Mother, Father, Uncle, Aunt is a 2 Garrison Keillor comedy CD set of stories from a kinder, gentler Lake Wobegon.
No obvious Garrison Keillor liberal political agenda or snide remark, just fun, interesting News From Lake Wobegon stories. Many of us cherish the days when Prairie Home Companion was not a bully pulpit for Keillor’s personal hobbyhorses. The 10 stories on Mother, Father, Uncle, Aunt bear the original Keillor signature of an interesting, sometimes poignant story about simple folk in a small town.
Ball Jars is a sweet memory piece about the value of home canning. Saturday Morning At Bon Marche is Garrison Keillor at his observational best and is about the society of women away from the prying eyes and ears of men at the local beauty shop. It is a very good, sometimes funny story, and proof that Keillor used to be interesting. Family Trip to Yellowstone, as heard on Prairie Home Companion as part of the News From Lake Wobegon of course, is a probably autobiographical (it’s hard to tell with Garrison Keillor) story about going to Yellowstone. The Flood is one of those dark stories where one of the many, many characters from the little village of Lake Wobegon faces some kind of existential crisis and finds salvation through his fellow man. Mother Father Uncle Aunt, Vol. 1 (mp3 download at Amazon)
Bob Anderson’s Last Dance is probably the original version of that story. Garrison Keillor has been known to retell some of his stories and recast some of the events. The original story has to do with a man from Lake Wobegon whose career as a dancer for a mid-level dance company is coming to an end and his parents’ attendance of his last show. Over the years, News From Lake Wobegone has featured various versions of this story, some of them taking place in New York, some in Minnesota. There is even a post 9/11 version of it. Mother Father Uncle Aunt, Vol. 2 (mp3 download at Amazon)
Another story on the Mother, Father, Uncle, Aunt 2 comedy CD set which is pretty decent is Children Will Break Your Heart. Ronnie and the Winnebago is a very funny story having to do with Ronnie deciding to go ice fishing in his father’s Winnebago. Keillor must know this is a fine story because he has retold it with slight variations quite a few times over the years. Carl’s Christmas Pageant is the story of Carl Krebsbach stuck having to organize the Lake Wobegon Christmas Pageant. It is a funny story but you sometimes wonder how much humor is behind Garrison Keillor’s poking fun at Catholic and how much supposed moral superiority there is hiding in the background. The Tombstone is one of those rare News From Lake Wobegon stories where there isn’t much funny story and yet it is probably one of the most interesting. It has to do with a family wanting to place a marker on a long dead relative’s grave.
For those of us who are getting a little tired of Prairie Home Companion and its snide politics, of Garrison Keillor’s agenda (Hey, you can have an agenda and you can mention it from time to time, but do you really have to shove it in everybody’s face every chance you get?) and of News From Lake Wobegon that are just long, rambling monologues, Mother, Father, Uncle, Aunt is a trip back to the good old days and 2 very good comedy CDs
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Mother, Father, Uncle, Aunt
Stories from Lake Wobegon
A Prairie Home Companion
Garrison Keillor
HighBridge Audio
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