HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson.
On our show this week: music nominated for a Tony Award thisSunday, and a question about Route Sixty-Six. But first, we have astory about some unwelcome wildlife.
Snakeheads in the Potomac
We talked last week about all the noise and dead insects aroundthe eastern United States. The seventeen-year cicadas are out of theground and back for a visit. Well, this invader is not alone. SteveEmber reports.
ANNCR:
Wildlife officials are concernedabout the recent discovery of several northern snakeheads. These arefish. But, yes, their head does look like it belongs on a snake.They have been caught in the Potomac River in the area aroundWashington, D.C.
Snakeheads are freshwater fish native to Asia and parts ofAfrica. In Asia, they are considered a fine food.
But officials here worry that snakeheads will threaten nativefish and other water resources if they become established. They saythis could harm local economies that depend on those waters.
Northern snakeheads can grow more than eighty centimeters long.They are able to leave the water and move across wetlands. And theyare huge eaters. They eat other fish and frogs. Sometimes they eatbirds and small mammals.
The first snakeheads in the area were discovered in small pondsin Maryland two years ago. Officials removed the water or poisonedit as a solution. That is not possible with the Potomac River. ThePotomac Conservancy group calls it "the wildest river runningthrough a metropolitan area anywhere in the world."
The Potomac flows more than six-hundred kilometers. It suppliesfresh water for most of the four-million people in the Washingtonarea. Birds like great blue herons and bald eagles live along theriver. And it is a top fishing area for bass.
Experts believe that snakeheads have gotten into American waterswhen people bought them but then released them. Officials inMaryland and Florida have found that the fish can reproduce in thewild. But Florida officials say they have found no harm to the localfish population.
Owning a snakehead is illegal in some states. Officials inMaryland and Virginia are urging anyone who catches one to kill it.But some experts say the threat to American waterways is beingoverstated. They say a bigger threat is pollution.
Route 66
HOST:
Our listener question this weekcomes from via e-mail from James Osamene, and he asks about RouteSixty-Six.
This highway was the most traveled road in the United Statesduring the nineteen-twenties and thirties. It stretched fromChicago, Illinois, to the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California.Because it was so heavily traveled, it became known as "the people'shighway."
A businessman in Tulsa, Oklahoma helped create the identity ofRoute Sixty-Six. Cyrus Avery headed the Oklahoma state highwaycommittee. He also helped plan America's national system of numberedroads. Mister Avery proposed that a federal road be built fromChicago to Los Angeles along a southwestern path.
The government approved his proposal and named the road innineteen-twenty-six. Mister Avery also started a specialorganization to support the road called the U-S Sixty-Six HighwayAssociation. The group gave the road a special name -- "Main Streetof America."
American writer John Steinbeckcalled Route Sixty-Six the "Mother Road" in his book "The Grapes ofWrath." Hundreds of thousands of people traveled this Mother Roadduring the Great Depression of the nineteen-thirties. They lefttheir homes in the middle of the country and traveled west in searchof work and a better life.
Route Sixty-six was a flat road. Travelers could use it duringany season of the year. This led to an increase in long-distancetrucking in the United States. By the nineteen-thirties, trucks weretransporting goods on Route Sixty-Six. So were farmers. By thenineteen-forties, military vehicles had also increased traffic onthe road.
In nineteen-forty-six, songwriter Bobby Troup drove to LosAngeles along Route Sixty-Six. During the trip, his wife Cynthiasuggested that he write a song about the famous road. Bobby Troupwrote the music and most of the words while he and his wife traveledfrom town to town. When he reached Los Angeles, he performed thesong for Nat King Cole, who made it famous. Here is Nat King Colesinging the song "Route Sixty-Six."
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Tony Award Nominees
HOST:
Hollywood movies have the Academy Awards. Broadway plays have theTony Awards. The Tonys will be given out this Sunday in New YorkCity. Gwen Outen presents the four nominees for best musical.
ANNCR:
One of the shows nominated thisyear is "Avenue Q." This is about the secret lives of ... puppets.Another nominee is "Caroline, Or Change," a story about the strugglefor civil rights.
The third nominee for best musical is "Wicked." This is about thewitches from the story "The Wizard of Oz." It includes this song,called "Thank Goodness."
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The Tony Awards are given by the American Theater Wing. Thatgroup began as a way for theater people to help during the two worldwars. The first Tonys were presented in nineteen-forty-seven. Theaward is named for Antoinette Perry, "Tony" for short. She was aproducer and director.
The awards go to actors, directors, set designers and musiccomposers. Tonys are also given for best dramatic play and bestmusical play of the year.
The final show nominated for best musical this year is "The Boyfrom Oz." It has nothing to do with the Wizard of Oz. It is aboutthe life of the Australian singer Peter Allen. He died of AIDS innineteen-ninety-two.
We leave you with the Australian actor who plays him, HughJackman, singing the Peter Allen song, "I Go to Rio."
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HOST:
This is Doug Johnson.
Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com. Orwrite to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C.,two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.
Please include your name and postal address. We'll send you agift if we use your question.
Our program was written by Cynthia Kirk, Jill Moss and NancySteinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer.
I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week forVOA's radio magazine in Special English.