To The Best of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio

Contemporary nomads are primitive, tribal people who chase the seasons to fresh water and greener pastures. They're not middle aged American women who've published scores of children's books, or not usually. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll meet Rita Golden Gelman, professional nomad. She's been on the road for fifteen years. Also, America's borders, North and South.

Journalist and poet Ruben Martinez tells Steve Paulson that there is powerful economic incentive for Mexicans to cross the U.S. border to find work. Tougher sanctions don't deter anyone, they just make crossing more treacherous. Martinez is the author of "Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail" Also, cartoonist, author and illustrator Bruce McCall tells Jim Fleming that the same economic pressures attract Canadians and he compares Canadian and American cultures. McCall's memoir is "Thin Ice: Coming of Age in Canada." Also available as a National Film Board of Canada video. Check them out at www.nfb.ca.

Ana Menendez is the child of Cuban exiles and used to cover Little Havana for the Miami Herald. She talks with Jim Fleming about (and reads from) the title story of her first collection, "In Cuba I Was A German Shepherd." She says the younger generation of Cuban -Americans are completely Americanized and the older generation wouldn't give up the standard of living they've grown used to in Miami, even if they still talk about going back to Cuba. Also, travel writer Jan Morris has published what she claims is her last book: "Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere." She tells Steve Paulson that she identifies with the city with is a jumble of influences - East and West, past and present.

Rita Golden Gelman tells Anne Strainchamps how she became a professional nomad, and recounts some stories from her travels in Bali and rural Mexico. Gelman's spent some fifteen years without a permanent address. Her book is "Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World." You can visit her website at www.ritagoldengelman.com.

Books:

• Rita Golden Gelman, Tales of a Female Nomad: living at large in the world (Crown)
• Ruben Martinez, Crossing Over: a Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail (Metropolitan Books)
• Bruce McCall, Thin Ice: Coming of Age in Canada (Random House)
• Video: Thin Ice: based on the acclaimed memoir by satirist Bruce McCall (National Film Board of Canada Production)
• Ana Menendez, In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd (Grove Press)
• Jan Morris, Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere (Simon and Schuster)

Music:

• Frank Sinatra “South of the Border” from The Capitol Years; Capitol CDP 7 94317 2
• Santiago Jimenez, Jr. “Nuestro Amor” from Purely Instrumental Arholie 466
• Rawling Cross “The Wedding Gift” from reel ‘n’ roll, Ground Swell - GSR 67
• Aaron Copland “Danzon Cubano” From Billy the Kid/Rodeo, Argo, 440 639-2
• Northern Exposure (Sasha & John Digweed) “”Morning Glory” from Expeditions Sony, INcredible UL - 1040
• David Arkenstone “Forest Runners” from Citizen of the World Windham Hill 01934 - 11398-2

Distribution dates:

• week of 01/13/2002 - hour 1