Air Date: December 26, 2014

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Christmas Candles / Jay O'Callahan

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Master storyteller Jay O’Callahan joins host Steve Curwood to share some tales about his family during the holiday season. O’Callahan recalls his community’s tradition of Christmas caroling and how it brought hope to his mother in a time of darkness and for Christmases to come. (07:15)

Mary’s New Year’s Eve / Jay O'Callahan

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Jay O’Callahan sat down with host Steve Curwood and shared some tales about his family and how an imaginative young girl creates her own special celebration as the guest of honor at a very exclusive party. (04:00)

Superbowl Sundae / Jay O'Callahan

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For many children, some vital grown-up rituals can be very tedious. So, as storyteller Jay O’Callahan shares with host Steve Curwood, the imaginative youngster Mary creates her own unusual but delicious version of Superbowl Sunday, with sundae toppings. (06:40)

A Green Message for the Next Generation / Tem Blessed

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Tem Blessed, an environmentally and socially-conscious hiphop artist, sat down with host Steve Curwood to discuss how contemporary music can communicate the importance of the environment and sustainability to young audiences. He illustrates this with two of his own pieces: “I am the bee” and “Now is the time.” (09:30)

Maine Life In Song / Denny Breau

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Denny Breau, a singer/songwriter from Maine, joins host Steve Curwood during these cold winter months to discuss some of the moments that warm his heart. He performs so g he has written about one of his favorite holiday meals, ice fishing, his Acadian family, and the newest generation. (21:00)

Show Credits and Funders

Show Transcript

HOST: Steve Curwood

GUESTS: Jay O'Callahan, Tem Blessed, Denny Breau

[MUSIC]

CURWOOD: From Public Radio International, this is Living on Earth. I'm Steve Curwood. We have some special music today because we're taking a break from news of environmental trouble and triumphs and just celebrating life as people take time at home for the holidays. So this is our winter solstice and holiday time show of storytelling and music. Songwritter Denny Breau tells his story of home and holidays, along with green hip-hop artist Tem Blessed. And we have a true tale of light and hope during the shortest days of the year, from master storyteller, Jay O'Callahan.

O'CALLAHAN: When I was a little boy, Christmas Eve was very special. My sisters and I would run halfway across the street, and we'd turn and look at our house. It was a big old house and it would be dark, but there would be a lit candle in every window. But then came the Christmas Eve when everything was different.

CURWOOD: We're celebrating the season with stories and music on Living on Earth. Stick around.

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ANNOUNCER: Support for Living on Earth comes from United Technologies – innovating to make the world a better, more sustainable place to live.

Christmas Candles

CURWOOD: From the Jennifer and Ted Stanley Studios in Boston and PRI, this is Living on Earth. I’m Steve Curwood. This time of year when the sun is lowest in the northern sky and the days are short, we take a break from the often urgent pace of environmental news and information to celebrate life with some stories and songs, as folks gather at home for the holidays. So make yourself comfortable. Maybe throw another log on the fire, or perhaps get out of the passing lane, and get ready to enjoy wonderful performances, starting with a true journey to hope and fulfillment with master storyteller Jay O'Callahan.

[MUSIC]

CURWOOD: Jay O'Callahan is no stranger to Living on Earth. Jay tours nationally, bringing his stories to a wide variety of audiences, and we're so glad to have him back to celebrate the holiday season. Great to see you.

O'CALLAHAN: It's wonderful to be back.

CURWOOD: Our theme is “Home For the Holidays,” and, Jay, you have a personal story about home and family when you were growing up with you and your sisters and you went caroling.

O'CALLAHAN: Yes, Steve, it's called "Christmas Candles", and here's the story.

When I was a little boy, Christmas Eve was very special. My sisters and I would run down the outside back stairs. It would be dark and cold. We'd run halfway across the street, and we would turn and look at our house. It was a big old house and it would be dark, but there would be a lit candle in every window. My sister Maureen would do it with my dad, and Maureen never forgot things. It would take our breath away.

Then we'd run across the street to the Graham's and Dr. Graham would take us Christmas caroling. Maybe 12 of 14 neighborhood kids. We'd go all over the neighborhood. Dr. Graham was the director of the Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain - that's in Boston - and he would work seven days a week, ’til 10 o’clock at night, but a few days before Christmas Eve he would come home early. He would gather us all in the living room to conduct us. Music was very important to him. He would bend over and conduct with his hands and his eyes and we would sing [SINGS QUIETLY] Venite adoremus. Then he would stand up a little straighter [SINGS A LITTLE LOUDER] Venite adoremus. Then he’d stand all the way up [SINGS LOUDLY] Venite adoremus. We felt very important.

