Program 417: Scandinavian Smackdown; Road Trips with the Green Book

Did you hear the one about the Swede, the Norwegian, and the Dane? Hear about what Scandinavians tend to think about their Nordic neighbors, and the sometimes not-so-subtle differences that help give each country its distinct identity. Then listen in for the story of the special travel guide that African Americans relied on in the mid-20th century to find a welcome when traveling out of town within the US.

• Pal Johansen, tour guide from Norway
• Asa Danielsson, tour guide from Sweden
• Jane Klausen, former tour guide, originally from Denmark
• Travel writer Christopher Solomon
• Playwright Calvin Alexander Ramsey, author of "Ruth and the Green Book" (Carolrhoda Picture Books) 

• The Sons of Norway maintain a blog about contemporary Norway on their website.
• The official tourism site for Iceland.
• Märtha Louise is the Princess of Norway.
• Contact information for Asa Danielsson in Stockholm is on the Viator tour guide website. 
• Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve is the least-visited of the properties managed by the National Park Service.
• Calvin Alexander Ramsey authored "Ruth and the Green Book" to illustrate the how African-Americans relied on The Green Book as a travel guide in the mid 20th century. 
• Here is a PDF copy of the Green Book, officially called The Negro Motorist Green Book, from 1949. 
• Calvin talks with the New York Times about the Green Book.  
• The New York Community Trust has a website tribute to Laura Spelman Rockefeller, for whom Spelman College in Atlanta was named. 

Graffiti on freights
High up in the Siskyous.
Travelling art show.
— Phyllis Baker, Seattle

Louisiana's longest street
Great people along the way to meet
500 miles peddled to complete.
— Jeff Sibley, Central City, Louisiana

Choose Sand or Asphalt
Cars along Shore or Race Track
Daytona Beach, Wow!
— Gail Weinstein, Port Orange, Florida

Up to Michigan
Ah, sullen teenage daughter
Karma strikes again.
— Karen Albright, Fort Wayne, Indiana