Aunt Daisy's Trip To America (5)

New Zealand Listener, Volume 11, Issue 282, 17 November 1944, Page 14

Aunt Daisy's Trip To America (5)

URING my visit I took part in D 27 broadcast programmes, and they really were "different" and quite interesting-to me, at any rate. For instance, there. was. ListenThe. Women, which is a _ kind of Women’s Brains Trust, and good fun. It is very popular, and is going to be started in South America, I understand. I think we could easily work it up in New Zealand. It is a Blue Network half-hour programme, and comes on Sunday afternoon. Like all American programmes, it is a "live show" — that is, it is held in a large studio-theatre, which is filled with an audience who have applied for tickets. These studio shows go on all day and every day, and every evening, too; and are always packed — in New York, in Chicago, in Hollywood, in San Francisco-every-where. Some shows, of course, have terrific waiting-lists, such as Charlie McCarthy, Gracie Fields, Fibber McGee and Molly, Bing Crosby and Red Skel-ton-and of course, Command Performance and Mail Call, at which the

popular stars all appear gratis. If you stay long enough you can see almost every show and every star, from Ronald Colman, Lionel Barrymore, little Margaret O’Brien, and Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra, down to Take It or Leave It, and Stage Door Canteen. The field is wide; it includes everything; it is America! There is something for everybody. Listen-The Women In Listen-The Women you have a Question-Mistress, who sits at a table on one side of the stage, facing the panel of four women at another table. The Question-Mistress and three of the panel are permanent; the fourth member is a guest. They have had. Vicki Baum the novelist; Eleanor Darnton, woman’s editor of the New. York Times; Margaret Bourke-White, an_ international war correspondent and photographer for Life, and numbers of interesting women visitors from all over the world. The Question-Mistress is Janet Hanner, of the New Yorker Magazine, who lived for 17 years in Europe, mostly Paris, and gave to her New York readers an intimate picture of the personalities of the day. She hopes to return there soon and continue that work. On the panel are Mildred Thomson, Dean of Vassar College, a very keenwitted woman, and Thyra Winslow, a journalist and story-writer, who. always sees the funny side of the question, and ‘whose provocative comments liven up the whole programme. The questions come in from all parts of the country; some are. controversial, some: serious, some trivial. I think a committee picks cut the questions to be dealt with each Sunday; but the panel-members have not the slightest idea what is going to be fired at them. ¢continiued on next page)

(continued from previous page) I was the guest on one occasion, and we were asked questions about what we thought of war marriages between American boys and English or Australian girls (they didn’t mention New Zealand — the writer was probably one of those who think it is the same as Australia); whether there would be any trouble getting women war-workers back into the home after the war; and so onthe same questions as are being asked everywhere. The trivial side was presented by a question as to how a man could best protect himself against a woman’s tears! When my turn to answer came, I said something to the effect that in my country women didn’t cry very often anyhow, and that after all the fine training our Waacs and Waafs, etc., had gone through, there would be less crying than ever; but that if a woman did cry, it would be for a very good reason, and that it was up to her man to put his arm round her and say "Why, my darling, what is the matterhow can I help you?" A _ veritable storm of applause from the audience greeted this, and several women came up afterwards to shake hands and say how lovely New Zealand men must be to take it like that! Another coast-to-coast programme was an interview by "Commando Mary," a much-travelled American woman, who has seen women at war-work in more than 50 factories. I understand that she has lived in Russia, as well as for some years. in Paris; she is certainly an arresting personality. "Commando Mary" conducted our interview splendidly, and I told a little about our scenic attractions, as well as our women’s warwork. A lot of interest was raised by my mention of our revival of spinning in New Zealand, not only by the Navy League, but by women’s clubs generally. They thought it wonderful, too, about the children gathering up wool which the sheep have rubbed off on the | wire fences, and the spinning and dyeing in schools. As to our big work in papier-mache — all the hospital equipment and so on, which we have specialised in, as well as the hand-painted trays and vases, and beautiful dolls’ heads-that seemed to astonish and please the listeners more than anything. (continued on next page)

AUNT DAISY’S TRIP (continued from previous page) One of the strangest programmes I took part in was that run by a mindreader — or master mentalist as he is called, It is a coast-to-coast programme, and. immensely popular, as anything "magic" always is. You might wonder what I.could do on that programme, and indeed, it was not much; yet it did give New Zealand a good "boost," and I had reports on this programme from many sources, People I met everywhere in clubs and shops and parties for the next few days said, "Oh, you must be the Aunt Daisy Basham I heard on Dunninger’s programme! Did he really read your mind?" : Mr. Dunninger is also a clever conjuror, and before the programme goes on the air, he gives what he calls a "Half-hour’s Warm-up" to the packed studio audience, with the neatest and slickest of card tricks, and so on. Then his assistants pass round slips of paper and little pencils; and you are asked to write down some special thought and concentrate on it-perhaps your telephone number, or the ages of your children, or something in your handbagor anything at all. The first time I saw this programme I was one of the ordinary audience; and was so thrilled by his clever tricks, especially by his taking a full glass of water out of a perfectly empty bag held by two servicemen, who made sure it was empty, that I wrote on my paper, "Did you ever meet Malini? Wellington, New Zealand." (Many of you will remember Malini, a fine conjuror, who toured New Zealand some time after the last war). Now the catch was that the papers on which we wrote were not collected! Dunninger passed round some envelopes, one to each row, and we put our papers in these and one of us kept the envelope. In my row a young British sailor in uniform pocketed the envelope. Then we went on the air, Dunninger sitting at a desk on one side of the stage and three "judges" seated at a table on the other side, After the usual preliminaries and the advertising "spot" the master mentalist began his "mindreading." The very first mind to be read was mine! I. could scarcely believe it he began by saying, "Now I get pe impression that a lady in the hall is wondering whether I have ever met Malini. I take it that Malini is a man in this same line of business. Well, no, I have not met him. The question comes from Wellington, New ORLEANS! Will the lady please stand up?" Of course by this time my heart was beating in double-quick time, and I’m sure I was open-mouthed with astonishment. I rose to my feet, and every eye was turned upon me, as Dunninger asked "Am I right?" I gasped out, "Oh, yes-. except not New ORLEANS." "Well, perhaps New Zealand," said the Master Mentalist -- and then, very sternly, "Have you ever seen me before?" "No, indeed?’ said I. "Thank you!" said heand a sigh of delicious maystification rose from the audience and was ampli-. fied over the air. Dunninger then went on to tell the written thoughts of about 20 other people in the audience. It was really a very cleverly ‘staged show. There are many more things I could tell you about my tour, but I’m afraid I shall have to go back to the recipes and mail-bag next week, for letters on those subjects are mounting up.