life rattle show no. 1276

Presented on THURSDAY, October 3, 2013

Hosted by laurie kallis

featuring

"Calf Bully"
"After Baling"
and
"Skinamarinky Doo"

by Christie Rodenburg

tonight's Show

Tonight’s show, Life Rattle Number 1276, features three stories by new Life Rattle writer Christina Rodenburg.

Christie Rodenburg was born on a summer evening in 1993, in Sarnia, Ontario. Her father emigrated from Holland in his twenties and met her mother fifteen years later. Her father will always be a dairy farmer, and her mother, a teacher. When Christie was midway through kindergarten, her family moved from Sombra to a new farm near the hamlet of Corinth, both near the most southern tip of Ontario. Growing up, Christie and her three younger siblings spent many hours outside on the lawn or in the pool, but also many inside playing with dinosaurs or reading books.

Christie Rodenburg currently studies art at university, but goes back to the farm every summer. She enjoys camping with her family and friends, collaging, reading novels, and taking photographs of the rural landscape she calls home.

There is an earthiness to Christie’s writing, and her stories, though simple and straightforward, have real substance. Two of tonight’s featured stories introduce readers to a world few have experienced firsthand—life on a family-run farm. And, although the daily activities are quite different from those of urban dwellers, the characters we meet face similar dilemnas.

Tonight’s first story, "Calf Bully," centres on a young woman who struggles to feed a newly acquired calf. We feel her frustration and exasperation as her various methods prove unsuccesful.

Our second story, "After Baling,"brings us onto sundrenched fields, where four siblings work together to bring in the day’s final loads of straw, but one brother veers off-track when he decides to prove his driving ability, despite the protests of his siblings.

In her final story tonight, "Skinamarinky Doo," Christie brings us on vacation, where the mother and aunt torment a self-concious young girl with their boisterous rendition of the children’s song.

Note: Tonight’s final story may be result in a terribly annoying song playing through your head. Listener discretion is advised.