But then came the Christmas Eve when everything was different. My mother, usually full of energy, she was tired that day and she was pale. Three days before she’d given birth to my brother Christopher. Christopher! I had three sisters and now a brother, Christopher. He had this big name, “Christopher.” I had this little name, “Jay,” but he was Christopher. I could imagine Christopher coming home wearing his diapers carrying the car. "Christopher's home!"

But Christopher didn't come home. Something was wrong, maybe it was his heart. So mother was worried all that Christmas Eve day. Daddy was out shopping with Uncle Neal, which meant he might come home festive. Later in the day there was a phone call. Mother picked it up, and the doctor said, "Your baby is dying. There's nothing we can do," and he hung up. It was so abrupt.
Daddy was furious. He came home and got the doctor and said, "Listen. That is no way to tell anyone their child is dying. We will be right down."

So we went down to the hospital. We were on the third floor. We went all the way down. It was this glassed-in area. We could see these little babies, and one of the babies was turning blue. It was Christopher. Another doctor came over and said to Dad, "There is a new procedure. We replace the blood. We'll know in a few days."

So we went home, not knowing whether Christopher was going to live or die. Dad helped mother up our wide front stairs into the room. He came out of the room. It was dark, and he saw us in the hallway, and he said, "There's nothing you can do. Just hope for the best. Go Christmas caroling."

So we ran down the outside back stairs, ran halfway across the street and turned. We were so disappointed. All the electric lights were on. Even Maureen had forgotten to light the white candles. And Dr. Graham took us all over the neighborhood. He always knew who was hurt and sad and lonely. We would go to the Free Hospital For Women. We would do the Christmas caroling in the big ward, and the whole thing took two hours. So that night we came back over the hill towards our house, and we all stopped and looked at our big old house. It was all dark, but there was a little white candle in every window. And Dr. Graham said, “We're going to sing one more carol, for your mother.”

And we did something we'd never done before. We walked around behind the house and we were singing up towards mother's window on the second-floor. The window was all black, but there was that white candle. We were singing “The First Noel.” He was conducting us, and then mother appeared in the window wearing a white house coat. She looked like an angel.

Ten years later we were finishing up the Christmas caroling, and Dr. Graham said, "One more carol." It was a tradition now. We always sang up to mother's window. So we were singing, and as we were singing…I had my college sweater on... Singing “The First Noel,” mother appeared as she always did and then I looked...My sister was beside me, Maureen, and she was crying. And I thought, "Oh, she's just been married. She's going off to Chicago." And then I realized she was crying because she was standing beside Christopher. He was 10 years old.

CURWOOD: You got me with that one, Jay.

O'CALLAHAN: Good.

CURWOOD: I just got that catch in my throat. So your brother lived.

O'CALLAHAN: My brother lived. He loves to hear that story only because of that moment. If they had not replaced the blood, he would've died. And it was just a new procedure at the time. So he was something like negative, but it was only that other doctor who happened to hear and come over.

CURWOOD: So he's your family's Christmas present all these years.

O'CALLAHAN: Yes it's true. I told that at Thanksgiving, and Christopher said, "Good ending!"

[MUSIC]

Related link:
More about Storyteller Jay O’Callahan

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Mary’s New Year’s Eve

CURWOOD: [LAUGHS] Jay O'Callahan, storyteller, is with us this holiday special, and you have a story about Mary. Now, as I understand it, she's an imaginative, really highly creative girl, and she uses that creativity to make sense of the world that grown-ups present to her.

O'CALLAHAN: Yes, Steve, and these stories were made up when my daughter was seven and eight and nine. If my son was asleep she would get Mary stories. If she was asleep, my son would get Willie stories. And I think that the stories try to reflect my daughter's own playfulness and imagination and making sense of the world when you're seven and eight and nine. Whenever there was an event like New Year's Eve or some special holiday, she would want to a Mary story about that, and that's how the story came along.

CURWOOD: Well, since New Year's Eve is coming, Jay, tell us how Mary figured out how to ring in the new year.

O'CALLAHAN: Mary was eight years old. She lived in New York City. She loved the color red. Her uncle and aunt would give her red belts, red socks, a red hat. Her mother designed dresses. Her Mother would show Mary a design, and she'd say, "I know. There's not enough red. Is that right?" and she would say, "Yes." Mary was the only one on the bus who hoped the bus would have to stop for a red light.

Her mother said a few days before New Year's, "Mary, why don't you stay up until midnight, to toast the new year in with your father and I."
"Oh no. I'm going to a party."
"You are?"
"Yes, I'm the guest of honor."
Nothing more was said.

