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The Southern Bells
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 43 mins
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Publisher's summary
When the Southern Bells brought the telephone to rural North Carolina, it looked like a "big black daffodil". What the telephone company had not counted on in conceiving its eight-party line service was a pair of "past-middle-age, unmarried sisters", the chatty Misses Lucy and Lena Leatherwood. Once the Leatherwood sisters were connected by the Southern Bells, nobody else on that line had a chance!
This recording also includes Davis' hilarious story about his first day of school, "Winning and Losing". "My personal plan was to learn to read first thing on the first day," Davis said. "After that, they could go ahead and teach me anything they wanted to."
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Traditional values abound in these hilarious stories from Appalachia: friendship, family, orderliness, humor, and delight in an especially inventive practical joke. In "Rainy Weather", a hound dog with more heart than sense wins everyone's admiration. "Uncle Frank Learns to Speak Polish" finds Davis' famous Uncle Frank making the most of a little foreign language. And, in "Uncle Frank Clean Up the Post Office", cleanliness is next to godliness, and it's also next to hilarity.
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great funny book!
- By Kara J. Yocom on 11-25-23
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"Years later," Donald Davis remember of his childhood," I came to realize that when you come from a long-dammed-up Scots-Irish gene pool it is an okay thing to wish for something, but it is not an OK thing to get it."
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Excellent
- By Donald on 05-21-03
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The Grand Canyon
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If you have never ridden a mule along a 48-inch wide trail whose ledge drops off, in places, 700 feet to the Colorado River, straight down, you may have difficulty picturing the temporary insanity that leads otherwise responsible adults to sign away the remainder of their natural life expectancy just for the chance to see the Grand Canyon's natural beauty close-up.
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Misleading
- By Wes on 12-24-06
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Dr. York, Miss Winnie, and the Typhoid Shot
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In rural North Carolina, in 1951, despite parental reassurances, a typhoid shot hurt. It hurt even more when the children saw who would be administering the shot: Miss Winnie, a large, dictatorial nurse who had been "especially built by the nursing school so she would never blow away in a hard wind".
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Donald Davis is always a super entertainer.
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Uncle Frank Invents the Electron Microphone
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In the hills of Appalachia, humor and wisdom are mixed up forever in funny, wise stories that seem to grow more lustrous with each telling. Here are two of the best: "Uncle Frank Invents the Electron Microphone", Appalachian folk wisdom rolled into one of Davis' funniest stories; "Uncle Frank and the Crown Feed Boys", Davis' legendary Uncle Frank teaches a couple of traveling salesmen the lesson of their lives.
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Friends Come Back...and That's a Good Thing
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The best friend of our youth has no replacement, ever. Though we may start out as "two peas in a pod", we often lose touch with one another. In this affecting tale of two adults who reclaim their childhood bond after 30 years apart, the comforts of friendship are affirmed with humor and wit.
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great funny book!
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Excellent
- By Donald on 05-21-03
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The Grand Canyon
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Misleading
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Dr. York, Miss Winnie, and the Typhoid Shot
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In rural North Carolina, in 1951, despite parental reassurances, a typhoid shot hurt. It hurt even more when the children saw who would be administering the shot: Miss Winnie, a large, dictatorial nurse who had been "especially built by the nursing school so she would never blow away in a hard wind".
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- By DQwannaB on 10-20-16
By: Donald Davis
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Uncle Frank Invents the Electron Microphone
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Jack's First Job
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Four Jack Tales from the Appalachian oral tradition, recorded by a nationally accalimed storyteller. In this collection, Jack has a little trouble adjusting to the workaday world and to personal financial management. Eventually he works hard enough, but his fortunes do not seem to parallel his productivity. Jack finally has to go a bit out of his way to prove himself, meanwhile dealing with a prospective father-in-law who plays hard to get.
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You do know Jack!
- By Emmaus Dan on 04-30-16
By: Donald Davis
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Grandma's Boy
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Performance
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Grandma's house was a magical place, and in this vivid memoir, Donald Davis makes it possible for each of us to go back to our own grandma's kitchen, clutter room, living room, and to that immeasurable bed that seemed to swallow us whole. This selection also contains a traditional story Davis learned from his grandmother, one handed down through his family from generations who once lived in Scotland before coming to the Appalachian mountains, about the time that fortune-seeker named Jack made the king mad.
By: Donald Davis
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That's What Mamas Do
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Storyteller Donald Davis had a very sensible mother. She had a pretty good idea of what boys would do, so she was always on the lookout. As Davis later learned, always being on the lookout is what mamas do. His vigilant but gentle mother gave her son multiple gifts in life and, as we learn in the end, gifts that do not end with her passing.
