INTRODUCTION TO ACT I
Today on TUNING IN THE U.S.A., we’re in the Stewart’s garage with Robbie. He’s putting trash into metal trash cans. A neighbor, Mrs. Goldberg, tells Robbie to be quieter. Then Richard appears, and he helps Robbie with the trash cans in a quieter way. They take the cans to the street. And then they notice an interesting difference between the Goldberg’s trash and their own.
Act I
Mrs. Goldberg: [calling] Robbie Stewart, what’s going on?
Robbie: [calling] Oh, hi, Mrs. Goldberg. I’m putting the trash in the trash cans. We sure have a lot of trash this week.
Mr: Do you have to make so much noise? My bedroom window is right here, you know. You woke me up with all your noise.
Robbie: I’ll try to be quieter. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.
Mr: Saturdays, I like to sleep late. Ah, but today’s a nice day. Maybe it’s good to be up early. I’ll see you later, Robbie.
Ro: Good-bye, Mrs. Goldberg. [He speaks to himself.] She thinks this is noisy? Wait till I empty the trash from the basement. Then she’ll get some real noise.
Ri: Hey, Robbie. Who are you talking to?
Ro: Oh, hi Richard. I’m talking to myself.
Ri: Yourself?
Ro: [he remembers.] Oh, and to Mrs. Goldberg. She thinks I’m making too much noise. She called from her window just to tell me so.
Ri: Maybe she has a point. It is only eight thirty-five.
Ro: Hey, Richard, whose side are you on?
Richard: You were a little loud. We’re all part of a neighborhood, you know.
Ro: You’re right. I guess I wasn’t being very neighborly.
Ro: Sure. Thanks, I can use the help. [He drags the cans.]
Richard: Wait! Don’t drag it across the driveway.
Robbie: You’re right. Mrs. Goldberg will be out here in a second.
Ri: Let’s pick up the trash can and carry it together. You grab the handle on one side. I’ll grab the handle on the other. [He helps Robbie carry the trash cans] [a little later]
Ri: There you go, Robbie. Four trash cans stuffed full and neatly lined up on the sidewalk.
Ro: Thanks for your help.
Ri: It’s okay.
Ro: Hey, Richard. Have you ever noticed something strange about the Goldberg’s trash?
Ri: Something strange about the Goldberg’s trash? No. What’s strange about it?
Ro: There isn’t any.
Ri: Come on. They have trash. I can see it.
Ro: There’s only one black plastic garbage bag. Where’s the rest: They should have two full trash cans, at least!
Ri: Robbie, I don’t have time to worry about the size of the Goldberg’s trash pile. I’ve got to get going. I have a job today-a little photojournalism. Want to come along?
Ro: Photojournalism? You bet, I’d like to come along!
INTRODUCTION TO ACT II
This time on TUNING IN THE U.S.A., Richard and his brother Robbie are visiting a trash recycling center with Betty Reynolds, a writer for an environmental magazine. As Richard is taking photographs to go with Betty’s story, Robbie sees his neighbor Mrs. Goldberg. And she helps him bear more about recycling trash and protecting the environment.
Act II
Richard: Maybe Betty got lost. Look for her car, Robbie. There’s a sign on the door that says “Hudson Valley Monthly.”
Ro: Hudson Valley Monthly? What’s that?
Ri: It’s environmental magazine. Betty Reynolds is a friend of Marilyn’s. She needed a photographer for a story she was writing.
Ro: And that’s the reason you got this job. Where are we going?
Ri: We’re going to a recycling center.
Ro: Recycling? You mean, “reusing things”?
Ri: Right. Reusing them so that we don’t always have to keep making more. We make so much trash, we’re going to run out of land. [Betty drives up and blows the horn.]
Ri: There’s Betty now. [They all drive to the recycling center, and Betty begins to explain the recycling process to Richard and Robbie.]
Ri: So the glass gets separated by color.
Be: That’s right, There’s a container for brown glass, green glass, and clear glass. Then it gets melted down and made into new glass.
Ro: Hey, that person is just smashing it up!
Betty: You’re supposed to do that. Broken bottles take up less room than unbroken bottles.
Ro: I guess that’s right. It sort of looks like fun.
Be: Richard, let’s go get some photographs of the area where they recycle old newspapers.
Ri: You lead the way, Betty. Coming, Robbie?
Ro: I’ll be there in a minute.
Goldberg: Excuse me, young man. Could you…
Ro: Mrs. Goldberg?
Goldberg: Robbie! I was just going to ask if you would help me lift a box of bottles from the trunk of my car.
Ro: I’d be happy to. I was pretty noisy this morning. I want to apologize for it.
Goldberg: That’s okay, Robbie. [She opens the trunk of her cat.]
Ro: Wow! You’ve got a lot of stuff here.
Go: Mrs. Goldberg and I try to recycle as much as we can.
Ro: Mr. Goldberg, I’ve just figured out something.
Goldberg: What’s that, Robbie?
Ro: If you recycle this much trash each week, no wonder you leave only one plastic bag for the trash collectors.
Go: Oh, you noticed. There’s a reason for that.
Robbie: What is it, Mrs. Goldberg?
Go: How long can people keep digging holes in the ground and filling them up with trash?
Ro: I don’t know the answer to that one.
Go: Well, until we get the answer to that question, would you like to help me recycle some bottles?
Ro: Sure, Mrs. Goldberg. I’ll help you smash a few! |