This week we present the Japanese fable "The Grateful Sparrow" (otherwise known as "The Tongue-Cut Sparrow" in a harsher version), a cautionary tale about greed and gratitude.

We come to you from Pennsylvania, with our special guest star Libby, Zephyr's friend from the San Francisco Bay Area. A glutton for punishment, she's spending the entire month of October touring with us, to get a taste of the glamorous life.

Amish Farm and House

We report on our visit to the Amish Farm and homestead in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a preserved two-story dwelling open for public tours. In the heart of a busy shopping and tourist district, the Amish attraction sits right smack next to a Target store. But step inside, and you quickly forget that you're in the Twenty-First Century. A knowledgeable guide explains the facts of the Amish lifestyle and answers your questions -- and there were some interesting questions from our inquisitive tour group. The 15-acre farm, which was opened for public tours in 1955, features a stone farmhouse built in 1803 and a one-room schoolhouse opened for tours last year.

Field of Screams

But the reason we were in Lancaster to begin with was so Zephyr and Libby could "work" (i.e. volunteer) at Field of Screams, which many consider the premiere haunted attraction in the country. (If you build it, they will scream.) Every October, this place comes alive with the sounds of ghouls and goblins and patrons getting their wits scared out of them. The complex features two haunted houses, a haunted hayride, and a special "Little Screamers" section for the younger ones. And it is, we can attest, an extremely popular place.

Happy Listening,

Dennis (narrator), Kimberly (wife), Zephyr (husband) and Libby (sparrow)

Traditionally, Native Americans have enjoyed telling myths about how various natural phenomena originated. And "naturally", the members of the Seneca Tribe (part of the Iroquois Confederation) were greatly impressed by Niagara Falls, as millions of visitors have been in more recent times.
Niagara Falls
This week, we bring you our wacky version of the tale we call "Niagara", which is perhaps the best-known account of how this majestic landmark came to be. It's certainly more poetic than the scientific version of a huge glacier trucking through 10,000 years ago, and it also features an important theme about the hazards of greed and the importance of revering nature. Niagara apparently comes from a Seneca word, but nobody's certain which word or exactly what the name means -- our favorite version is "thundering water". Originally located about 7 miles north, near Lewiston, NY and Queensland, Ontario, Niagara Falls moved southward to its present location over the years due to erosion. (Yes, you read that right: these waterfalls are nomadic, just like us!) There are three waterfalls in all, although the smallest one, Bridal Veil, is the Cinderalla of the group, tucked behind an island where most people don't even see it. There's Horseshoe Falls, which is 173 feet high and 2600 feet wide, and American Falls, which is 70 feet tall and about 1100 feet wide. (American Falls was taller until 1954, when a massive rockslide deposited some enormous boulders at its base. Hmmm... it was sort of like the Native American story.) Fed by the 35-mile long Niagara River -- one of the few rivers on this continent to flow north -- Niagara Falls drops 100,000 cubic feet of water per second over the cliffs in peak season. We reminisce about our past visits to this splendid sight, including our first time during a very harsh winter, when the falls were surrounded by ice and snow.
Maid of the Mist
And we talk about our excursion this time on a Maid of the Mist boat, one of the vessels that have been taking tourists out to the bottom of Horseshoe Falls since 1846. In 1960, one of these boats rescued a 7-year-old boy who was swept over the falls, the first person ever to survive such a fall without protective gear. Other foolhardy folk have made the plunge over the years in barrels, and some have survived -- one 63-year-old woman did so in 1901. One man survived the feat, spent 6 months in the hospital recovering, and later died from injuries sustained when he slipped on an orange peel in the street. On this podcast, we also discuss Zephyr's latest jaunt to North Carolina to perform with his band; and how in his absence mom and dad took a bicycle ride to Canada.
Happy Listening!
Dennis (Water Spirit); Kimberly (Girl) and Zephyr (Old Man)

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