Something to Remember Them By

Memorial Day, Next Big Thing-style. We remember the lyrics from "Oklahoma!," forgotten men buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, and cross-generational infatuations with Frank Sinatra. Also this week, we offer a profile of a woman with the disease ALS who struggles to regain her voice, and a cup of tea with strangers on a street corner in Baghdad.

Oklahoma!
Every week, it seems, somewhere in the country, someone's putting on a production of "Oklahoma!" Haven't we had enough? Don't Americans already know every lyric of this musical from start to finish? Next Big Thing contributor Henry Alford finds out. Produced by Julie Subrin.

Austin Corbin?
A walk through Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx with Fred Goodman, who's spent many hours visiting the once-famous residents there. Goodman's book, Secret City: Woodlawn Cemetery and the Buried History of New York, chronicles some of their lives. Produced by Emily Botein.

Wearing Death
As towns across America observe Memorial Day, Katie Davis considers the never-ending memorial that takes place on the sidewalks and basketball courts of her Washington, D.C. neighborhood. Davis created this piece as part of her "Neighborhood Stories" series, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Visits with a Tea Seller
As an Iraqi translator for foreign journalists in Baghdad, Hiba Dawood has covered many dangerous situations. But sometimes even the simplest assignments raise obstacles. Produced by Julie Subrin.

ALS Flute
Sarah Green was a professional flute player. One day, she looked in the mirror and noticed that her lips seemed to twitch. She would later learn that she had ALS, a fatal, degenerative disease. With the help of an electronic device, Sarah was determined not to lose her voice. Produced by Lisa Hebert and Carol Spendlove for the CBC program "Outfront." "Voice Box and Flute" won the 2004 Prix Italia prize for Best Cultural Documentary.

Ole Blue Eyes for the Lassies
Back in the 1950s, Frank Sinatra epitomized the idea of sophistication for teenagers in rural Ireland — at least according to writer Nuala O'Faolain, who remembers devotion with which she and her Catholic schoolgirl friends used to listen to his music. Produced by Jill Krauss.

Skinny Dipping
A cool night, a full moon, and a secluded lake. What better opportunity for a family dip? Next Big Thing contributor Bente Birkeland sent this audio postcard from White Bear Lake in Minnesota, where she and the three generations of women in her family spend their summers swimming naked.

WNYC archives id: 43814