ZOOM, Series I; 506

Major funding for Zoom is provided by a grant from General Foods Corporation and by public television stations. Additional support is provided by unrestricted general program grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation. Come on and zoom, there's room for all We're gonna sing and dance and have our ball Everybody's having fun, everybody's number one Everybody's writing the show So why don't you zoom, zoom, zoom-a-zoom Come on and zoom-a-zoom-a-zoom I'm Chris I'm Jennifer. I'm Ron. I'm Acadio. I'm Karen.

I'm LaBelle. I'm Nell. Who are you? What do you do? How are you, how are you, let's hear from you, we need you, so won't you zoom, zoom, zoom, a zoom, come on and zoom, a zoom, a zoom, a zoom, a zoom, I'm gonna give it a try, we're gonna reach for the sky, you can help us to fly, hey, come on and zoom, come on and zoom, come on and zoom, come on and zoom, come on and zoom, Mr. C. owned a saw, and Mr. Soar owned a see-saw. Now, Mr. C. sawed Mr. Soar a see-saw, which made Mr. Soar...

Soar. This was sent in by Regina Walkner of Brooklyn, New York. Dear Zoom, this is a fun game you can play. You need two packs of sugarless gum. And you need two pairs of mittens. This is what you do. Make two pairs of teams. Somebody has to be in charge. That's me. The person in charge has to give the first person on each team the pair of mittens. Now, when the person in charge says go, you put on the mittens, take one piece of gum out of the packs and then unwrap the gum and eat it. Then take the mittens off and give them and the pack of gum to the person in back of you. And they do the same thing. The first team to finish wins. Good luck. I hope you have fun. Anything else? That's good. Yeah. Okay. First, you guys are lucky. You're lucky.

Ready? How are we doing? It's tempting. Wait. I'm just gonna go. No, you can't put them on yet. Huh? Go back. Come on. You have to say go. Ready? On your mark. Get set. Go! Come on, Karen. Go! Hurry up! Come on! Come on! Come on, please, go! Just one foot. Hurry! Hurry, come on, please go! Come on, come on, come on. Please, put it on quick! Come on, get it. Oh, God, he's back. Oh, come on, just rip it off. Put the whole thing in him. Come on, Val. Come on, you still got to go. It's okay, it's okay. Oh, come on, Val. Just take it, quick! Quick! Quick! Quick! Come on, quick! Quick! Come on, come on! Come on, come on! Don't shake it! Don't put the gloves on!

Come on, come on, let's go! Hurry up! Come on, come on! The winner! That's a piece of gum! My name is Ginny Brown, I'm 11 years old, I'm a dwarf, a dwarf is a person whose bones don't grow very fast, so that means his arms and legs are shorter than others, and so he's not as tall as everybody else. Jenny, it needs to be at 375.

375? Yeah. Well, we got the dough. A little bit made. You gonna roll it out? Yeah. My mother and father are normal, and so is my little brother. We don't know anybody in our family that I'm related to that is small. And people don't really know what causes me being a dwarf. I'm 3 feet 2, and I'll grow around a half an inch every year until I'm 15. Are we going to go shopping this afternoon? Well, we could. What do you think you need for school? Levi's. Levi's. Don't drop it. Um... Are you gonna wear any skirts this winter? No. What did you catch? A frog. I'm in a catwalk.

Johnny is my younger brother, and he's nine. Johnny, why don't we go over here? This is the better spot of it. But it's shallow with five of the logs. Oh, look at them all. Wow, look at them all. Johnny! I caught one! Go get the bucket! Hurry up, Johnny! One of the things about being small is that people think I'm younger than I really am. So sometimes people try to baby me or carry me or something like that. I don't really want special attention with people taking care of me because I'm 11 years old and I can take care of myself.

Try to get some more. You stay here with me and try to get some. What are they, wax beans? These beans are so skinny. Pick the other ones. Oh, yeah, these. Oh, wait, there's some green beans in here. I go to a regular public school and I've never gone to any special school. Most of my friends are normal size and we're just friends like anybody else. When I was young I used to think that I was the only person in the world that was a dwarf. One thing that's really helped me adjust to being a dwarf is a group that I belong to called LPA for Little People of America. I've been able to meet other dwarfs, both my age and older and younger. That's made me feel really good to know that I'm not the only one.

Oh, look at this one, you guys. It looks like a smile. Yeah. Mom, let's go to Farlene's. That's where we got these. Oh, did those fit pretty well? Yeah. The hardest thing I think about being a dwarf is when people tease me and stare at me. That happens quite a lot when I go to a new place. Everybody's not used to me. I want to get some sneakers. What kind of sneakers? I don't know, something. Racing sneakers. I think it's natural to have people look at each other, but not like, mommy, mommy, look at that midget over there. But what I do when I submit, I do a lot too. What I do is that I'll just take a quick glance and then go off. I think the people just don't think how they're making the other people feel. Red, I guess. You think we ought to have some zippers and elastic?

