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How I learned to Cuss... and Other Stories You Shouldn't Hear (audio cassette) told by Rick Carson. Self-produced, 1996.

Giggles and Ghosts (audio cassette) told by Rick Carson. Self-produced,1991. No price given.

There is a note on How I Learned to Cuss reassuring potential listeners that these are not "dirty" stories. Carson suggests that, if he had to rate them, he would consider them PG-13, and I would say that is certainly a safe judgment.

There are seven stories on the tape, .and they are a mix of personal stories, tall tale, and joke. "The Day Mama Spanked the Mouse" is a slight, but amusing anecdote from Carson's childhood. "The New Hoe Handle" starts out as what appears to be a personal tale about Rick wanting a bicycle as a child. Much of the story is devoted to what he must do in order to earn a bicycle, and then the story evolves tall tale ort he snake-bit hoe handle. Unfortunately, the whole first part of the story, the build up to a bicycle, is lost because there is no mention at the end of whether the boy ever gets his bike. The listener is left hanging and wondering as my daughter and I did, why the whole first part was included. The stories on side two are all familiar jokes put into a personal story context.

Giggles and Ghosts, Carson's earlier tape, contains more familiar tales, rangjng from Soap, Soap, Soap, to Wicked John and the Devil. This tape is for listeners 8 to adult. It's always interesting to hear tapes made by the same person when there is a fair interval of time between the two. In this case, .I could hear that Rick's timing and delivery had improved in the second tape. Carson sounds like someone you would hear spinning a yam on a porch of a summer's evening. The stories, too, sound like stories told to a friend or neighbour. It's funny how time changes your perception of stories. 1. heard/ read Soap, Soap, Soap as a child in pretty much the same version that Carson tells, and thought it a funny story. When I hear it now, as an adult who is aware of society's concern with child abuse, and as an ,adult who runs into political correctness issues, I wonder how it would be received in our local public settings.

I can see that these tapes would be popular with people who have heard Rick in concert, and want something to call him to mind. If you would like to order these tapes (and find out for yourself
what the cuss words were) you can write to Rick at 1070 Azel Ave, Hamilton, OH 45013
513-867-1525

The Second Story Review, Vol 1, No. 3, September 1996