- Playing
- Swords to Ploughshares
- From
- Alix Blair
Matthew McCue signed up to join the army before he even graduated from high school. He wanted to be a soldier forever. Then he went to Iraq. While raiding houses and searching for Saddam Hussein, he ate limes for the first time and watched farmers' markets. He decided that farmers are the most powerful force in the world. When he came back to the United States, he decided to become a farmer too. Now, he wants to go back to Iraq, but not as a soldier.
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Piece Description
Matthew McCue signed up to join the army before he even graduated from high school. He wanted to be a soldier forever. Then he went to Iraq. While raiding houses and searching for Saddam Hussein, he ate limes for the first time and watched farmers' markets. He decided that farmers are the most powerful force in the world. When he came back to the United States, he decided to become a farmer too. Now, he wants to go back to Iraq, but not as a soldier.
Broadcast History
A shorter version of this story aired on the Speakeasy Storycast podcast November 14th, 2008.
Transcript
.00 A lot of Iraq looks like New Mexico, a little more tropical version of NM. So in way I didn?t feel at all not at home. Some people the terrain itself, desert terrain makes people uneasy. To me it kind of felt like home,
.17 Salman Skukur music comes in (plays for .58 seconds)
.28 09 this is best way to put this, what got me through Iraq was I had convinced myself I was definitely going to die, convincing myself definitely not going to make it, definitely going to die. Freed me a little bit, I realized as long as I had nothing to lose in that sense, I was free.
1.02 My name is Matthew Richard McCue
1.11 My unit was 122 infantry, 4th infantry division, which out of Ft. Hood, our town was Beigy Iraq, we patrolled out of. We do patrol and combat raids. My job started out as rifleman, when I arrived and then I was promoted to team leader?. It was only thing I wanted to be in the worl...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
This is a non-narrated piece. Possible host intro: (According to the Office of Actuary, Office of Policy and Planning of the Department of Veterans Affairs) By the end of this year there will be approximately 2 million young veterans having served in Iraq or Afghanistan since September 30, 2001. Tremendous numbers of these young vets are returning to face unemployment. At the same time farms in the United States are struggling to find young people to work in agriculture. Many statistics show that the average American farmer is between 55 and 58 years old with two farmers retiring for every one entering the field.... Matthew McCue, now 27 years old, is both a farmer and a veteran of the Iraq war. Matthew signed up to join the army before he even graduated from high school. As soon as he had graduated, he enlisted and not long after his training, the Iraq war began. Matthew now works as a farmer in Northern California and works with the nonprofit Farmer Veteran Coalition Project which pairs returning veterans with farm jobs. Matthew believes that the very things that make a good soldier, make a good farmer.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salman Skukur | Salman Skukur | live recordings. | www.mikeouds.com | 00:00 | |
| Peace Love and Understanding | Perfect Circle | Emotive. | Virgin | 2004 | 00:00 |
Additional Credits
Originally produced for the Speakeasy StoryCast - a project of SpeakeasyDC - non-profit bringing true stories about real people to the stage and sound. Find out more at speakeasydc.org.
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Michael Paul Mason
Posted on November 09, 2008 at 04:19 AM | Permalink
Review of Swords to Ploughshares
"Swords to Ploughshares" shows all the hallmarks of good storytelling--a personal narrator, imagistic recollections, and unexpected turns in topic. Structurally, the piece shows a sophistication that I find uncommon. As listeners, we're pulled into a war story that takes a surprise turn into agriculture--it's a reminder that war affects every aspect of life, and that peace reacts in the most unexpected ways.
That being said, I think the piece errs on being a little too long and over-produced in some places, but these are subtleties that only the most attentive listeners may notice.
I don't know who Alix Blair is, but after listening to other pieces she's done on PRX, I'm convinced she's got a bright future. Can't wait to hear more from her.