Yes. Let's see. How do you like these? Good. Good? Well, not really. It's really important for me to have clothes that I feel good in and look nice in, because if I'm dressed like a baby, people will think I'm a baby. And if I'm dressed in Levi's, they'll just think the opposite. it now this is the first time you've had any without any elastic in the back so yeah i think do they fit does it matter i think maybe they do fit do they feel tight on you through here no you sure okay there you go are we gonna buy these yeah we'll buy those okay okay good okay And you get a pair of Levi's for school, and that's it. Okay. Okay. Bye. Bye. I need one. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait.

You can't touch the ground, okay? Okay. On your way, sit. It's good! That's good! We made a sweeten cheesecake. Well, I've enjoyed at least three pieces by now. How long did it take you to make all those? 100 hours. Is that all? I live in a small town and most everywhere I go, everybody knows me and they treat me regularly. There are a lot of things that make people different from each other, like fatness, and skinniness, and freckles. All those things that are different about each other, it doesn't really matter if they're friends or if we're just having a good time. People are just people. I mean, what they look like.

Outside isn't what counts. It's inside that counts. Mom, these are good. If one doctor doctors another does the doctor who doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the doctor he is doctoring doctors Hey, Dad, what you doing? Washing and waxing the car. Oh, can I help? Nah, you're too small. You don't have enough arm, Paul. But, Dad, look. No. Hey, John, where you going? I'm going to play softball with the guys. Oh, can I come and play some?

No, you're too small. Oh, but you... No buts. you're too small what you doing mom washing the dishes can i help or am i too small you're too small plus you might cut yourself or break some of the dishes can i have my lounge now mom sure thanks mom oh what are you gonna do with the money i'm walking to the store oh can i come too no you're too small you might get run over Besides, it's a long way to the store. Wow! Hey, Jack, you want to go into the car and get the ball for me? Gee, John, I'd really like to help you. But I'm just too small. If you have a play or a story that you wrote yourself, send it to Zoom.

How many envelopes send us two? A big one for Zoom and a small one for you. Put your name on the small one. Your house and your street. And your city and state. Hey, that's neat. But where's the stand? You almost forgot. That's very important. Yeah, thanks a lot. The bigger one's easy. You know what to do. Stuff everything in it. And then rush it to... To whom? Welcome to Zoom Views and Weather, presenting important issues from around the country, straight from you. Today's reports are of great concern to all of us who have ever been shy. Nell? Thank you, Chris. As Keeler from Chicago, Illinois says, I think that most shy people are young children. They are especially afraid to speak to their elders because they think the older ones will laugh at them. Jennifer?

Thanks, Nell. From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Linda Ramsey writes, I am half black and half white. Because my father is black and my mother is white, sometimes I get strange looks on the street if I'm with my mom and dad. I'm too scared to ask my brothers and sisters about it. Ron? Thanks, Jennifer. And Lauren Shoemaker from Munster, Indiana, sent us this letter. If I could be whoever I wanted to be, I think I would just be myself. It would be hard trying to be someone else when I've been myself so long. But sometimes I'm shy being me. Have you Zoomers ever been shy? Back to you, Chris. Thanks, Ron. We have a special Zoom guest reporter with us today. Her name is Ginny Brown,

and you met her earlier in the show. She's here today to lead our panel discussion because Ginny is very concerned about kids who feel they are different from everybody else. Ginny? Thank you, Chris. I'm very happy to be here with you Zoomers. I'm not usually shy, but I can understand why other people are shy. I'm not shy in ways people would think I'd be shy, but I am in ways that people wouldn't think I'd be shy, like asking for a raise and babysitting. Jennifer, what do you think about shyness? like i get really shy when i go to new places because i'm like if if i ever gone to a new school which i haven't or else if i go to a new camp the first year and like i don't know how to act or what way kids will like me and so you're really not sure yourself at all i don't know i feel like you make out to be what you are like if i act shy kids will think i'm shy which i don't know i hope like if you act dumb kids will think you're dumb and so forth when I go to school I sort of have not really a reputation but they know what

I'm like so I have to act the way they think and like when I first came to zoom they they didn't really know how I would act so I could act whatever way I want to know it's really natural when I go to LPA conventions I mean meetings what's LPA Little People of America, I discussed it earlier, but when I go to LPA meetings, I just go to the meeting and just come in the door and I just stand there not knowing what to say. I just hate it. It's really embarrassing. You can't say anything. You just stand there in front of about 25 to 50 people not knowing what to say. Yeah, examples like when I go to this if I go somewhere and I meet a friend from camp I haven't seen for a really long time. We say like hi, and then she says hi, and then we just look at the floor and look at the ceiling It really gets you embarrassed and you just want to leave. You just want to say hi. How are you? What you been doing this year? You just think of these really dumb questions that yeah, I know I did that

