[applause] >> you can see this and all other american artifacts program on our website. here are some of the programs on the nd this weekend c-span networks. 8:00 pm on ing at "q&a", political reporters share stories about being on with senator trail mitch mcconnell. tonight at 10:00 fundraiser al lindsay mark lewis on how

politics have grown and changed. and shane harris on the military's use of cyberspace to wage war. on "american history tv" on day at 2:00 pm, a how ronald reagan's career as an actor and spokesman for general electric hold his medication skills -- communication skills. and frank gannon, the former president nixon, shows interview is former with the president. completes television schedule online. let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us, email us, or send us a tweet. during the c-span conversation. ke us on facebook. follow us on twitter. week, "american history

tv" helps bring you archival film to help tell the story of the twentieth century. ♪ >> this is my neighbor, charles mcgonegal. i would like you to meet him. is an interesting fellow. watch him shaving, for instance. what is unusual about that? well, charlie has no hands. no hands other than those ingenious ddevices. but he does things as easily and casually as any other man. with a razor like mine, stroking as i do. began shaving this

morning, he did the same things that other mentor when he wakes up. he growled when he heard the alarm clock, and he turned the alarm clock off. he got dressed. the problem with shaving could be solved as easily as walking to the corner barbershop. few men have barbershops, but the majority of men do it themselves. he maintains that if you think normally, there is no reason ly. shouldn't act normal how can he get by without the use of his hands? charlie prefers to be independent. never occurred to him before world war i to have some alleles brush and comb his hair. as a grenade exploded and blew his hands off in france, he there still wasn't that would handle mcgonigal better than he. tying your shoelaces is a little bit trickier.

i say that it takes charlie about seven seconds longer than it takes me -- which gives me just that much more time to catch the bus in the morning. it back again -- because my shoelaces always come undone -- charlie's don't. ties his for keep. and they are as neat as a sailor's knot. when he was about three, charlie learned to dress himself. after the war, the habit persisted. he does it alone, from the first talked to the final tilt of his hat. the vast books together, for convenience sake. charlie can handle's buttons, but the hoaxer timesavers. in a world where the tendency been to streamline

time, there are forecast for the buttons we will be wearing. there is no magic in charlie's dexterity. controls lead from the artificial extremity to the shoulders. and manipulation of the shoulder muscles operates the hooks. he can wind that watch as easily as he can throw a baseball. next, his wallet. then his glasses. the polished them when he took them off last night. finally, his coat. and if there were some fluff on the lapel, he would pick it off. a pencil in the wrong pocket? it goes into the right one. he does all of these things as he turned the as

doorknob. is another self lifetime habit that my neighbor is determined to hang on to. a the hospital -- and for time afterwards -- he felt uncomfortable being fed by someone else. set out first thing he to master was the knack of eating. now, watch them at breakfast to how well he succeeds. you know it is his boast that there isn't an inch of waistline that he didn't put their himself. one or two companies special knives and forks, glasses, coffee cups, such cases as charlie's. he doesn't even know where to buy them, and he has never

bothered to find out. he manages very well with the same utensils that you find in a restaurant for a while, doing what charlie called his amateur days, it seemed as if it took them all day to eat. that was not for long, though. you should see him will a meal at my place. especially when it is porterhouse steak, medium rare. you notice that sometimes he makes adjustments before certain operations. to change the e tension or the angle. charlie can still remember when aid of a nurse -- lying in the hospital and thinking and wondering and planning for the future. the summer somehow needed a cigarette. smoking was the next thing he got after. the only difficulty he

has with cigarettes is staying away from them. well, well. the dodgers won a doubleheader. how about that? let's see. six players were yanked from yesterday's game. off to work. and here is another neighbor of mine, walter. good morning, walter. can i drop you off someplace? no, thanks. walter likes walking. suit yourself. for your some t ping-pong. nothing unusual about this car.

mission, starter. into gear. and away. forgot to mention about walter likes to walk -- he lost both legs in the war. charlie has a good job. a better job than most men. by the way, he never learned to type until he came out of the hospital. needless to say, he uses a standard machine with a standard keyboard. i forgot my address. morgan will know it, and that means a phone call. let's see, what is joe's number? better look it up.

m-a. m-o. here we are, joseph morgan. everyday things done with everyday ease. how long does it take a man who lost a hand -- or two hands -- to resume his place in the scheme of normal living? you may have heard that anything can be mastered in time. but a man practicing four hours day for six years can learn to throw a boomerang and catch it at the end of a circular flight. but after four hours practice let's say, five hurdle of a can 50 yards and peers an ace of hearts.

see my think that it takes much more ho had so to learn, ever since world war his overcome the loss of hands to master signing his name with a flourish. charles c mcgonegal. how long? >> well, it took about three months. i wouldn't say it is as easy then as it is today. time to learn tle anything. but after being discharged from the hospital come out on the road being a traveling salesman. you will pick up new things as you go along. it is a matter of learning. the most important thing is the question of wanting to learn. for instance, in 1928, i was encouraged to take a flying as a hobby.

fifteen hours of solo, i took a special course in acrobatics. now, i have over 300 hours flying time. i have a productive job and a happy marriage. my wife and i have two boys. one is in the navy now. of fact, the loss of my arms hasn't been nearly the wallop that i thought it t first. a with these arms, i can do practically anything that e can do. and there is no reason in the rld wide you fellas cannot do the same. my neighbor, charlie mcgonagle, has none of the characteristics of a superman. he is a man who lived normally t fore the war, and he se live lf no goal but to normally after it. he has succeeded because he has faith in himself. he knew that it could be done. took a little while, but he

got there. >> with live coverage of the u.s. house on c-span, and the c-span2, here on c-span3 we complement that covered by showing you the most relevant event. to weekends, c-span3 is home "american history tv", including the civil war's anniversary, american museums and ouring historic sites, history with the best-known writers, the presidency,

lectures in history from top and our new essors, -- "reel america" -- featuring historic films. c-span3, watches on tv, like us follow us on and twitter. up next, sam roberts, of new hor of a history york in 101 objects. a 1624 ects range from dutch document, which roberts calls the city's birth a jar of dust o gathered from the trade center remains in 2001. this program is about an hour. >> welcome, everybody.