Last night’s WPCA-FM broadcast of my stories was Snow Job and The Four Dwarfs, the last of the mangled fairy tales I wrote. You can find it online in Four Short Stories and in print in the paperback Six Short Stories. It’s a fun story to read and the reactions from listeners at my readings have been fun to experience. One woman cam to me after a reading to apologize for giggling throughout the story. “I couldn’t help it!” she said. Another attendee rendered my favorite quote:”You took us from tears to belly laughs. It was wonderful!” She was referring to the fairy tale and the more sober story preceding it, Lost Wax. As I’ve said often, I greatly appreciate WPCA’s broadcast of my stories the first Tuesday of each month. It is a privilege few authors ever get and I am grateful. And you know, every so often someone tells me they’ve heard one of the stories. One couple, friends of mine and Marina, told me they pulled to the side of the road so they could hear the complete story. I can’t pull in the station on the radio, so I listen through my computer. It’s fun to find out which of the recorded stories Bob and LuAnn at the station will choose to air.
Marina and I motored to St.Paul today to bring her cello to Jennifer Becker, reputedly the best string instrument maker/repairer in the Twin Cities. Marina can no longer see nor hear so the cello now is part of her past and should go to someone who can play it regularly. Finding someone that can facilitate that search is not easy, hence Jennifer. She comes from a line of violin makers. Her grandfather emigrated to Chicago and founded his business there. His son, Jennifer’s father, followed his master craftsman father, and so did Jennifer, who found that she preferred “working in the shop” to performing, although even just a brief exposure to her playing showed an artist’s ability to play well. Marina’s cello has a rich sound, which simply enhances the listening experience.
Becker’s shop is located in the Lexington-Hamline area. Back in the late 1960’s, the neighborhood came together to keep itself as a desirable place to live, so as I drove the streets between Selby and Marshall I found well kept older homes and genteel tree-lined avenues. We arrived early for our appointment with Jennifer Becker so we spent a bit of time at the Yellow Bird coffee shop across the street. Both experiences were a nice discovery and a nice break from the freeway travel to and from St.Paul.