10x01 - Tar Beach

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow

♪ Butterfly in the sky

♪ I can go twice as high

♪ Take a look

♪ It's in a book

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ I can go anywhere

♪ Friends to know

♪ And ways to grow

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ I can be anything

♪ Take a look

♪ It's in a book

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ Reading rainbow

Hi there.

Today, we're in
an extraordinary place.

It's a rooftop
high above new york city.

Now, many people live in houses
with slanted roofs

Which are too dangerous
to walk on.

You'd slip right off.

Here in the city,
the rooftops are flat

With walls all around.

They're perfect to walk on.

The floors and walls
are painted with tar

To protect roofs
from rain and snow.

Many people call this
a tar beach.

A tar beach
is an island in the sky,

A place to escape
the streets below.

You have to admit this beach
has a spectacular view.

I can see for miles.

The skyscrapers are so far
in the distance,

They look small,
like toy models.

See those structures?
They're water towers.

They supply water
to the city's tall buildings.

Now, look down on the streets.

From up here,
it seems like matchbox cars

And ants are scurrying along.

Beyond the rooftops,

Suspended
high over the hudson river,

The towers
of the george washington bridge

Reach into the sky.

There's something
about being on a rooftop

That changes how you feel
about everything you see.

This is the story
of cassie louise lightfoot.

She had a tar beach.

She looked out
over the bridges, buildings,

And streets of new york city
and dreamed they were hers.

Cassie's story is called
tar beach.

I will always remember

When the stars fell down
around me

And lifted me up above
the george washington bridge.

I could see our tiny rooftop,

With mommy and daddy
and mr. And mrs. Honey,

Our next-door neighbors,

Still playing cards,
as if nothing was going on,

And be be, my baby brother,

Lying real still
on the mattress,

Like I told him to,

His eyes like huge floodlights
tracking me through the sky.

Sleeping on tar beach
was magical.

Lying on the roof in the night

With stars and skyscraper
buildings all around me

Made me feel rich,

Like I owned
all that I could see.

The bridge was
my most prized possession.

Daddy said
the george washington bridge

Is the longest
and most beautiful bridge

In the world...

Extra! Extra! Extra!
Bridge opens!

And that it opened in
on the very day I was born.

[Baby cooing]

O.k., Cable up.

Daddy worked on that bridge
hoisting cables.

Since then, I've wanted
that bridge to be mine.

Now I have claimed it.

All I did
was fly over it

For it to be mine forever.

I can wear it
like a diamond necklace

Or just fly above it

And marvel
at its sparkling beauty.

I can fly! Yes! Fly!

Me! Cassie louise lightfoot,

Only years old
and in the rd grade,

And I can fly!

That means I'm free to go
wherever I want

For the rest of my life.

Daddy took me to see
the union building

He's working on.

He can walk on steel girders
high in the sky

And not fall.

They call him "the cat,"

But he still can't
join the union

Because grandpa
wasn't a member.

Daddy's going to own
that building.

I'll fly over it
and give it to him.

It won't matter
that he's not in their union,

Or colored or a halfbreed
indian like they say.

He'll be rich and won't have to
stand on high girders.

He can look at his building
going up.

And mommy won't cry all winter
when he goes looking for work.

Mommy can sleep late
like mrs. Honey.

We can have ice cream
every night for dessert.

Tonight,
we're going up to tar beach.

Mommy is roasting peanuts
and frying chicken,

And daddy will bring home
a watermelon.

Mr. And mrs. Honey
will bring their table,

And then the stars
will fall all around me,

And I will fly
to the union building.

I'll take be be with me.

I have told him
it's very easy.

Anyone can fly.

All you need
is somewhere to go

That you can't get to
any other way.

The next thing you know,
you're flying among the stars.

There were places

Cassie could see
from her tar beach

That had a special meaning.

It's easy to see why

The george washington bridge
was her most prized possession.

Look how beautiful it is.

This bridge is more
than a spectacular sight.

The george washington bridge
is a suspension bridge.

The roadway we drive on
is actually suspended,

Or hanging
from long steel ropes.

These ropes are attached
to four giant steel cables

That span the river.

The cables are held up
by two towers

That stand feet
above the water.

That's as tall
as a -story building.

This bridge carries more than
million cars,

Buses, and trucks a year.