New Year's Eve, Mary dressed up in her red dress, black bow, black belt. She had supper with her parents. It was almost 9 o'clock, and her mother said, "Only three more hours."
"Oh no, I have to go. Good night."
Kissed her parents goodbye, ran down the hall, opened a door, stepped into her room, put on the light and the guests said, "Welcome, Mary!"
Mary went right to her table, and she turned the clock the ahead almost three hours so it looked like two minutes to midnight. Then she looked at at the guests, 60 guests, all made of toothpicks in little clay bases. 30 of the guests had black crêpe paper. They were the men dancers. 30 of the guests had red crêpe paper. They were the women dancers.

Then she got the fan, turned it on, and the fan rotated back and forth so the dancers leaned back [SHHH, SHHH] and sprang forward [SHHH, SHHH] and back on the table. She put the needle on the old-fashioned record her grandmother had given her with the New Year's music. [SINGS MELODY OF AULD LANG SYNE.]
"Hurry, Mary," the guests said, "Hurry, Mary!"
She ran over to the corner where she had a dollhouse and she had a tiny glass with just one drop of cherry soda. She lifted the glass and she said, "Happy New Year!"
"You're the best, Mary!"
"Oh, no..."
"Yes, you're the best."
"I suppose..."
The real New Year's came, and her parents came down to check on Mary. They opened the door. The light was on. Mary was sound asleep in the bed with her red dress. The fan was going on, and the dancers [SHHH-SHHH] going back and forth. And the needle was on the end of the record going [TICK, TICK]. Her father took the needle off, shut the victrola off, and her mother covered Mary. The two of them toasted their daughter, then they left to turn the light out, but they left the fan on so the dancers could dance New Year in [SHHH-SHHH].

CURWOOD: Well, Mary has a great world, doesn't she?

O'CALLAHAN: [LAUGHS] She does. Imagination can do anything.

CURWOOD: So, she understands what's important about the New Year, and then I guess a few weeks later she is challenged by another tradition. This time, it's the Super Bowl.

O'CALLAHAN: Yes.

CURWOOD: We'll be back in a few moments with more about Mary from storyteller Jay O'Callahan. Stay tuned to Living on Earth.

Related link:
More about Storyteller Jay O’Callahan

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[MUSIC]

ANNOUNCER: Funding for Living on Earth comes from the Grantham Foundation for the protection of the environment, supporting strategic communications and collaboration in solving the world’s most pressing environmental problems. The Kendeda Fund, furthering the values that contribute to a healthy planet, and Gilman Ordway for coverage of conservation and environmental change. Living on Earth is also supported by Stonyfield Farm, makers of organic yogurt, smoothies and more. www.stonyfield.com.

[MUSIC]

Superbowl Sundae

CURWOOD: It's the Living on Earth solstice and holiday season show. I'm Steve Curwood. We're back with Jay O'Callahan for another Mary story. This one takes us further into the New Year. For Mary, a certain pro-sports event turns into an opportunity to play her own game. So Jay, what is the story?

O'CALLAHAN: Steve, this Mary story is called "Superbowl Sundae.”

Mary, eight-years-old, lives in New York, loves the color red. Sunday evening, she'll say to her dad, "Let's play checkers," and she would have the red checkers. Or they would go walking, and her dad would say, "Look at that dog on the red leash," and she might say, "Look at that nose on that red face". She loves the color red. So one Sunday evening she ran in the living room, "All right, Dad, let's play checkers!"
"Oh no, Mary, this is Superbowl Sunday."
"What's that?"
"Oh, this is the best football game of the year. I've been waiting all year for this, Mary. On the table, Mary, I've got everything you want, cheese, sandwiches, pickles. Now, look at the television."
She looked at the television, and it showed thousands of people in the stadium, and then it showed the football players. It showed the two teams facing one another, and then the two teams bent down and then they fell on the ground. Boring. But they got up, they faced one another, they got down on the ground.
"Daddy, this is boring."
"No, defense is the name of the game. Defense is the name of the game, Mary. Now watch this."
So boring. She went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and there was a jar of red cherries. Her mother called them “maraschino” cherries. So she took the jar out and she poured the juice into a cup. She had an idea. She would have her own Super Bowl. She had a pewter tray, and she put 23 teeny, little maraschino cherries on the end of the tray. It was going to be maraschinos against the bananas. She got the bananas. She cut slices two inches high. 23 bananas on the other end. Now it was going to be maraschinos against the bananas. Now, she needed a stadium, so she got the popcorn going, "Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop." She filled seven, big bowls with popcorn, and the popping kept going. "Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop." Now, she needed a referee so she had an olive that was the referee. Last thing she needed was the kitchen timer. She put it at three minutes. That was plenty. And now, the Super Bowl was beginning. She lifted up the tray and the teeny little maraschino cherries started down towards the huge bananas. The maraschinos, they were all stopped except for one teeny maraschino who slipped through the bananas and scored. Mary was so excited that she twisted the tray, and the maraschino who scored fell onto the floor, and she stepped on him. Oh! She picked him up. She was the ambulance. [SIREN] She went down to where mother kept the needle and thread, and then she went back to the kitchen. [SIREN] Now she had to operate on poor maraschino.

"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Are you frightened?"
"No."
"Oh, but I better put you to sleep."
So she opened the refrigerator. She got the Limburger cheese that smells so terrible. She put it close to the maraschino. Oh, he fainted! She cut him open, sewed him up and put him on the plate. Then, she went back, and there was only a minute and a half left. Now it was the bananas’ turn, so she lifted up the pewter tray and the bananas were stuck to the tray. She put it down, and she turned the bananas so they were on their side, and she lifted the tray and the huge bananas went rolling and rolling down, and they rolled right over the maraschinos, and they scored. Now it was one to one. She set the two teams up, and the bananas said, "Make us a wall."
"What?"
"Make us a wall."
So the bananas were one wall. Poor maraschinos were going to have to get through them. She lifted the tray. The maraschinos started down towards the wall of banana.
"Put me in."
"What?"
"Put me in."
It was the maraschino that had been operated on.
"I can't. You've been hurt."
"No, put me in!"
"All right!"
She put the brave maraschino in and the whole stadium said, "Brave, maraschino! Brave, maraschino!"
It was only seven seconds left. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One second. The brave maraschino jumped over the bananas and scored! Mary was so excited she jumped around and she took the seven bowls of popcorn, threw the seven bowls of the popcorn all over the kitchen, and she paraded.
Then she said, "Maraschinos, you deserve a prize. Bananas, you were good too. Tomorrow, you'll be banana bread but, maraschinos, you get the prize." And so she got a bowl and she filled it with vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, strawberry ice cream, and then chocolate sauce. Whipped cream.
"It's for you."
"No, it's for you."
"It's for you.”
“You're the best."
"I suppose I am."
So Mary ate the whole Super Bowl sundae and then she looked around the stadium...popcorn everywhere. The fans hadn't cleaned up. She had to clean the whole stadium. She was tired now, and she went down to her room. She got into bed, and an hour later her dad came.
"Oh, what a game. Oh, my stomach, my stomach. Where's the AlkaSeltzer? Come on, we'll play checkers."
"No, no, dad. I'm tired."
"Well, you better have supper."
"I don't need supper. Good night."
"Good night."
He started down the hall. He could hear Mary saying, "Brave maraschino. Brave maraschino."

CURWOOD: Jay O'Callahan. Mary and the maraschino cherry. [LAUGHS] Didn't she top the sundae with the cherries?

O'CALLAHAN: [LAUGHS] She decided that they should go back into the jar with the juice. So she missed that one part, but she looked forward to the next year when they would have another parade.

CURWOOD: I got a suspicion that Mary is really you, Jay O'Callahan. [LAUGHS] So the cherries are back in the bottle. That means there is a promise for the future?

O'CALLAHAN: Exactly. Exactly. And every day when she opens that up she smiles, seeing those red cherries.

CURWOOD: Ahhh, so there is hope, there is fun ahead for us.

O'CALLAHAN: There is hope. Lots of hope. Everybody get your maraschino cherries.

CURWOOD: Jay O'Callahan is an extraordinary storyteller who joins us from time to time. Thank you so much for coming by this year.

O'CALLAHAN: And thank you, Steve. It was a delight as always.

Related link:
More about Storyteller Jay O’Callahan

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[MUSIC]

A Green Message for the Next Generation

CURWOOD: That's green hip-hop artist Tem Blessed and his band. Hip-hop might not be the sound that you associate with environmental action, but Tem is using this music to educate young people about sustainability. Recently he stopped in our studio on his way to a concert here in Boston, and I asked him where his name “Tem Blessed” comes from.

BLESSED: Oh, man. Well, I was blessed with a long name. My first name is Temistocles. It's Greek although I'm Cape Verdean. But I always knew I was blessed to have talents. I could draw, I could write, I could sing...and a great family that led me to where I'm at today.

CURWOOD: And how did you get into, well, I don't know what to call it except maybe green hip-hop.

