INTRODUCTION TO ACT I
Today on TUNING IN THE U.S.A., we’re at the Stewarts’ home in Riverdale, New York. The mail has just arrived. And in the mail is a cassette tape from Richard Stewart. Richard and his friend Andreas Pappas have sent a recorded message about their travels across the country. As Robbie and Grandpa play the tape, Grandpa remembers his travel adventures when he was a young man. And then Grandpa surprises Robbie with an idea for a new adventure.
ACT I
Robbie: Grandpa, the mail’s here! We got another cassette tape from Richard.
Grandpa: Great! Let’s play the tape, where is this one from?
Robbie: Let’s see. [He puts the tape in the cassette recorder and turns it on.]
Richard’s voice: Hello, everybody. This is Richard --out West. Say “hello,” Andreas.
Andreas’s voice: Hello, everybody.
Richard’s voice: We’re having a great time. I’ve taken hundreds of photographs.
Andreas’s voice: And I’ve recorded all kinds of music.
Richard’s voice: We’re looking forward to seeing Grandpa in Denver next week. Right now, we’re in Texas, at a small Baptist church.
Andreas’s voice: In a few minutes, we’re going to hear some gospel music.
Richard” voice: Oops! The church service is starting. I’ll tell you more after we go hear the music. Good-bye for now.
[The tape stops.]
Grandpa: It sounds like they are having a fine time!
Robbie: And Richard’s looking forward to seeing you out there next week. You’ll have a great time, I’m sure. [He thinks.] Colorado. I’ve never been there.
Grandpa: Denver. The Rocky Mountains. I remember when I went west as a young man. That was in 1938.
Robbie: What did you find out there?
Grandpa: I found a job with the U.S. Forrest Service.
Robbie: What kind of job was it?
Grandpa: I helped fight forest fires.
Ro: Boy! Life was more exciting in the old days.
Gr: Oh, I don’t know. You can find adventure anywhere.
Ro: Not in Riverdale, New York. The most exciting thing around here is the monkey house at the zoo.
Gr: Hello. North American Airlines? I have a reservation for Saturday on flight number 240 to Denver, Colorado. My name is Malcolm Stewart.
Ro: [He whispers.] What are you doing, Grandpa?
Gr: Shh! Yes, ma’am, that’s right… I would like to reserve a second seat on the flight. It’s for my grandson, Robbie Stewart.
Ro: [whispering] I don’t believe it!
Gr: Tourist class, please… Thank you… Good-bye. [He hangs up the phone.]
Robbie: Grandpa, I… I can’t just fly off to Denver all of a sudden.
Gr: You only live once, boy. Well, do you want to come with me?
Ro: I sure do, Grandpa.
Introduction to act II
This time on Tuning in the U.S.A., Robbie and Grandpa are flying to Denver, Colorado, to meet Richard Stewart. They are thirty-five thousand feet in the air, looking down on the beauty of the fields below. They see the Great Plains of the central United States, and Grandpa remembers his trip across America fifty years ago. He shares his memories with Robbie.
Act II
Announcer: [He speaks on the loudspeaker at the airport.] Last call. Flight 240 to Denver, Colorado, now boarding, Gate 13.
Grandpa: C’mon, Robbie. That’s our flight! Hurry up!
Robbie: Let me carry your travel bag, Grandpa.
Gr: Excuse me, sir. Where is gate 13?
Man: Gate 30? Sure. Go down this corridor-
Gr: No, no. Thirteen. Gate thirteen.
Man: Oh, I thought you said thirty. Gate 13 is right over there.
Grandpa: Thanks. C’mon, Robbie. [to an attendant] Is this the flight to Denver?
Attendant: Yes it is. May I see your tickets, please?
Gr: Here they are.
At: You can go right through that door. Have a nice flight. [later that afternoon. Grandpa and Robbie are in the airplane.]
Ro: Look down there, Grandpa. It looks like they’ve planted corn across the whole country. It’s so beautiful. Look at those squares of color.
Gr: Uh-huh. I guess we’re over Iowa or South Dakota. I hitchhiked through there back in 1938.
Ro: You hitchhiked all the way to Colorado?
Gr: Yeah. People did that a lot back then. I probable slept in that field over there and caught catfish from that river. Have you ever had roasted corn and catfish for breakfast?
Ro: No, I can’t say that I have. How long did it take to get to Denver?
Gr: Oh, a couple of weeks. I don’t remember, exactly.
Robbie: Why so long? Didn’t cars stop and pick you up?
Gr: Oh, they stopped. But there weren’t so many cars in those days. And people took more time to do things.
Ro: Now we can fly and see half the country in a couple of hours.
Gr: Oh, I don’t know about that. If you really want to see America, you have to walk down the back roads. Take a bath in the rivers.
Ro: Sleep under the trees?
Grandpa: You’re getting the idea.
Ro: Maybe someday I’ll take a trip like that. I could write a book about it.
Gr: Great idea!
At: Excuse me. Would you gentlemen like some lunch now?
Ro: I’d like some roasted corn and catfish, please.
Gr: Me, too!
At: We just gave away the last of our catfish. How about some chicken?
Gr: [He laughs.] Well, I guess that’ll be just fine. |