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Spoken with a happy heart!
- By Alice Salthouse on 06-30-24
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Stanley Easter
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There was a time during Donald Davis's college freshman year when he wasn't really sure he wanted to claim his hometown of Sulpher Springs, North Carolina. But a boy by the name of Stanley Easter changed Davis's mind.
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Spellbinding!
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Miss Daisy
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An eccentric schoolteacher and a widow-lady babysitter are the heroines in these new digital studio recordings of Donald Davis' two all-time most-requested stories. "It was the 42nd year she had taught fourth grade", yet there was nothing routine about Miss Daisy or her methods. Rather than settle for textbook work (Miss Daisy left textbooks in the big closet) she took her class on a year-long imaginary world tour.
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This is how I wish my teacher would have been.
- By CICADA on 03-04-03
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Braces
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Braces hurt. Braces look funny. Braces are downright embarrassing. And just about the time you think they're going to feel normal, it's time to tighten them up again. Worst of all, most of us get braces just at that time of life when the last thing we want to do is to look conspicuous, to call attention to ourselves in any way. This new coming-of-age story employs storyteller Donald Davis' trademark descriptions and humor to address the question: is this worth all the pain and embarrassment?
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Another good story
- By Julie on 07-04-17
By: Donald Davis
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Party People
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
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Overall
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Performance
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Two new Appalachian stories from the author of the award winning Listening for the Crack of Dawn; an ideal introduction to contemporary storytelling for adults. Both stories are based upon real people. In the first, a disastrous birthday enables a child to learn more than an adult possibly could. In the second, two unusual people live their conviction that people are more important than things.
By: Donald Davis
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Room of My Own
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 58 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Sibling rivalry. Sometimes, a kid just isn't ready for some little squirt to come along and invade his space, his own room. So what if there's an extra bed in the room; isn't that where the stuffed animals are supposed to sleep? How could a couple of otherwise sensible parents just bring a new kid home without even consulting their very own son? Still, a younger sibling can be in need of a big brother's guidance.
By: Donald Davis
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Grandma's Lap Stories
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 57 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the heart of the Appalachian Mountains come these folktales and folk rhymes for young children. In this recording of timeless children's tales, Davis, one of our most gifted storytellers, weaves for a new generation the same tales his grandmother told him as he sat in her lap so many years ago.
By: Donald Davis
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Father was a Wise Old Man
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 58 mins
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Performance
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Story
Joe Davis was in his mid-40s when he became a father, and the experience he was able to apply in raising his sons lent creativity to his parenting. The five stories here recall the wisdom of fathers with humor and rich detail: a visit to the Smithsonian inspires father's memory; father "cures" a boy's impulse to try cigarettes; Santa Claus learns an important lesson; and someone plays a trick on a visiting preacher.
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Memories
- By B. Lowe on 01-26-16
By: Donald Davis
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Broken Bones
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Broken Bones is a double set of double stories. The first set is made up of a story Davis's grandmother told about the time his mother broke her arm - twice! The second story in the first set is about how his little brother's collarbone was broken - twice! The second set of stories concerns Davis' neighbors, the Leatherwoods, and explains what happens when two big brothers team up against two little brothers. It also tells us that fathers are always smarter than their sons!
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Wonderful stories
- By Julie on 12-22-16
By: Donald Davis
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The Big Screen Drive-In Theater
- By: Donald Davis
- Narrated by: Donald Davis
- Length: 53 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Screen Drive-In Theater hired a young Donald Davis to work his high school summers there. Employment at the Sulpher Springs Big-Screen Drive-In Theater consisted of working the concession stand, catching "slip-ins", and patrolling the back row to learn about love and life. The theater survives Davis and his friends' summer hijinks until Labor Day.
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Great funny lessons for adults and kids
- By Kara J. Yocom on 12-02-23
By: Donald Davis
Editorial reviews
Author and narrator Donald Davis shares two riotously funny stories in The Southern Bells. The main story is the tale of two spinsters who run amuck after receiving eight-line telephone service. The second story is an added gift, a recounting of Davis’ first day at school. Davis has a naturally funny voice; he does not have to contrive a humorous tone. His delivery is spot-on, and he lets the story do the talking, never over-working the punch lines. Using a corn-pone tone Davis brings to life his naïve, unwittingly hilarious North Carolinians. Davis does not demean these characters; rather he celebrates their innocence.
Critic reviews
"Davis weaves his stories as a craftsman weaves fin fabric. There are no holes." (Lexington Herald-Leader)
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What listeners say about The Southern Bells
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- Anonymous User
- 12-26-23
the narrator
liked everything about the story and the way it was written and read. will look for More from this author
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