The Jester and the Straw Roof

"The Jester and the Straw Roof" is a trickster tale from India about a poor man who gets his due by exercising his wits - in effect, by playing a joke on someone rich and powerful, which is appropriate, since this individual is a joker by trade. But we trade the traditional concept of a court jester for the persona of Batman's nemesis The Joker, as interpreted by the late Heath Ledger, and ably imitated by our resident mimic Zephyr. We also are aided and abetted this week by our friend Cassia, since we come to you from her hometown in Massachusetts.

We talk about the tour that Dennis and Zephyr took of Valley Forge National Park, just north of Philadelphia. During the winter of 1777-78, Gen. George Washington and his men took a very different kind of tour of this property, a military stand to fight back the British invasion. It was a harsh winter and the troops worked under extreme hardships, often having inadequate clothing and little food.

Even Washington had it rough, sharing cramped quarters, with several members of his staff - although he certainly was better off than the troops. At least he was in a fine old house with servants and a comfortable bed; they on the other hand, slept in crude little log huts - or on the ground while they were constructing these!

We were able to see some very accurate replicas of these huts, and they looked anything but inviting, in any kind of weather. We also toured Gen. Washington's painstakingly restored house on the Schuylkill River, furnished just as it might have been when he was using it, down to the pens and papers on the desk.

We also mention the alternating days of bike touring that Kimberly and Dennis have been doing from Valley Forge to Bristol, CT, getting in as many as 65 miles a day - often on very hilly terrain. At least the soldiers never had do that!

Happy Listening,

Dennis (Maharajah), Kimberly (narrator), Zephyr (Jester/Joker) and Cassia (the wife)

Learn more about Valley Forge