Radio Years

Early on, there was a radio in the family homestead kitchen. Loudly featured, on those rare mornings when Dad made pancakes, as he liked to tune into the local station that played jaunty polkas on Sunday mornings. Not something this teenager enjoyed--unless making my grouchy ridiculing remarks count as entertainment. Poor Dad, trying his best to bring back my pre-adolescent smiles and ending up grouchy himself.

Sometime around my intermediate elementary years, I was gifted a transistor radio. So many hours, I spent with that single ear piece stuck into my pillow ear, listening to the songs on "62 KGW". I holed up in my bedroom often--that's a normal thing, right? 

Later, I was either gifted a small, portable radio or bought it myself with babysitting money. I took that radio everywhere I went: to the river, the park and the front yard. Eventually, scrolling through stations, I discovered audio for CBS or NBC and Dr. Demento. Listening to Dr. Demento was a revelation--what else was out there waiting to be found.

Later on, when Dad had good steady work, they sprang for a stereo set, that resided in the living room. Mom, kept her favorite easy listening station on during the day. And there I was with my grouchy ridiculing remarks, "Are they singing a Beatles song? Why don't they write their own songs, instead of ruining ours?", and on and on I went. You'd think they would've been thrilled to have me holed up in my room.

N and I, have gone through a few boombox type radios, that we kept in the kitchen. That's when we discovered Prairie Home Companion and eventually the rest of the public radio line up. About eleven years ago, I stumbled upon an article about internet radios. That's when we discovered Squeezebox. It's the best radio experience I've ever had--clear reception, excellent sound. 

We did eventually spring for a google appliance in the kitchen. The sound is fairly close to the Squeezebox and it can display cooking videos or video phone calls. But we keep the Squeezeboxes, even if they're not quite as reliable as they were in the beginning. Good listening is hard to find.