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The Southern Bells

By: Donald Davis
Narrated by: Donald Davis
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Editor reviews

Author and narrator Donald Davis shares two riotously funny stories in The Southern Bells. The main story is the tale of two spinsters who run amuck after receiving eight-line telephone service. The second story is an added gift, a recounting of Davis’ first day at school. Davis has a naturally funny voice; he does not have to contrive a humorous tone. His delivery is spot-on, and he lets the story do the talking, never over-working the punch lines. Using a corn-pone tone Davis brings to life his naïve, unwittingly hilarious North Carolinians. Davis does not demean these characters; rather he celebrates their innocence.

Summary

When the Southern Bells brought the telephone to rural North Carolina, it looked like a "big black daffodil." What the telephone company had not counted on in conceiving its eight-party line service was a pair of "past-middle-age, unmarried sisters" - the chatty Misses Lucy and Lena Leatherwood. Once the Leatherwood sisters were connected by the Southern Bells, nobody else on that line had a chance! This recording also includes Davis's hilarious story about his first day of school, "Winning and Losing." "My personal plan was to learn to read first thing on the first day," Davis said. "After that, they could go ahead and teach me anything they wanted to."
©1990, 1991 Donald Davis (P)1994 August House Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Davis weaves his stories as a craftsman weaves fine fabric. There are no holes." ( Lexington Herald-Leader)

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