BLESSED: I've always been into socially conscious hip-hop. I came up during the time '92 through '96, what I call the “golden era” of hip-hop, where you had KRS1, Public Enemy, all these greats...and Eric B. and Rakim, who was always teaching us something, teaching us about the world and other cultures. And so when I started doing hip-hop, being about hip-hop and this culture and this music, I wanted to be a part of it. So eventually when I went his conference called "Connecting for Change" I was just blown away. My mind got blown by all this information I was receiving about what was going on in the environment and sustainability. It was just a natural evolution to go from social justice topics to sustainable topics which always has equity involved in that.

CURWOOD: So you have this tune, "I Am the Bee". What's this all about?

BLESSED: So "I Am the Bee" has to do with colony collapse disorder which is what's going on with the bees currently. The bees are no longer going to their hives; as Einstein had said, "If the bees die, we die." We have only four years because they pollinate most of the things that we eat, so when I heard about this information I said, "My family needs to know about this. My community needs to know about this. The world, the planet needs to know about this.”

CURWOOD: And of course you like honey as well.

BLESSED: Oh, I love it. It's sweet.

BLESSED: (Rapping.)
I am the bee.
Pollinate the truth if you choose to see.
Pollinate the youth to truly be free.
Pollinate love, let's all agree
I am the bee.
Keystone species, we need these bees, honey.
They pollinate most things you eat.
Funny, they do this for free, without a fee.
Billions of produce produced nationally.
Now, millions of bees have abandoned their hives.
If they disappear, in four years the human race will die.
That's a quote from the famous scientist Einstein.
It's logical to anyone with half a mind, man.
It's horrible.
Where you think where you going to run and hide?
It's possible for us to combine and stop these lies.
Respect all life wherever it resides,
whether plant, algae, bacteria or fungi.
That's right.
It's time for us to vocalize because
if the bees die, then we too die.
That's right.
It's time to strategize
‘cuz if the bees die then we too die.
I am the bee.
Pollinate the truth if you choose to see.
Pollinate the youth to truly be free.
Pollinate love, let's all agree.
I am the bee.

CURWOOD: [LAUGHS] That's great.

BLESSED: Awesome. Thank you.

CURWOOD: So, hip-hop is not your Brahms and Benny Goodman crowd. It's for a younger set. How do young folks respond to what you’re doing?

BLESSED: Hip-hop is the voice of the youth, and it's what really touches them, and we look to bring some of these messages through the music, using hip-hop as a tool, to educate, to inspire, to have the youth get out there and create some of their own hip-hop in a way that's constructive, energizing, and really has a focus on the future that's a positive focus.

CURWOOD: So this time of year as the days have gotten real short and the bees have tucked themselves into their hives with all that honey to make it through the winter, we think about the holidays, getting together. Now, what are some of the traditions you had in your family coming up?

BLESSED: So I'm the youngest of six. Mother and father in the home, and it was always, you know, when we used to go out anywhere, my father kind of trained us to get back together when he needed, so there was this whistle when he used to come around [WHISTLES], and if you heard that whistle you had to have to come running. And if you didn't come running you were in trouble. For whatever reason, one time at the mall my sister and I didn't hear the whistle. So we must have been playing Atari 2600, and we're just caught up, and she's maybe looking at Barbies or something so we didn't hear the whistle. And before we know it was like, "Hey, where's our parents?" My sister, and I'm looking at her for courage, but once I've seen her kind of start crying, it was a wrap for me. I'm bawling, I'm crying. Luckily, we were able to find some security guard who did the page, and the page was nothing like the whistle. Before mom arrived, my older brother arrived. "Ooooh, you're in trouble!" When we got home, we really got it. It's a traditional way of getting Cape Verdean discipline, but it kept us in line.

CURWOOD: A whistle, huh? Maybe we could use a whistle?

BLESSED: We definitely need a whistle. I don't know if people are hearing the whistle. We have a climate crisis going on right now, and if we don't do something right now, we will not have a future. So now is the time for us to do something. Listen to the whistle. The scientists are ringing it and blowing it loud and clear. Let's do something, people.

CURWOOD: And you have a piece you call "Now Is the Time."

BLESSED: Yes, now is the time, y'all.
(Solo rapping) Generation: now is the time.
Take action.
It's your time to shine.
Generation:
Now is the time...
(Solo rapping fades into the ensemble version.)
Yes.
This generation is going to solve the climate crisis right?
When I say "generation" I want you to say "now".
When I say "take action", I want you to say "now".
Here we go.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
They say it's hard to organize around science.
I say "atmospheric chemistry", you say, "silence".
‘Cuz he's bored, she yawns,
I'm ignored. I'm gone.
You're like, "What was that for?"
Yeah, let's examine the challenge
that we've been hearing.
Previous generations
have left us stranded, abandoned,
CO2's like a hot blanket
around the planet.
Polar ice caps melted.
Polar bears will soon vanish.
You don't care.
You're a buffoon, kid.
That's me being candid.
Honestly, smart people know it's all connected.
If you use common logic
then you're bound to get it.
Hectic? Yeah, the future's getting hectic.
He's like "Dude, he's rude.
Man, I'm feeling disrespected."
Hectic. Hectic.
The future's getting hectic.
Mother Nature's the one disrespected.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.