How does a suspension bridge
hold so much weight?

It all starts deep underground
beneath all the cars and trucks.

Many small bundles of wire

Are anchored
into solid concrete.

They share the job
of holding up the roadway.

As the wires travel upward,
they get closer together,

Until they form
one enormous bundle.

Above the ground,

These bundles are covered
with a steel tube

To protect them
from the weather.

These are the huge cables
that cross the river.

They travel
up to the first tower.

You can see the bundle of wire.

They cross right through
the inside of the tower

And come out the other side.

Now comes the longest part
of the trip.

The cables travel almost a mile

From the first
to the second tower.

Then up they go again,

Inside and across
the second tower,

Down the other side,

Right through the ground

Until each bundle of wire
is fastened to the concrete.

A suspension bridge
like this one

Is built to be flexible.

It's meant
to quiver with the wind

And bounce
as traffic rumbles across.

It was built to stand up
to the worst weather

And the heaviest traffic.

The george washington bridge
is the busiest gateway

Into new york city.

Years ago,
it was just a dream.

It seemed impossible to build
a suspension bridge

To span the hudson river.

Imagine how it felt
working feet in the air

Without safety belts or nets...

Just elbow grease
and some fancy footwork.

Now, here's the roadway.

Oh, I see.
Here's part of it.

They started on both sides
and met in the middle.

These workers risked their lives
every day.

I have a lot of respect
for people who built the bridge

Without modern technology.

I'm bill reilly.

I'm a structural specialist
on the george washington bridge.

I check for cracks
and heavy rust.

I inspect from top to bottom,

Over, under, in between--
every place imaginable.

Where people don't realize
you have to check,

That's where we go.

To check the bolts
and the rivets,

We use sophisticated equipment

Like this
electronic sound machine

I'm using to check for cracks.

George is getting old,
and the older george gets,

The more we have to
watch george.

Everybody that works here

Tries to stay
on top of everything.

Hopefully, it'll keep shining.

When I was a little girl,
I grew up nearby.

I always felt
like this was my bridge.

Now that I'm working on it,
it's even better.

I'm donna bruno,
and I'm in a training program

To be an electrician.

An important thing we do
is change the beacon light.

That's what airplanes see
at night

So they don't hit the bridge.

In the morning,
it's very impressive to be here.

The wind is miles per hour.

The feeling's incredible,
like a bird.

My name's fabian munoz.
I am a bridge painter.

Working feet in the air
doesn't scare me.

I've done it almost years.

It's like an everyday situation,
like working in the street.

I feel it's like a masterpiece,
this bridge.

When you think about it,

Putting this together in
is very impressive.

I'm kind of proud of it.

[Bruno]
it's like you're working

For a person.

It has a life to it.
It becomes a part of you.

[Reilly]
you become part of it.

There's longer bridges,
but they're two to eight lanes.

This is lanes
of solid traffic--

Cars, buses, trucks.

To me, there's only one bridge.
That's this one.

[Ribbit ribbit]

[Quack quack
quack quack]

It's not just what you can see
from a tar beach

That makes it remarkable.

It's also
what you can do on it.

I'm planting an herb garden.

I tend it every day.

In a few weeks,
fresh basil and parsley

Will taste great
in summer salads.

A rooftop can be a garden,
a sunny blacktop beach,

Even an outdoor laundromat.

In fact,
people are busy on rooftops

All over the city
right now.

[Crickets chirping]

My name is val gerry,

And here in new york city,
I garden on my rooftop.

I've been interested
in gardening

Since I was little.

I came to new york city

And wondered where
I could grow things.

The answer was the rooftop.

This--this is called
lamb's ears.

I wish you could feel it.
It's soft and very furry.

The special thing
about rooftop gardening

Is growing everything in soil
which you try and make light

So containers don't go
straight through the roof

And land
in somebody's living room.

Everybody needs a special place.
This rooftop garden is mine.

My name is danny murray.

This is my joy,
flying pigeons,

St street, new york city,
manhattan.

[Whistling]

As a kid growing up
in this neighborhood,

They had pigeon coops
on the roof.

I, too, wanted to fly birds.

[Whistling and clapping]

These pigeons here are not
your regular street pigeons.

