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The Iron Dragon

We're in Las Vegas, but we're talking about Reno and the Sierras. That's because this is our first podcast in three weeks, as we took a couple of weeks off during the holidays. So this week, we catch you up on what we were doing during that time - namely visiting Kimberly's parents in Reno and working feverishly to get our newest production ready. Don't think for one minute that we were taking a hoiday vacation - although we did manage to sneak in a skiing excursion to the Sierras.

And since we've spent some time lately in and near the California Gold Rush country, we bring you a story from tht region, a tale told by Chinese immigrants who helped build the railroad. We call it "The Iron Dragon", and it involves a group of laborers who come over to seek their fortune and instead find very harsh and dangerous working conditions. Several of them die on the job and one of the deceased workers returns in spirit form to haunt his comrades. They decide that in order to give rest to the souls of their fellow Chinese laborers, they must undertake a special construction project on the side.

A wonderful illustrated version of this story can be found in the book The Iron Moonhunter by Kathleen Chang (San Francisco: Children's Books Press, 1977).

Happy Listening,

Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza