Hands Wide Open; Reviewed

Hands Wide Open a CD by Ms. Sheila Arnold Storyteller

         Oh! Ms. Sheila what a collection of stories to touch the heart and warm the soul! I was swept away and lingered in the car listening to the last, not yet ready to leave your rich voice and soothing words. The opening story, Weeping Willow was an affirmation of traditional storytelling and was, as I expected, well delivered with such characterizations that it reminded me of playground days and children's voices.
       

     Then track 2, "Elaina's Birthday Dance" - what a story of love and surprise! I will listen to that one over and over again and am so happy it has been sent along to my Grandchildren. This is a story that is for whole families, a treasure among stories.

     Track 3, "A Good Stick" was as visual as spoken words get. I walked in search of the  good stick, saw the monument to old man and boy and listened with baited breath for the story Grandpa would reveal. Thank you for the journey into your story. This story should be shared with every family that has an elder moving into a care facility.

      Tracks 4-5-6 sweep  the listener up into a classic story with a vivid chase and soothe through a son's song and you finish by capturing our hearts with "Vicki's" story.

     This is a wonderful collection, I highly recommend  this CD produced by Aslan Productions; Buck P. Creacy and available at www.mssheila.org  or to email Ms. Sheila  sheilaarnold39@aol.com
     

" What Was Civil About That War..." CD Review

What Was Civil About That War... a CD by Storyteller Megan Hicks, 2004 stories (un)folding

isbn: 8 2534646922 5 Stories ( Un) Folding PO Box 7994 Fredericksburg, Va 22404

http://www.meganhicks.com/

The lilting tune "Gary Owen" belies the eerily haunting tale of Civil War events at the battlefield that permanently transformed the sleepy town of Frederiscksburg, Virginia into battle mayhem and subsequently a National Battlefield Park. The courage of " The Angel of Marye's Heights", a soldier long remembered after his days of service to humanity while in the Army of the Confederacy is shared in story on this poignant CD. Sgt. Richard Kirkland survived the siege at Fredericksburg and went on to serve in a later battle and die on the field of battle a young man whose promise was cut short, like so many others. His tale of courage and that of resident Martha Stevens and the soldiers of the indomitable Irish Brigade come forth in a personal telling that takes a dry lesson of history into living reality.

www.militaryheritage.com/sound.htm hear Gary Owen at this site