These are tipplers, baldies,
birminghams,

Silver flyers, black baldies,
red tipplers, silver tipplers--

There's all kinds of birds--

Russian trumpeters,
russian high flyers,

Turbits,
black turbits, yellow turbits,

Owls, silver owls,
black danishes, red danishes.

You have it all,
I have them.

Oh.

I was born to raise birds.

I, uh, raise them
for their beauty,

And as you can see...

They're lovable.

Favorite spot up here.

[Whistling]

Years ago
across the street--

It's amazing
I'm still flying birds.

Great hobby.

Great hobby.

I think kids in the neighborhood
should do this.

They're really going at it.

Ain't that beautiful?

[Whistling]

When I see them up there
in that beautiful blue sky,

The feeling of being free
makes me feel good.

I'll be flying birds
for the rest of my life,

Flying pigeons on the rooftops,
where there's no trouble,

It's nice and peaceful,
the sun is shining,

And everything is beautiful.

♪ Up on the roof

♪ Up on the roof

♪ When this old world
starts getting me down ♪

♪ And people are just too much
for me to face ♪

♪ Up on the roof

♪ I climb way up
to the top of the stairs ♪

♪ And all my cares just drift
right into space ♪

♪ Up on the roof

♪ On the roof,
it's peaceful as can be ♪

♪ And there the world below
can't bother me ♪

♪ Let me tell you now

♪ When I come home
feeling tired and beat ♪

♪ I go up where
the air is fresh and sweet ♪

♪ Up on the roof

♪ I get away
from the hustling crowds ♪

♪ And all that rat race noise
down in the street ♪

♪ Up on the roof

♪ On the roof's
the only place I know ♪

♪ Where you just have to wish
to make it so ♪

♪ Let's go up on the roof

♪ Up on a roof ♪

Up on the roof, I like to find
a place I can settle in,

Maybe do some drawing,
a little writing.

Being on this tar beach

Inspires some of my best
thinking and dreaming,

And there's something else
that always inspires me--

Reading a good book.

So, if you liked tar beach,

Then here are three stories
to put you on top of the world.

Hi. I'm corban rhodes.

Have you wished you could fly?

The kid in this book flew.
It's called I'm flying!

One day, this kid's friend
gave him some balloons.

These were not
just ordinary birthday balloons.

They were huge helium balloons,

And they could make things fly.

He decided to tie some things
to the balloons,

Like his dog, his cat,

And even miss follendorf,
his teacher.

His best idea was to attach
balloons to a lounge chair.

He went on
a real adventure.

I bet he felt free
from life's worries.

If you want to soar,
read this book.

Hi. My name is juliana kwan.

I read a story
that's like a poem.

It's called to sleep.

It's time for the boy
to go to bed.

His mother says,
"we've reached the day's end."

"Where is the end, mother?"

She says, "beyond your pillow
and your bed."

The boy imagines they are flying
in his bed.

They go over the garden,
through the countryside,

And past the city.

With your imagination,

You can almost fly
over the seas

And up to the stars
when you read this book.

Hi. I'm danielle grochowski.

My favorite person
in the whole world

Is my grandmother.

That's why I enjoyed this book.
It's called on grandma's roof.

The little girl and her grandma
have a great time on the roof.

They played games
with clothespins

While hanging laundry.

The wind pushes them
while they dance on the roof.

They have a picnic
with chicken salad sandwiches

Cut in triangles,

Lemonade,
and sweet, juicy cherries.

This book makes me want to spend
more time with my nana.

You can enjoy reading this book
up on a roof.

When you live in a city,
a rooftop is a refuge,

A place to be
with family and neighbors

Or enjoy the summer stars.

You don't have to live in a city
to have a special spot.

Look for a place where
your imagination is free to fly,

Where you can dream

And believe that those dreams
will come true.

I'll see you next time.

[Wind chimes chiming]

♪ At night, the stars
put on a show for free... ♪♪

Today's reading rainbow
books are...

Tar beach,by faith ringgold,

Published by crown publishers,
inc.

I'm flying,by alan wade,
pictures by petra mathers,

Published by alfred a. Knopf.

To sleep,by james sage,
illustrated by warwick hutton,

Published
by margaret k. Mcelderry books.

On grandma's roof,
by erica silverman,

Illustrated by deborah kogan,

Published by macmillan
publishing co.