What happens
Luigi Basko, a newly arrived immigrant in America, wants to do something important for his adopted country so that he might be honored in some lasting way, like the famous men whose names are on bridges and buildings. He consults his friend Pasquale, who jokes about parachuting and suggests blood donation, and his teacher Miss Spalding, who encourages him to give blood. Luigi writes to his mother in Italy about his plans and his nervousness. The story is told as a comedy of his anxious, mispronounced attempts to be patriotic.
Chicago, in the early 1950s, including a classroom, a bank and a Red Cross blood center.
Characters: Luigi Basko, Pasquale, Rosie, Miss Spalding, Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Olsen, Mr. Schultz, Mr. Manager
Listen for: Luigi's letters to his mother, and his attempts to help America by volunteering for the Army, becoming a paratrooper, and giving blood.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.