More from Barbara Bernstein
Heavy Weather
(00:54:06)
From: Barbara Bernstein
Hour-long documentary explores connections between increasing extreme weather and our changing climates and landscapes.
Festival Express
(00:16:32)
From: Barbara Bernstein
A journey across Canada in 1970 following the Festival Express rolk festival.
Sculpted By Fire
(00:54:05)
From: Barbara Bernstein
Wildfire season is upon us. SCULPTED BY FIRE challenges a lot of common assumptions about forest fires and the need to wage a war on fire that is reminiscent in its hype and ...
Salmonlands half-hour version
(00:27:18)
From: Barbara Bernstein
Salmonlands is a journey into the land of salmon, why they are so significant to the culture and community of the Pacific Northwest, and what it will take to keep them from ...
Urban Green
(00:52:09)
From: Barbara Bernstein
Urban Green explores the ribbons of greenery in our city environment: urban watersheds, community gardens and farmers' markets, that connect us to the cycles of life.
Salmonlands
(00:52:41)
From: Barbara Bernstein
Salmonlands is a journey into the land of salmon, why they are so significant to the culture and community of the Pacific Northwest, and what it will take to keep them from ...
Festivals of Light/Families of Dysfunction
(00:57:07)
From: Barbara Bernstein
Transformational journeys through time, space and memory
Stevie & Me/Reunions (by Design and by Surprise)
(00:58:36)
From: Barbara Bernstein
Transformational journeys through time, space and memory
Getting Lost/Hidden Waters
(00:57:17)
From: Barbara Bernstein
Transformational journeys through time, space and memory.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
6 years ago producer Barbara Bernstein attended the 40th reunion of her sixth grade class. Not sure what to imagine, she brought along a microphone and minidisc recorder. To her surprise, the event lived up to the expectations of the invitation, which offered two options: "Yes, I wouldn't miss this reunion for anything, or "No, I'm going to miss out on the most important event of a lifetime."
4 Comments
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Review of The ReunionI loved this piece. Listening to this story made me feel as if I was transported to that sixth grade classroom on Mass. standing next to the narrator. |
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Review of The ReunionBarbara Bernstein's exploration of a 40th anniversary of a sixth-grade class is reason enough for the slaves of broadcast clocks to break their chains and say, "Yes, here is a 20-minute reason why we are taking you from the known world." But we all know that PDs are lazy -- "Where does this fit on the clock?" "Will I miss the news block?" Still, as my grandmother would have said, "Really? Surely you have a job to do!" Bernstein's piece is a kind of sweetness we don't feel too much these days. Summer lies before you programmers like a patient etherized upon a table -- this is infinitely engaging. If I had heard this driving home, I would have headed out of my way so the story would end before I reached home. |
Broadcast History
aired in 2003, 2004 and 2005 on KBOO, KMUN, OPB, KPFA and WBEZ.
Transcript
THE REUNION
It was starting to rain as I drove the back way into Worcester, Massachusetts to attend my fortieth sixth grade reunion. This dying mill town was the last place I ever wanted to return to. When I graduated from high school in 1967, I escaped, first moving to New York City and then to Oregon. I worked hard to shed my accent and when people asked me where I was from I would vaguely say that I grew up near Boston. Yet Worcester's gritty neighborhoods of triple-decker houses remained ingrained in my memory. These wood-framed three-story flats clustered around shuttered brick factories, connected by a web of unused railroad tracks. The triple-deckers were painted dreary shades of dark grey, tan, musty green or dirty brown.
A drenching rain poured down as I turned up the street toward my old grade school. Lee Street School looked almost exactly the same as it had 40 years ag...
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Timing and Cues
0:00 intro music
20:16 end of outro music
Additional Files
Related Website
lars patenaude
Posted on October 01, 2008 at 06:33 AM | Permalink
Review of The Reunion
Great Autumn piece...Nostalgia!!!