Wed, Sep 30, 1998
Eddie faces one of his biggest challenges when, courtesy of a friend who recently moved out west, a young Ponderosa Pine ends up on his doorstep in need of a place to put down roots. After all, there aren't many places to plant a tree in Manhattan. Yet trees are an important part of the balance of nature, as we learn from Miss Toliver's lesson, and from the foresters and engineers who manage 22 million acres of national park land in the New Mexico wilderness. So, when Eddie gets a thumbs down from his building super, the policewoman on the beat, his friend Vincent and even Ranger Rex of the City Parks Department, the prospects start to look pretty bleak. Fortunately, his pal Johnny runs into a possible solution while delivering messages on his bicycle. With a little luck, some unwitting help from two city workers and the support of one of New York's most unusual radio talk show personalities, Glenda, Eddie's lonesome pine tree just might find a new home.
Wed, Sep 30, 1998
In this episode, Eddie faces one of life's mysteries: Is there really such a thing as a "green thumb"? None of his classmates seem to be having any trouble growing sunflowers for Miss Toliver's study of variables. Btt, day after day, all he sees when he looks into his little pot of soil is... soil. Eddie tries everything he can think of, and gets more than enough advice from friends Vincent and Johny, his building superintendent, Fred and his Aunt Rosa. Even the pros chip in, with insights from the leaders of New York's Green Guerilla rooftop gardeners, and the manager of a huge rice farm (Lundberg Farms) in the broad, flat fields of rural northern California. But all to no avail. Eddie starts to think that as far as green thumbs go, either you have one or you don't---and he doesn't. But after a chance encounter with someone he knows very well, but has never met (NY radio personality Glenda), Eddie digs up an answer.
Wed, Sep 30, 1998
Every year Eddie's Aunt Ida enters one of her unusual culinary creations in East Harlem Community Center's annual dessert derby, and every year she wins...nothing. Apparently the judge, acclaimed and feared food critic Bones McDuff just doesn't share her tastes. This year looks like her toughest contest ever, as she goes up against Aunt Rosa's Melon Mountain Muffins and Vincent's Strawberry Skyscraper Souffle. Still, she is determined to win. For one thing, she knows that a good cook doesn't leave anything to chance, and as she follows the advice of food professionals by using charts and graphs to carefully prepare her recipe. Eddie knows that even Miss Toliver would be impressed by this mathematical approach. Maybe this year, Eddie thinks, Aunt Ida could have a chance...that is, that's what he thinks until he discovers that Aunt Ida's latest special ingredient is lima beans. Now it looks like nothing but a miracle could rescue her. But who would have guessed that she has a secret ally---Hector, the dog, the dessert taster used by one of New York's most successful chefs?!
It looks like Eddie's photography hobby could pay off in a big way. Ms. Brooks, New York City's Deputy Mayor (Eileen T'Kaye), has chosen one of his photos as the centerpiece of a major new campaign to bring tourists into New York City. The theme of the campaign is "The Big Apple...Take a Bite," and Eddie's picture of his sister Dee eating pizza is exactly what the take-charge Ms. Brooks and her simpering graphic designer have been looking for. Everyone just loves the photo---everyone, that is, except Dee, who has already extracted a promise from Eddie never to show it to another soul. The campaign is ready for launch, and Eddie sees first hand how Ms. Toliver's percents lesson applies to the world of graphic design as he watches his photo resized and retouched for use in magazines, buses and billboards. (Viewers meantime see the real thing as designers at TBWA Chiat/Day reveal the tricks of the trade that are the basis of their new project for a major computer company [Apple Computer].) But even Aunt Rosa can't persuade Dee to change her mind. With his friend Vincent reveling in his self-appointed role as Eddie's agent, and Ms. Brooks chomping at the apple, Eddie has a real problem. Can he keep his promise to Dee without letting down the whole city?