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The Great Cottage Cheese Fight (audio-cassette) by Greg Harris. Self-produced, 1998. 60 mins. $10.

We moved once when I was growing up. I was 9 years old. We moved from a house in town to one out of town. Same town, same school. Greg Harris, on the other hand, had moved thirteen times by the time he graduated from high school. Frequent moves are a way or life for families in the Armed Forces but their frequency doesn't make them any easier.

The Great Cottage Cheese Fight is a collection of personal stories from Harris' growing -up years
as a Navy brat. The three stories give listeners a glimpse into the lives of Navy families but more, a glimpse into the life of this particular family. The stories of an epic food fight, of teasing, and of a beloved pet encompass themes of stress and adaptation, sibling rivalry, attachment and loss. Greg makes good use of the little touches of family folklore that so many of us take for granted. Family sayings, treasured mementos, ways of doing things that are unique to one's own family -these are the touches that add detail and depth to the larger picture painted by a story .
I liked Bald Baby and Smokey Takes the Field for their mix of humour and poignancy.
Behind the storyteller's voice is the guitar music of Luke Bergmann. I like music when it sets the mood of the story, or accentuates part of the action but there is a musicality to a well told story which can easily be overwhelmed by instrumental music. This music, pleasant on its own, was distracting to me as I listened to the stories. I found myself relaxing in the instances when it stopped and occasionally resenting it when it started up again.
To order the tape, send $10 U.S. plus $1.59 s/h to Greg Harris, 7827 SW 30th Ave #21! Portland! Oregon 97219.503293-0517.

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gharris@hevanet. com Visit Greg at www.hevanet.com/gregharris/index.html

The Second Story Review, Vol 3, No. 4, March 1998