with a friend I haven't seen for about four years and um I went up to her and I said hi what you been doing this year and I said not meaning to I said what you been doing this year over again she said you just backed me that and I said well I gotta go now bye Zoom also asks kids in the street whether they are ever shy I don't be shy most of the time. I'm like a bold person, most people say. When a lot of people laugh at me. When I'm around girls. When boys come up to me. It's when I'm around a lot of people. Social occasions. At parties. That's today's Zoom views and weather. Let's hear from you. Write Zoom, Box 350, Boston, Mass., 02134. And don't forget your self-addressed stamped envelope. my name is andy schmitz and i live in middleton wisconsin with my sister and my mother and my

father lives in buffalo my mother and my father were separated ever since i was six years old separation is when a father and a mother are not living together maybe both of you could do it it'd be more fun after a year i started to get used of living without my father every kid has an instinct to get used to things and um slowly i started accepting responsibility because my mother had to work and i've had to learn to help myself i think i'm going to have to stay quite late tonight because i have a dinner meeting another one so um do you suppose that um you guys can maybe make yourselves dinner there's some frozen hamburgers but don't forget to have some vegetables you know like a salad or something good for you like that all right uh well um can you kids clear up the dishes i'm gonna have to

get going. I'll do the play, two do everything else. What? Don't fight. How one? How two? Two out, three out, four out, five out. Andy! John! John is a friend of mine. He's kind of special because first of all he's older than myself and it's it's nice having somebody that you could talk to, that maybe understands your problems a little better with age. And, well, he's important to me, really, because since the separation, I needed a friend. Down, set. I got to know John through a friend of my mother's. I said to myself, you know, I don't need him. But then I realized that without him,

there'd be so many empty spaces. and I started to depend on him being there he um gives me a feeling that I have a friend always always you know how you been getting along with your mom well I always get along okay with her each year we along better and better yeah but you know there's just so many things that you can talk to a mother about so me things that you can't. Yeah, that's true. You and Nellie are battling. Nellie's two years older than I am, and of course, you know, she says... She's still with the queen? Yeah, she always treats me as a child, you know, and if I had a brother or a sister two years younger, I'd treat her like a child. Remember when I was growing up, I have two older sisters, and they used to pick on me and tease me and tell me ghost stories oh no and now we get along really well there's something really special about sisters or brother you battle with them when you're growing up more

so than anybody else it seems yeah in the long run they turn out to be your best friend yeah good friends anyway i guess it'll take me a little while to appreciate that What we're going to today is called a tournament, and it's just going to be a lot of recorder music and people dancing and a lot of sword fighting. Sword fighting? Yeah, well, the swords aren't real. They're make-believe. What is the society that you're in, Andy? I don't understand. It's called the Society for Creative Anachronism, and what it is is a whole bunch of people who are interested in the Middle Ages. And they go out sometimes and they dress up in the Middle Ages and the Middle Ages styles and go out and play Middle Ages. I like the Middle Ages because it is one of my own private worlds that I can move into as I like. And it's, you know, like a fantasy land.

For glory and honor, how about? They hit each other, don't they? Oh, yeah, pretty hard, too. That's what the arm was for. That guy was just theoretically killed. The lords and ladies, the pavan. When I show John about some of my hobbies, like the society especially, it shows a little piece of what I'm interested in, and I think it shows a little bit of me. He's a special friend. I mean, you wouldn't call your best friend a brother or a sister or a mother. or there's no other word for it but a friend.

I'm in love with a big blue frog. A big blue frog loves me. It's not as bad as it appears. He wears glasses and is six foot three. Well I'm not worried about our kids I know they'll turn out neat They'll be good looking cause I'll have my face Great swimmers cause I'll have his feet She's in love with a big blue frog A big blue frog loves me It's not as bad as it appears She's got rhythm and a PhD Well, I know we can make things work

He's got good family sense His mother was a frog from Philadelphia it's daddy an enchanted prince well she's in love with a big blue frog a big blue frog loves me it's not as bad as it appears he's got family or royalty My parents are against it And I think they feel My affection is just a win They're afraid that the marriage won't work out Unless I finally learn to swim. Well, she's in love with a big blue frog. A big blue frog loves me.

We've got a very own family crest. It says P-H-R-O-G frog to me. P-H-R-O-G. Glow, glow, glow, glow. pop bottles pop bottles in a pop shop poor pop drops the pop bottle pop bottles pop mops pop Bottle Slop. We need you, so won't you zoom, zoom, zoom, ah, zoom?

Come on and zoom, ah, zoom, ah, zoom. I'm gonna give it a try. We're gonna reach for the sky. You can help us to fly high. Come on and zoom. Come on and zoom, zoom. Come on and zoom, zoom. Major funding for Zoom is provided by a grant from General Foods Corporation and by public television stations. Additional support is provided by unrestricted general program grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation.