A Note From Helen
by helen ~ May 20th, 2009. Filed under: Uncategorized.Hi all,
It’s been an action packed week. First, let me say thanks to all of you who sent us birthday good wishes (a bit of ETown trivia: did you know that Nick and I have the same birthday?). We had a lovely day and evening, really fun, filled with seeing friends and family and having an all around good time. Our wedding anniversary (our 18th!) is coming up in a few days, too, so it’s really a big week in the celebration realm for us.
Nick had a really cool experience last week; our friend invited us to come hear a rare recording of a Woody Guthrie song that had been recorded in the 40’s . . I couldn’t go (had some serious editing deadlines) but Nick was able to attend. It was a live recording of Woody in front of a live audience, probably for a radio show of the day, and it was a song that Nick had never heard before. It’s a virtually unknown Woody Guthrie original! Pretty amazing stuff.
Hey, speaking of amazing stuff, we’ve got a terrific broadcast for the air coming up this week for you:
BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet are back in Etown, this time as recent Grammy winners for Best Zydeco / Cajun Music Album. Bob Dylan once said this about their sound: “That’s my kind of music!”. . . and it’s sure ours in Etown, too! Michael and his wonderful wife Sharon have been dear friends for many years, and we always love to see them. And the band of course is fantastic; I defy anyone to avoid tapping their feet and/or full out dancing when they hear them.
Ben Kweller with Kitt Kitterman
And Nick will also be talking with interview guest Nicolette Hahn Niman, noted environmental activist, attorney and cattle rancher, and author of Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms. She started out early in her career as a lawyer working on water issues with Robert Kennedy Jr. (who by the way was an E-Chievement Award recipient last year; he came to accept his award and be with us at our show at the DNC). She began investigating huge factory pig farms (a major source of serious water pollution) which opened her eyes to the horrors of factory farming in general. In her work, she eventually met her husband Bill, founder of Niman Ranch, which is a consortium of hundreds of small farmers dedicated to traditional animal husbandry (that’s a formal way of saying that unlike the factory farms they are raising animals with respect and humane care, in the old time tradition).
This is another in a rich tradition of Etown programs featuring stellar music, compelling conversation, and the presentation of the E-Chievement Award to a grassroots hero from a small town in New York. All coming to you this week . . . Tune in!
Talk with you next week,
Best,
Helen
