I was a little nervous.  I’ve never spoken in front of that big an audience before.  Plus, they were way outside my usual target demographic (namely: Stately Dames, ages 72 - 86).

To make the Wren’s Nest a little more relevant to the students of Pace Academy, I brought out the big guns.  My published works from the Pace Publishing Company, circa 1989, were included in the presentation.

I’ve included one of the better works below.  Enjoy.

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(The End)

If this does not inspire students to contribute to the Wren’s Nest Publishing Company, I do not know what will.

Dino Brugioni, former senior CIA official and History Channel regular, visited the Wren’s Nest today.

Not only did he have a lot of interesting stuff to say, but he also boasts a more extensive Wikipedia article than Joel Chandler Harris.

…..

Then, I got a weird phone call:

LAIN: Good afternoon, the Wren’s Nest!

GRANDMOTHER: Hi, I’m a grandmother.

LAIN: Okay.

GRANDMOTHER: And I would like you to pay my electric bill.

LAIN: (scrambling for an answer) That’s …not really what we do here.

GRANDMOTHER: (sounding dignified) Yes, but I’m a grandmother.  I’m raising my grandchildren.  I just need some help with my electrical bill.

LAIN:  I’m sorry, but we’re a house museum.  A non-profit house museum, and we’re hurting as well.

GRANDMOTHER:  You don’t understand.  I’m a grandmother.

LAIN: Ma’am?

GRANDMOTHER: (hangs up)

…..

Then, I dialed a wrong number and got this message:

ANSWERING MACHINE: This is about pimpin’!  And that means money!  And if you ain’t got no money, you ain’t got no businesses with this pimp.  So, check your pockets.  Got money?  Get pimpin’.

BEEP.

In honor of both Song of the South’s birthday (release date: November 12th, 1946) and my mom’s birthday (release date: undisclosed) here are some frequently asked questions and our typical answers.

Do you sell Song of the South?

Why no, no we do not.  In fact, no one has been selling Song of the South since it’s never been released for home consumption in the United States.

Song of the South is really racist, right?  Is that why it’s banned?

Well, first of all, it’s not banned.  It’s just not distributed in the US.  It was a different story over in Great Britain and Asia until 2001.  And to answer your other question, well… how about you read this enlightened opinion and let me know what you think.

But Disney doesn’t have anything to do with the movie now, right?

Aside for their most popular amusement park attraction, Splash Mountain, nope!

Was Joel Chandler Harris pleased with what they did with his stories?

Tough to say, since JCH passed away in 1908, 38 years before the movie’s release.

Well, what about his family?

They sold a handful of stories to Disney in 1939 for $10,000.  On the one hand, yay!  $10,000!  Renewed interest!  On the other, there was probably some self-kicking later.

Do y’all have a relationship with Disney now?

See: self-kicking later.  Not even a few royalties, guys?  Please?

No, but really: you guys can sell it to me, right?

Not even a little.  Try eBay!  Or piece together a few YouTube clips–

Anything we missed?  Use the comments!

Related–

• GPB’s radio show, Georgia Gazette.  Tonight Lain will be on it, discussing Song of the South!  It airs at 6 pm, but don’t fret–you can download it on iTunes, too.
• “In Search of Uncle Remus.”  The AJC covered the 60th anniversary of Song of the South.  We’re featured prominently.

Need convincing?  Here’s what lies in store for you on Sunday, December 7th between 12 and 4pm:

• Storytelling!
• Treats!
• Activities for children!
• Mrs. Shakespeare’s famous hot chocolate!
• Tours of the home!
• (163rd) Birthday Cake!

And best of all, it’s free!  Even the treats.

Here are some pictures from last year to prove I’m not lying about the treats.

Warning sign outside of Br’er Rabbit’s home?

If you’ve got a guess at the answer, leave it in the comments.  I’ll give you a few days before I post the answer.

Thanks to Wren’s Nest Theme Song singer-songwriter Jamie for the tip.  You can thank him too by picking up a new Cold Weather Pocket Field Guide from the Duck and Herring Company.  Our very own Program Director Amelia is published in this one, so you know it’s funny.

Man, I love old-timey things.  If only I could find a job that supported my interests!  Oh well.

What I especially love about this are the reassurances in the ad.  Electricity was a very new and very foreign thing in the 19th century, after all, and not everyone was ready to drink the Kool-Aid.  Or, since Kool-Aid didn’t exist, toddies.

Believe it or not, Mr. Joel Chandler Harris himself was one of the wary.

Above is the gasolier in the West Parlor.  Our gasoliers - aka gas chandeliers - have gas lamps on top and electric fixtures on the bottom, making them a unique artifact and representing a very specific slice of history.

Now, to be fair, Harris didn’t purchase these (for every room of the house) simply because he thought this electricity business was a fad.  When electricity was first offered, it only came in during certain hours of the day, and no one wanted to be left in the dark after the electric company called it a day.

Logic-based, that’s our guy.

Or… not.  You see, Harris was also “cautious” about riding a streetcar while wearing a wristwatch, convinced as he was that these two would combine to make him explode. Or stop time.  Or create a black hole.  We’re not really sure.

So what does a well-respected man do to hide his crazy?  Why, he buys identical wrist watches and builds a secret drawer in his desk, of course.

That way Harris could slip off his watch before boarding the dreaded streetcar, and surreptitiously replace it once he got to work.

Don’t worry, Mr. Harris.  Your secret is safe with me.

Behold–

The reasons we wanted a new survey are long and varied (untrue), but here’s what our logic boiled down to:

1. We wanted something that looked a tad more professional than our previous photocopied sheet.  Thanks Lampe-Farley!  Serious format and card stock = serious comments, we hope.
2. I like small things, and this is 5″ x 8″!  9″ x 11″ was just ungainly.
3. Nobody, and I mean nobody, used our online survey.

We’re also lucky enough to have a friend of Lain’s making a sweet replica of the Wren’s Nest mailbox for the surveys.

Here is Lain’s totally awesome sketch.  He claims to have made it without a ruler, but I’m skeptical.

(The little ledge/pocket/survey holder on the side was my idea.)

We felt guests shouldn’t have to hand their surveys back to the very people they were evaluating, and have been on the hunt for a suitable receptacle for a while.  This idea was just gimmicky enough to do the trick.

So, what do you think?

Why, to pick up Brer Buick, a gift from a donor and the latest member of the Wren’s Nest Team.

Brer Buick is a gold 2000 Regal LS with 131,000 miles and a little dent near the rear wheel on the passenger side.  It looks a little something like this–

Now, I did not ask for a car.  In fact, I didn’t really do anything other than wear a “Protect the Nest” shirt, which is certainly open to interpretation.  And I guess someone thought that they could help by giving us a car.  Sure, why not!

But what do we do with it?

1. Keep the car for the Wren’s Nest staff and (maybe) storytellers.
2. Sell the car and pocket the cash for the Wren’s Nest.
3. Auction the car to the highest bidder (and somehow inspire the competition to overpay instead of hunt for a bargain, as Seth Godin suggests).
4. Decorate the car like one of those crazy art cars.
5. Put a “Brer Rabbit for Atlanta’s Mascot” bumper sticker on it and let it rot in the driveway.

#5 would be the easiest, but probably the least helpful.  Any other bright ideas?

Further, how do I enter this into my donor database?  Using the Blue Book Value?

The Howard School visited today, and brought a hearty amount of awesomeness in the form of 21 second graders (we think).  They were a hoot.

Nannie and Jeri gave them a tour of the Wren’s Nest, Donald gave them a performance of the Brer Rabbit stories, and I provided them with a mess of Brer Lion t-shirts.  Lain sat around and put his feet up.

In return, the kids performed their own versions of the Brer Rabbit stories on our stage.

The children had crafted papier-mâché masks of various characters and “acted along” as their teachers read from The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit.

Here’s one of the masks, up close and personal.

Below is Brer Rabbit (and family–you can understand the need for poetic license when you have 21 fidgety players) stumbling upon the tar baby.

Pretty convincing, if I do say so.

My favorite part of the performances were when the students, instructed to repeat after their teacher, would boisterously yell stage directions.  For example:

TEACHER: (with repeat-after-me emphasis) And then Brer Fox said, puffing up his chest, “I’m–”

2-3 CHILDREN: (with passion) PUFFING UP HIS CHEST!

TEACHER: (chuckling) I’m going to cook you in a stew!

1 CHILD: (timidly) I’m going to cook you in a stew?

I loved it.  Thanks for a great day, Howard School!

Donald was chosen amongst actors from all over the country to be part of the Ten-Chimney Foundation’s Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program.  In order to be considered, you must be nominated, which Donald was by the Alliance Theatre.

Here’s his blurb:

Well said, Susan Booth.  Here’s Donald doing his Wren’s Nest thing–

The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story
[Dear subscribers, please check out the actual post for the audio.]

He’s not just Susan’s secret weapon!

Help us congratulate Donald on his achievement.  He gets to go to Wisconsin with a stipend, for goodness sake!