Words ain't words, just the tip of the iceberg.
Category five hurricane not a nice word.
Katrina, FEMA, climate change, Fukushima.
We can build a brighter future.
Now they label me a dreamer.
They may say that I'm a dreamer,
but I know I ain’t the only one.
I'm the golden son
so empowered with the golden tongue.
I'm hoping, Son,
we'll come together and overcome.
This climate crisis is affecting everyone.
One, two. One, two.
What we going to do?
Change the way that we livin’
because we need to.
I'm talking about changing our lifestyle.
Sounds wild.
But I guarantee that it would be worth your while.
Now, if you're wonderin’ where to begin.
Let your boy Tem Blessed
break down the top ten.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

It's Tem Blessed and Blessed Energy.

One: Creation. See your felt innovation. Those old light bulbs replace them.

Two: Unplug your stuff when they're not being used. Cell phones chargers are vampires, dude.

Three: Buy green, buy less, buy local, buy fresh, buy organic and, yes, buy less.

Four: Be aware what you wear. Man, you've got 14 sneakers. Do you need another pair?

Five or six: I'll throw you in the mix. I say reduce, reuse. You say “Cool.”

Seven: Get off of the water that's bottled. You ought to use reusables with filtered tap water.

Eight: To reiterate. Eat local or garden. Start it. Shop at the farmer's market.

Nine: It's about time to cut some carbon off. At least one day of the week, bike, bus or walk.

Ten: Tell your family and friends. Put out the word and help them comprehend.

Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
Generation, now.
Now is the time.
Take action, now.
Your time to shine.
I thank you.

CURWOOD: Tem Blessed is a hip hop artist from New Bedford, Massachusetts. Thanks so much for taking the time.

BLESSED: You're welcome. Thank you for having me on the show.

CURWOOD: And hopefully, people are hearing that whistle.

BLESSED: Yeah.

[MUSIC]

CURWOOD: Many thanks to the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund and Music2Life.

Related links:
- More about Green Energy Artist Tem Blessed
- Marion Institute Connecting for Change

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CURWOOD: Coming up...a chance to laugh, sing and cry with Acadian songwriter Denny Breau.
That's just ahead on Living on Earth Stay tuned.

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Maine Life In Song

CURWOOD: It's the Living on Earth solstice holiday season show. I'm Steve Curwood. We head now to the frozen north of Maine to join singer, songwriter and raconteur Denny Breau from Lewiston, Maine. So Denny, coming home for the holidays means of course getting something to eat. I’m sure you’ve got something for us along those lines.

BREAU: I sure do. I sure do. It’s a song I wrote about my favorite dish in the whole world, not synonymous with holidays, but still my very best favorite.

[BREAU PERFORMS SONG “POT ROAST” ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR.]

BREAU: Now there’s this little thing I’ve been addicted to.
So many time I’ve said were thru,
But I always seem to come right back to you.
One helping is so good I think I’ll have two.
God only knows how much I love to eat
That simmered-for-hours chuck roast meat.
The bang for the buck just can’t be beat,
And if there’s anything left you make a fricassee.

Pot roast, any old time.
Pot roast, dinner on a dime.
Pot roast, so bovine,
Mashed with gravy, so divine.
Pot roast for all your guests.
Pot roast, why not feed them the best?
Pot roast, I’m feeling blessed
‘Cause if you think you’re through
I could finish the rest of your pot roast.

Now it makes no difference if your black or white,
Protestant, catholic, left or right.
We all love the kids and the wife,
But it’s that crock-pot that’s calling me home tonight.
So you can keep your turkeys your chickens, and your hams,
Cranberry stuffing and those candied yams
‘Cause when that next holiday comes rolling around
For me it all comes down to…

Pot roast, any old time.
Pot roast, dinner on a dime.
Pot roast, so bovine,
Mashed with gravy, so divine.
Pot roast for all your guests.
Pot roast, why not feed them the best?
Pot roast, I’m feeling blessed
‘Cause if you think you’re through
I could finish the rest of your pot roast.

CURWOOD: Wow! That's amazing. You're making me so hungry, Denny.

