To the Best of Our Knowledge

PROMO       6/17/07 "What Is Normal?" 
*Ok, you choose: endure traditional strict religious strictures and a
life of hard labor or, fully indulge in the pleasures of today? Amish
youth are given that choice. When they turn 16 they're let loose to
experience all the temptations of the world. Then, they have to decide
between the world and the community. In this hour of To The Best Of Our
Knowledge the Amish ritual of Rumspringa.

PROGRAM RUNDOWN:   "What is Normal?"

0:00 - 16:35        SEGMENT 1: (16:36)
            Writer Stephen Kuusisto is blind. His latest memoir is
            called "Listening." He tells Anne Strainchamps what he
            remembers about visiting the seashore and a stable in
            Finland as a child. He also reads his poem "Elegy for Ray
            Charles and His Mother."  
                    
            Segment One Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

16:36 - 17:05  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

17:06 - 29:40       SEGMENT 2: (12:36)
            Emily Rapp had her foot amputated when she was 4. By the
            time she was 8, the rest of her leg was gone and she'd
            become a poster child for the March of Dimes. She
            chronicles her days as a self-described "supergimp" in
            her book "Poster Child" and in this conversation with
            Anne Strainchamps. Also, Harriet Brown is a writer in 
            Madison, Wisconsin. She reads an essay describing her
            experience discovering her daughter had anorexia. 
                    
            Segment Two Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

29:41 - 30:10       LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

30:11 - 53:00       SEGMENT 3: (22:49)
            Tom Shachtman's the author of "Rumspringa: To Be or Not
            To Be Amish."  He tells Jim Fleming about this Amish
            custom of allowing sixteen year olds a period of total
            freedom to experience the temptations of the world before
            they choose the strictures of a traditional Amish life.
            Our production excerpts come from the documentary "The
            Devil's Playground." Also, Alan Berliner directed a
            documentary for HBO called "Wide Awake."  Berliner is a
            chronic insomniac who goes for days without sleeping.  He
            tells Steve Paulson it seems to be part of his creative
            process.
                    
            Segment Three Outcue: PRI Audio Logo


For a copy of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
6-17-A.