is wait and

(21:09):
be still, I say, hoping he'll give his stone throwing
a rest. I leave my small mound of corn on
the grass next to Peter and go back to where
Mama's still fishing. When I look sideline down the river,
I can see that Peter's scattering the corn into the
water in front of him. Then he sits with his rod,
just as patient as can be. He's quiet, too quiet,

(21:30):
and still. When mister Troop comes back, Peter's got a
snap tug on his fishing line. Mister Troop is all giddy,
he rushes to tell Peter real in the line. Mama
gives a single nod the corn. You'll do it every time,
she says to me, bring her uneasy now, I say,
struggling to keep my eyes straight ahead on my own

(21:52):
bit of water. When Peter brings in his line, he's
got two fish, one on his hook, the other one
biting the first fish's tail. Troop collaps Peter's shoulder. My boy,
he says, I can see that Peter's proud. Soon Peter
and his daddy pack up their tackle box and head
for the truck. I can't see them drive away, but

(22:13):
I hear the truck barreling off. I guess ladies luck
smiled on them. Mama says she's smile double. I say,
feeling a little google rise up in me. The next day,
Mama and I are walking home from church when I
stop when I spot the Troops trucking a truck crossing

(22:34):
the north bend of the hill near jim Crow River.
When the truck circles around, it's coming towards Mama and me.
Mister Troops got his eyes fixed on the road. I
look real hard to see Peter, but he's not in
the cab next to his daddy. Next. Then the truck
grunts ahead. I turned to watch it pass, and I

(22:56):
see Peter sitting in the flatbed. He's looking right at
me and waving with the glove I gave him, and
I waved back. Now we will be reading about planting.
We will start with the book We Planted a Tree,
which was published by Golden Books, a division of Random
House Children Books, and has a copyright year of twenty

(23:19):
ten by Diane Muldraw. We planted a tree. We planted
a tree and it grew up. We planted a tree
and it grew up. While it reached for the sky
in the sun, the sunshine went into the leaves and
brought food to the tree, and the tree grew up.

(23:41):
Fat little buds appeared on the branches. The sunshine went
into the buds, and soon they burst open. Everywhere. It
was pink, and we were dizzy with springtime. The sun
kept shining. The pink blossoms dropped off, but soon there
were green leaves, green, green, shiny, leaves, which had food
for inside, for the tree, green green shin lees, which

(24:05):
cooled us, which kept the earth cool. We planted a
true in a tree, and it grew up and gave
us a shady place. The trees leaves helped clean the air,
and we breathed better. And the tree fed us apples
and oranges and lemons and sat for our syrup. We

(24:25):
planted a tree, and it grew up. The tree kept
the soil from blowing away. Now rainwater could stay in
the earth. The soil became healthier because the tree was there.
So we planted. We planted butternut squash and beans, corn
and onions and cabbage. In the healthy soil, the rich
dark dirt, we could grow our own food, and we

(24:47):
ate better. We planted a tree and it grew up,
and it dropped acorns that feed the squirrels in the winter,
and birds came, and other animals came to to live
with the tree. We planted it tree, and that one
tree made the world better. We planted a tree, and
that one tree helped till the earth. We planted a tree,

(25:12):
and it grew up, and so did and so did we.
Today's book we will be reading it's about America. We
will start with the book America, My Love, America, My Heart,

(25:34):
which was published by Harper Collins Children's Books and has
a copyright year of twenty twenty one, written by Daria
People's Righty America, The Brave America of the bodes America,

(25:55):
to have America, to hold America, My Country. Do you
love me? Do you love me from the inside out?
Do you love me from the outside end? Do you
love the way I speak in English? Yes? Spanish no?
And in my Creole? Do you love my fuzza moptey,

(26:19):
the way my fists clinch against my hips, the way
my legs stretched strong? Do you love mystoria mouveage, from
shore to shore, east to west, south to north, from
then to now, from there to here, where my glory

(26:42):
rises in the belly of my soul, where I swing
my halo to and fro, Where I am loved, where
I am ho. Do you love me when I raise
my hand, my head, my voice, when I whisper, when
I shout? Do you love me when I stand stand in,

(27:03):
stand up, stand out? Do you love my Yes? Do
you love my no? When I shrug my shoulders no,
say Mopolconio. I don't know for you to love me?

(27:23):
How long will it be? How long will it take?
How long must I wait for you to love me?
From sea to shining sea? America? Me Amore America Moque.
Do you love my block? Do you love my brown?
Do you love my throne? Do you love my crown?

(27:44):
Do you love my brave? Do you love my boat?
Am I to have? Am I to hope? America, Land
of the Free, America tis of the America. I am
you America, You are me. This concludes the Children's Story
Hour for today. Please join us next time as we

(28:07):
will read more stories, fables and fairy tales. Thank you
for listening and please stay tuned for the Lexington Herald
Leader on Radio I