ME AND JOHN STEINBECK:
in the cotton fields of California,
the Grapes of Wrath, and a legacy from a can of Franco-American beef gravy.
Your Subtitle text
This is a story told by a man who, as a boy of six, met and became friendly with John Steinbeck in the cotton fields of California when Steinbeck was writing the last pages of the novel The Grapes of Wrath, actually having had his hands on that selfsame original manuscript.
The story is presented in the context of his father and uncle's Grapes-of-Wrath exodus from the State of Maine to the migrant-labor camps and fields of California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho in the mid-1930s. It is an interesting and inspirational Depression-era story relating how it happened that he, his father and uncle, came to be mentioned in that Pulitzer-Prize winning novel and speaks to the grim tensions that invoked Steinbeck's muse while at the same time, anecdotally, revealing something of Steinbeck's character as a man.
John was a kind man and I’d sort of become friendly with him.
When I noticed that he wasn’t in the field picking cotton one day,
I asked my father if John was sick.
“No,” he said, “John’s writing.”
I didn’t understand, so I asked my father, “What does that mean, Dad?”
He said, “Well, John’s a writer, and he’s writing.”
I had never heard the word "writer" before, so I asked my father what a writer was.
“Well,” he said, “A writer is a man who tells stories.”
When he said that, I was really worried about John:
I just couldn’t see how anyone could get by telling stories and not picking cotton everyday.
I asked my father if John was sick.
“No,” he said, “John’s writing.”
I didn’t understand, so I asked my father, “What does that mean, Dad?”
He said, “Well, John’s a writer, and he’s writing.”
I had never heard the word "writer" before, so I asked my father what a writer was.
“Well,” he said, “A writer is a man who tells stories.”
When he said that, I was really worried about John:
I just couldn’t see how anyone could get by telling stories and not picking cotton everyday.
COMMENTS FROM OWNERS:
S.J.M., Mission, KA: Wow! Powerful and moving! Thank you so much for sharing. Most interesting!
J.F.O., Sun Lakes, AZ: I know this migrant thing has been going on for a long time. Your story adds a dimension to an already captivating story. Powerful!
P.W., St. Paul, MN: A story that gives credence to the notion that it's a small world.
V.V.R., Moscow, Moskva, Russia: Making story of Depression ringing.
A.H., Sunnyvale, CA: What an interesting story!
G.G.L., Reston, VA: Your CD has a permanent place on my bookshelf! Wow!
M.A.C., London, England: A story that adds a powerful note of realism to an already gripping tale.
D.S.K., Sofia, Bulgaria: Bringing interesting tellings to already great book.
M.C., Cabot, AR: One of the most interesting stories I've ever heard on National Public Radio, I wouldn't part with my CD!
C.H., Westbury, NY: I have long been a fan of Steinbeck's. Your story adds a delightful dimension to the man I had imagined!
S.J.M., Mission, KA: Wow! Powerful and moving! Thank you so much for sharing. Most interesting!
J.F.O., Sun Lakes, AZ: I know this migrant thing has been going on for a long time. Your story adds a dimension to an already captivating story. Powerful!
P.W., St. Paul, MN: A story that gives credence to the notion that it's a small world.
V.V.R., Moscow, Moskva, Russia: Making story of Depression ringing.
A.H., Sunnyvale, CA: What an interesting story!
G.G.L., Reston, VA: Your CD has a permanent place on my bookshelf! Wow!
M.A.C., London, England: A story that adds a powerful note of realism to an already gripping tale.
D.S.K., Sofia, Bulgaria: Bringing interesting tellings to already great book.
M.C., Cabot, AR: One of the most interesting stories I've ever heard on National Public Radio, I wouldn't part with my CD!
C.H., Westbury, NY: I have long been a fan of Steinbeck's. Your story adds a delightful dimension to the man I had imagined!
