INTRODUCTION TO ACT I
Today on TUNING IN THE U.S.A., Susan Stewart is taking a car trip with her friend Harry Bennett. Harry is an accountant, and today he has invited Susan to meet one of his favorite clients. As they talk about their jobs, they learn more about each other. Susan is an executive with a toy company. She likes her work, but there is one unpleasant thing about her job.
ACT I
Harry: I hope the rain stops.
Susan: It will, Harry. On a day like this, it just can’t rain.
Harry: you’re sweet, Susan. I’m really glad you came with me today.
Susan: I’m glad you asked me. I can’t wait to see Mr. Nordstrom’s farm. But where’s Route 28?
Harry: Don’t worry. I know the way, you can relax.
Susan: Have you been Mr. Nordstrom’s accountant for a long time?
Harry: I started doing the accounting work for the Nordstrom farm when it was a much smaller business. I was still in college.
Susan: That sounds a little like me. I sold toys in a store when I was in college.
Harry: Really? Did you ever think you would become an executive in a toy company?
Susan: Never. But I liked the idea of making products especially for children. Of course, being in the toy business doesn’t mean you spend a lot of time with children. Most days, I study drawings, read reports, attend meetings…
Harry: And you get ready for that next business trip.
Susan: That’s the one unpleasant part of my job. I’m on the road so much.
Harry: Oh, and here I am dragging you away on one of my business trips.
Susan: Wait a minute.
Harry: It was unfair of me to ask you to give up your day off, but I wanted you to keep me company.
Su: Oh, Harry. I was talking about a different sort of travel-flying to Chicago, staying in a strange hotel room, eating by myself in a strange restaurant. I don’t like that kind of trip.
Ha: You aren’t just trying to make me feel better?
Su: Of course not. I love being with you! I enjoy seeing you at work. I enjoy seeing you at play! And today’s going to be some of each! Right?
Ha: I think so. If I know Dave, he’ll show you all around the farm. You’ll like his wife. And you’ll love their old house. There are beautiful flower gardens. And dogs and kittens all over the place.
Su: Mmm, sounds wonderful.
Ha: It is wonderful! It’s two and a half hours of driving on a Saturday, but I don’t mind.
Su: I guess most of your clients are… not so wonderful.
Harry: They’re all nice people. They run small businesses. They come to visit me in my office in the city. Or I go to their offices. But the Nordstrom farm is different for me. Susan, it’s … it’s a breath of fresh air. The rain has stopped.
Su: Well, what about that fresh air? Let’s roll down the windows and enjoy it.
INTRODUCTION TO ACT II
This time on Tuning in the U.S.A., we’re at a large corn farm in upstate New York, where Susan Stewart and Harry Bennett are visiting one of Harry’s clients, Dave Nordstrom. Dave’s son Davie is working in the fields with a new corn-picking machine. He has just graduated from agricultural school. and he’s made a big decision about his future.
Act II
Dave: [He shouts.] Hey, Harry !
Harry: [He gets out of the car.] Dave, good to see you. I’d like you to meet Susan Stewart. She’s a special friend.
Dave: [to Susan] Dave Nordstrom. How do you do?
Susan: Pleased to meet you. Harry has told me a lot about you. You’ve got quite a farm. How big is it?
Da: Oh, we have about a thousand acres. It’s all corn right now.
Ha: I told her about your new corn picker.
Da: Now, there’s a machine! Now we can harvest our corn and get it to market quickly.
Harry: Is it as pretty as its picture?
Da: It’s prettier. C’mon. My son is out in the field with it right now. Let’s take a walk over that way.
Su: What are those people doing over these?
Da: Those are our packers, over in the packing shed. They put corn into boxes for shipment to the market.
Ha: How many workers do you have this year, Dave?
Su: What do you mean “right now”?
Da: They come up north from Florida for the summer harvest. Then they go back to Florida to harvest fruit in the winter.
Ha: Is that the picker over there?
Da: That’s it. [He shouts.] Hey, Davie! [He whistles.]
Ha: I think he heard you. He’s coming this way.
Su: That’s a big machine!
Da: Sure is. Expensive, too. But worth every penny.
Davie: Hello, Mr. Bennett. How have you been?
Ha: Fine, Davie. How are you? Oh, this is Susan Stewart.
Davie: [to Susan] Hi, I’m Dave Junior. But everyone calls me Davie.
Susan: Hello, Davie.
Harry: I hear you graduated from the state agricultural school. Congratulations!
Davie: Thanks!
Harry: What are your plans now? Are you going to look for a job or work here with your dad?
Da: I think I’ll be staying here. It’s the family business, you know.
Ha: I think that’s a good decision. Farming’s a very fine profession. It’s a way of life. You can’t say that about every job.
[The lunch bell sounds]
Da: There’s Mom. Come on. Let’s go cat. Hey, who wants a ride back to the house?
Susan: A ride on the corn picker?
Da: Sure. Come on. I’ve got room for two.
Ha: Susan?
Dave: Now, go on you two. Take a ride. I’ll meet you back at the house.
Susan: I’m going to ride a corn picker! This is a new experience for me!
Dave: Watch out, Harry. Susan may become a farmer, too. [They all laugh.] |