2005-1-20
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HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA. Special English.
I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:
Music from Los Lonely Boys ...
A question about Helen Keller ...
And a new place for cereal lovers.
Cereal Bars
HOST:
Students at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have a new place to go to eat. It serves many different kinds of ... cereal. Bob Doughty explains.
BOB DOUGHTY: The Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe is supposed to feel more like a home than a business. Servers are dressed in sleep clothes. Some students sit at a big table as they eat their cereal. They watch cartoons on a television, probably just like they did as children. Tired students lie on a couch. Still others read their computer mail.
Cereal is what millions of people eat for breakfast. But at this place, it is eaten not just for the first meal of the day, but for any meal.
Most of the popular cereals that Americans buy contain oats, corn, wheat or rice. Some contain lots of added sugars. This may help explain why many college kids are big cereal eaters.
More than thirty kinds of cold cereal are served at the Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe. Students can choose from kinds like Cheerios, Corn Chex and Cap'n Crunch to Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms.
Also on the menu are more than thirty kinds of toppings to put on the cereal, from nuts and fruit to candies. And there are several kinds of milk, including soy milk. People can also order hot cereals and, true to the name of the place, cereal bars. These you hold in your hand.
The two businessmen who opened the cafe at the University of Pennsylvania tested the idea first at the University of Arizona in Tempe. Now they are looking at other cities and other kinds of places to offer people their favorite breakfast cereal any time of day.
Helen Keller
DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Kharkov, Ukraine. Sergey D. asks about the life of Helen Keller.
Helen Keller was born in eighteen eighty in a small town in Alabama, in the American South. She developed an infection at the age of nineteen months. She lost her ability to see and hear.
When Helen was seven years old, her parents hired a special teacher. The teacher was Anne Sullivan. She herself had once been almost completely blind, but regained her sight.
Anne Sullivan began teaching Helen the names of things. Miss Sullivan formed letters with her finger in Helen's hand to spell out words. Helen learned more and more words. She learned how to use her hands to speak for her. In addition to sign language, Helen also learned to use her voice.
Later, she learned to read Latin, Greek, French and German. She read with her fingers using the braille system of raised dots. She also learned to use a typewriter.
Anne Sullivan stayed with Helen Keller for many years. She helped her get ready for school and college. Helen Keller was sixteen years old when she started at Radcliffe College in Massachusetts. She completed her studies with honors in nineteen oh four.
Helen Keller worked for many years for the American Foundation for the Blind. She met with presidents and traveled to many countries. She wrote books and articles. She showed other disabled people that they, too, could succeed.
Helen Keller died in nineteen sixty-eight. Her life story has been told in books, plays and movies. "Life," she said, "is either a daring adventure or it is nothing."
Los Lonely Boys
HOST:
A group called Los Lonely Boys is enjoying much success these days. Their first album has sold more than one million copies. And the band has four nominations at the Grammy Awards next month, including Best New Artist. Barbara Klein has our story.
BARBARA KLEIN: Los Lonely Boys are three brothers. Henry Garza plays the guitar. JoJo Garza plays the bass. And Ringo Garza Junior plays the drums. They grew up in a small town in Texas. They performed with their father, a successful musician.
Another Texas musician, Willie Nelson, calls Los Lonely Boys his favorite new band. The brothers performed with him on the album "Outlaws and Angels." One of the songs is "Cisco Kid."
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Los Lonely Boys recorded their first album at Willie Nelson's studio in Austin, Texas. The title song is nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance Grammys. Here is "Heaven."
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Los Lonely Boys are not so lonely. They have been called one of the most exciting acts performing today. They mix the sounds of Mexican music with American rock and blues.
We leave you with another song nominated for a Grammy, this one for best rock instrumental performance. Here are Los Lonely Boys with "Onda."
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DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program. The writers were Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was Caty Weaver.
Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com. Be sure to include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, V.O.A. Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.
Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, V.O.A.'s radio magazine in Special English.