Notes From the Huntley Project

Series produced by KUFM - Montana Public Radio

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In 'Notes from the Huntley Project,' Jay Kettering's comedic and thought-provoking radio series, a middle-aged man reflects on a childhood spent in small-town space-time, where love meets mysticism and adventure meets imagination.

Episode One: "My Dad and Pre-Socratic Thought"

In this monologue, a man recalls the crazy stories his father told him, and within those stories he attempts to explain his father, which requires he explain about the peanut butter torture, discipline by prosthetic arm, and a trustworthy drunk. After you hear the world's greatest oatmeal salesman tell the story of the turpentine miracle, you may find yourself pondering the stories you remember from your own father. This can be a very philosophical thing to do, because the stories of the father always shed light on the story of the storyteller.

Episode Two: "How I Learned to Tell Time"

In this play, comedy and tragedy ride double. You see, the inability to tell time has forced six-year-old Jaybird to become an outlaw and to face a darkness that did not exist to him before now. After stabbing his first-grade teacher in the thigh with the big hand of Clock Man, he is living life on the run. The loud librarian is sympathetic to his plight, but ultimately exposes his hideout and Jaybird must pay for his crime of ignorance. Luckily, Jaybird's trusted friend and mentor, George Georgie, is there to help him navigate through the strange landscape that is eastern Montana — where playgrounds are the size of small towns and foot-eating devils and floorboard angels reveal secrets of life and death. Only one thing is for sure in this odyssey to understand the ticking of the clock--time is on their side.

Episode Three: The Church of Pancakes

Emotion battles ethics in this action-packed caper. Nine-year-old Jaybird and his partner in crime, Kenny, love the sound of a burning fuse and the smell of gunpowder—on the Fourth of July, they get high just inhaling the air. But coming up with the perfect plan to rob the local fireworks stand is going to be harder than they expected. Perhaps because in their world, moon landings and tripping on psychedelic dog food are no more unusual than becoming fireproof with a kiss. And the instigator of this crime of passion, the bewitching ten-year-old Mexican migrant worker, Carlita Milkey, only makes the task of distinguishing the real from the imagined all the more difficult. Listen in as the fifty-three-year-old narrator recalls his nine-year-old self, revealing what a kid will do for love and what the love of a memory can do to the heart and mind of a storyteller. Hide full description

Episode One: "My Dad and Pre-Socratic Thought"In this monologue, a man recalls the crazy stories his father told him, and within those stories he attempts to explain his father, which requires he explain about the peanut butter torture, discipline by prosthetic arm, and a trustworthy drunk. After you hear the world's greatest oatmeal salesman tell the story of the turpentine miracle, you may find yourself pondering the stories you remember from your own father. This can be a very philosophical thing to do, because the stories of the father always shed light on the story of the storyteller. Episode Two: "How I Learned to Tell Time"In this play, comedy and tragedy ride double. You see, the inability to tell time has forced six-year-old Jaybird to become an outlaw and to face a... Show full description


3 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: The Church of Pancakes fireworks stand, Credit: and original painting by Tom Zavitz
Emotion battles ethics in this action-packed caper. Nine-year-old Jaybird and his partner in crime, Kenny, love the Fourth of July — the sound of a...

Bought by WVTF, WYPL, KICI Iowa City, KUPR low power FM, 'The Sea' and more


  • Added: May 14, 2014
  • Length: 58:45
  • Purchases: 12
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The inability to tell time has forced six-year-old Jaybird to become an outlaw and to face a darkness that did not exist to him before now.

Bought by KMXT, KUT, and KUNM


  • Added: Oct 26, 2010
  • Length: 57:48
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
A man recalls the crazy stories his father told him, and within those stories he attempts to explain his father, which requires he explain about th...

Bought by KPIK-LP, WEKU, KVSC, KUT, Yellowstone Public Radio and more


  • Added: Jun 06, 2008
  • Length: 29:44
  • Purchases: 6