BREAU: [LAUGHS] I'm getting pretty hungry myself.

CURWOOD: Yes, sounds pretty good. Now, pot roast, that's not expensive meat at all.

BREAU: Not at all. That's the whole point.

CURWOOD: So you grew up in...

BREAU: I grew up in Lewiston, Maine.

CURWOOD: Mainers...when you go home there's, yeah, the place where you live and then there is camp.

BREAU: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Camp is a very important thing, and we’ve been going to this one particular camp for 30 years, the family and I. Every year, at the end of the summer when we start to close it up for the season, we do what they call an “I-C.”

CURWOOD: An “I-C?”

BREAU: An “I-C.” That's an "idiot check".

CURWOOD: Oh. [LAUGHS]

BREAU: You kind of go through the camp and make sure you didn't forget your sunglasses or your favorite bathing suit or your favorite CD. It could be just about anything you just don't want to leave there so you have to go back ’cuz it's a ways away. One year we forgot the dog. Yup, we left the dog there. Had to turn around go back. "I thought you had the dog." "I thought you had the dog." Well, nobody had the dog, so…

CURWOOD: Now, I imagine your camp is some place near a lake in Maine.

BREAU: Yeah, it's up in Peru, Maine, a placed called Worthley Pond.

CURWOOD: And of course, because winter is coming along, that sets you up for a great Maine tradition.

BREAU: I've never actually ice-fished myself. I've sat in the shacks and shared a few stories and a couple of glasses of this and that. You actually cook meals and just wait for a bite, and certainly around the holidays a lot of people love to get together and get ice-fishing and maybe have a nice fresh salmon along with the pot roast, ya’ know.

So anyway, this next song is called “Ice-Fishing.” I kind of wrote it to poke fun at Mainers a little bit and their garb and the tradition itself and just all of the fun aspects of ice fishing. I hope you like it.

[BREAU PERFORMS SONG “ICE FISHING” ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR.]

BREAU: Way up north where the cold wind blows
When the lake freezes over people chop little holes
Drop a line and kick back in a little square shack
And if the ice didn’t melt they’d never go back.
A little wood stove just a waitin’ for a bite
Drinkin’ all day and drinkin’ all night
Gonna sit right here ‘til the winter ends
And I’ll be sittin’ right here when it comes again.

Ice fishin', nothing is quite the same.
I’m itchin’ to get back in the game.
They say 20 below and three feet of snow.
Grab your stuff ‘cause we’re still gonna go.
Ice fishin’, just a party by another name.
Ice fishin’, a tradition here in Maine.

Green gummy boots lined with felt
A bean pocketknife hanging off of my belt
Plenty of beer and plenty of time
A knitted wool cap that’s one of a kind.
If you don’t like fishin’ you can still tag along
‘cause there’s plenty of fun on that frozen pond
Stories to tell, guitars in hand.
Supper ‘s swimming around ready to jump in the pan.

Ice fishin’ nothing is quite the same.
I’m itchin’ to get back in the game.
They say 20 below and three feet of snow.
Grab your stuff ‘cause we’re still gonna go.
Ice fishin’ just a party by another name.
Ice fishin’ a tradition here in Maine.

(spoken) Now our parish priest comes ice fishin’ too,
A religious experience he’ll gladly tell you.
He says he’s waiting for hell to freeze over
So he can go ice fishin’ there too.

Ice fishin’ nothing is quite the same.
I’m itchin’ to get back in the game.
They say 20 below and three feet of snow.
Grab your stuff ‘cause we’re still gonna go.
Ice fishin’, just a party by another name.
Ice fishin’, a tradition here in Maine.

CURWOOD: So you've been a few times, but you haven't ever caught anything, huh?

BREAU: A buzz. [LAUGHS] About it. Right. Yeah.

CURWOOD: So you describe yourself as French-Canadian, but I understand recently you had a sort of a deeper revelation about where your cultural home might be.

BREAU: I did. As a matter of fact, I was made aware that Breau was actually an Acadian name. I just happened to be reading this article about how the Acadians have been kicked out of Canada by the English back in the 1700s sometime, and, I don't know, this song kind of fell out. The children and the mothers, they were put on ships, or they were told to just go, not knowing what the future might bring.

CURWOOD: And of course, we know Acadians in northern Maine and New Brunswick and eastern Québec, but also in Louisiana, there are Cajuns.

BREAU: Absolutely, the Cajuns, where a lot of the Acadians ended up. I thought when they left Canada that they immediately went to Louisiana and various places, but I found out that they went back to France first, and France didn't want ’em anymore so that's when they ended up coming back and settling in Louisiana. So I came by the song first and then found out I was actually related to these people down the road. A little song called “Acadie.”

[BREAU PERFORMS SONG “ACADIE” ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR, SINGING IN FRENCH MIXED WITH ENGLISH.]

BREAU: Pleure pas mes enfant pleure pas
Le bon dieu il y a pas oblis a vous
Je ses sait une autre journie avec du pain et du lout
Pleure pas mes enfant fait dodo

Across the ocean in a land far away
Lived a man who would be king.
His hunger for power will force your hand.
Death and destruction he will bring
Swooped down did his men like a hurricane.
Leave this place or die,
Forced upon the tall ships then cast upon the wind.
This land we claim in his name.

Pleure pas mes enfant pleure pas
Le bon dieu il y a pas oblis a vous
Je ses sait une autre journie avec du pain et du lout
Pleure pas mes enfant fait dodo

What can we do how will we survive
With nothing but the clothes on our backs?
My young without a father I call for him at night.
He ain’t never coming back.
What did we do to deserve such a fate?
Why have you turned the other way?
Heaven on earth is now a living hell
And I curse your name as I pray

Pleure pas mes enfant pleure pas
Le bon dieu il y a pas oblis a vous
Je ses sait une autre journie avec du pain et du lout
Pleure pas mes enfant fait dodo

Acadia you were my home
And I long for the life I knew.
Deep in my heart and down to my soul
I know I’ll never come back to you.

CURWOOD: That's so sweet and so sad.

BREAU: Thank you. Thank you very much.

CURWOOD: At this time of year when we think about coming home for the holidays we think of some of the people who won't be there.

BREAU: Yeah, that’s very true. It's going to be a rough one this year because back in July my mom passed away. 90 years old and, uh, we'll miss her. But, ya’ know, we'll still experience the joy of being together, and certainly we'll remember Mom. She was such a big part of my life, not only as my mother, but we worked together professionally for, gosh, 30, 40 years, and it really is a tough thing to deal with. She'll be there in spirit, I'm sure.

CURWOOD: Singing along.

BREAU: There you go.

CURWOOD: And when you gather with your family, how many of you are still singing?

BREAU: My granddaughter is very, very, very musical, loves to sing. One of the first things I wanted to do when she was born was write a song for my first granddaughter. Out at the camp again, walking around, guitar over my shoulder, just walking through the camp by myself, staring out at the lake, trying to come up with that first line, and then I happened to stumble on, “When I'm holding my daughter's daughter.” And I thought, “Oh, man, that's the line I've been looking for, and the rest of it fell out. For all you grandparents out there, love your grandkids.

[BREAU PERFORMS SONG “MY DAUGHTER’S DAUGHTER” ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR.]

BREAU: When I’m holding my daughters daughter
I feel like a king.
Hope she likes the pretty things we bought her
And she likes it when I sing.
And I know she’ll be no stranger to the water
Just jump right in.
I know that I am ready for the joy she’ll bring.
You and me here we go again.

When I’m holding my daughters daughter
The world is a better place.
I see love, peace, and innocence
In her tiny face
Like the new day sun shining from above
In a tropical dream.
Wake up, wake up my little angel,
Aiyana serene.

A precious jewel to be taken to the heart
May you grow up to be strong and proud
And dance thru all of life’s changes
And when you sing your song sing it loud.

When I’m holding my daughters daughter
I get shivers up my spine.
Wish your mother and our fathers could have seen her, taken long before their time.
Like the new day sun shining from above
My Caribbean queen
Wake up, wake up my little angel,
Aiyana serene.

CURWOOD: Well, Denny, you got me all choked up there.

BREAU: Me too. [LAUGHS] Me too.

CURWOOD: And one would hope that our home that we share, this Earth, will be great for your daughter's daughter.

BREAU: Ah, let's hope so, huh. Things are changing so fast and the more people we get and the more resources we use and sometimes it just feels like it's so bleak, doesn’t it? And then there’s music, and it brings you right back, and gives you full of hope, and…ah!

CURWOOD: Denny Breau is a songwriter, musician, storyteller, and Maine-uh. Did I say that right?

BREAU: Pretty darn good. Maine-uh. Yessuh. It's “lobstuh” ya’ gotta say.

CURWOOD: Lobstuh.

[MUSIC]

BREAU: [LAUGHS] There you go. Lobstuh.

Related link:
More about singer/songwriter Denny Breau

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CURWOOD: Living on Earth is produced by the World Media Foundation. Our crew today includes Naomi Arenberg, Lauren Hinkel, and James Curwood. I'm Steve Curwood.
Thanks for listening.

PRI. Public Radio International.