This American Life
When I was a kid, my uncle and I used to drive around town and in the course of fulfilling the goals of our various errands and everyday missions we listened to the radio. Some of those errands might include getting more coffee in my uncle's "Whataburger" mug, picking up the stacks of "San Antonio Light" newspapers for delivery the next morning, buying a 5 foot by 3 foot by 2 foot deep Styrofoam ice chest full of "Fresh Gulf Shrimp", buying another chain for the chain saw, buying some more Grey Poupon to replace the one that got overly heated in the glove box of his "ol' blue" Ford pickup when we forgot to remove it after we pretended we were in that commercial, ordinary chores for an unusual duo. On many occasions we'd listen to the oftentimes unbelievable news stories and commentary of Paul Harvey.
My uncle is a pretty amazing tall storyteller himself, so I never thought that programs like Paul Harvey and my uncle's own "True Stories" were anything special. Then I got older and those times revealed themselves as something special.
I've noticed that as the years go by, things that once seemed insignificant at the time you were in them, find some new meaning or higher order. Sometimes this happens in your mind, oftentimes in their place in history. Often I've tried to recall the stories shared and my memory doesn't play back them quite the way they happened, as I would prefer. And sometimes, as a result of limited recall, I'm left feeling less fulfilled than I was when I first heard those stories.
The thing about riding around with my uncle and listening to the radio programs and his stories was that they created a warm environment. Something to look forward to. Going to the store to get a chain for a chainsaw or picking up shrimp for selling on the road, in and of themselves, might seem interesting but ordinary things to do in a Texas town. A place where it is well established that wood needs to be cut and people need to be fed "Fresh Gulf Shrimp". I suspect it isn't something just anyone would be thrilled about doing. Some might call the errands themselves weird, boring, hillbilly, or perhaps some kind of huckster nonsense. But I remember those times with great fondness. The radio programs we listened to cemented our relationship, gave us something to share. Some to look forward to together.
Nowadays, Paul Harvey doesn't really fill the same void. In fact, I didn't even know he was still broadcasting until I did a search, to see if he was still living, a few seconds ago. But I still like to hear the news and listen to stories on the radio. These days I try and set aside time, a few hours every weekend, to listen to my new favorite program "This American Life" . Usually Tracie and I sit and listen, or listen while we wash dishes or cook brunch. Tracie's away right now in South Africa, so I listen with whoever else is listening out there in cyberspace (or air space).
I just finished listening to last weeks program "Family Physics" and as usual, it warmed the heart and gave me something else to look forward to every week. I won't say much about the program because you can listen for yourself online for free, or spend a few bucks and either download it or have a cd shipped to your door. I will say this though, the second and third acts are really funny.
The Internet has drastically changed the way I consume news and programming like this; it lets me have it when I want it. However, I do have some concern for just how long free programs as wonderful as "This American Life" can remain free, when Public Radio is becoming more and more dependant on private sponsorship or underwriting and as publis financial support gets thinner and thinner. So, in the spirit of doing my part, and sharing my two cents about issues I feel we can make a difference in, at the individual level, I thought I'd take this opportunity to point out a simple fact that I noticed today looking through the archives of the show and thinking about buying a copy of an archived show.
I look forward to This American Life Saturday and Sunday afternoon's much like I look forward to listening to a favorite band or watching a good film or reading through a good book. But unlike a good book or "record", which I'm often willing to plop down as much as $30 for, I don't often pay for my favorite radio programs and am not as likely to invest a little of my money into good programming like "This American Life".
It used to be, that I'd have to donate money to a radio station that supports the programming, and still to a large extent that does need to happen, however it came to me that there are more direct ways to sustaining this kind of programming (As it has probably come to many a program director of Public Radio for many a year).
A CD of one show of This American Life is $13, shipped to your door. It is an hour long program. Most music cd's are an hour long. I usually sit down and read for an hour. Many movies I goto, I pay $10-15 for are about an hour long of entertainment (and now I get free comercials too, what a bonus). Why don't I pay for this great programming that I enjoy every week? Do the artists, producers, and writers of these programs deserve less support than the musicians, actors, and writers of other media programs I consume? I can't justify to myself that they do. I've heard that Gandhi said something to the effect of "Become the change you seek".
So I paid for a program, so I could play it for Tracie when she returns, and so that my roomate can enjoy it. Perhaps even someday, I'll have a daughter or son who'l hear it and want to change the world and collect stories and share them in a similar way, and perhaps she won't have This American Life, or perhaps he'll have not heard of the program? Then will they think, gee back when Mom and Dad didn't own a T.V., they must have been really bored.
It might be nice if programs and the arts in general were fully supported by our own tax dollars. But as I grow older I can't help but think that what I think is interesting and innovative, might be mindless humdrum in from another's perspective, so why should they have to support it? And it frequently seems that the best ideas are not those that our government has been behind in finance or leadership, rather, the best ideas rise to the top because people share them with each other and support them directly until they rise ot the top and are well accepted.But then again, it is not as if our government is some nebulous being, as aren't we self-ruled? But I guess what I'm suggesting is, perhaps it is easier to have more ways for "the people" to weigh in with their financial and popular support for programs like these. The internet is changing the world everyday, I just hope that somebody's printing all this up, for when we run out of juice.
I'd like more programs like "This American Life" to rise to the top in America and the world. Take an hour if you are online right now, or at least plan to do it tomorrow or next weekend, and visit http://www.thisamericanlife.org and listen to last week's program or one of the archived shows. Or better yet, tune into NPR (National Public Radio) in your hometown and take a listen. Somehow it warms my heart to think that somewhere out there, as we're all spread so far apart, we're all listening to the same show laughing and sometimes crying. Sharing uncommon everyday adventures in this thing called life.
If you don't know what your local NPR station is, visit http://www.npr.org/stations/ and find one in your area that you can tune into. And for gods sake, turn off the T.V. for a while. The great thing about radio is that you don't have to just sit on your ass on the couch or barcalounger, you can do what you want. And if you are into on the latest technology and trends and have an iPod handy. Take the show with you, download or subscribe to downloads over at audible.com, and go outside and listen while you walk around.
Listen to last week's program "Family Physics" and share with the rest of us what you think or let us know about your favorite program by making a comment on this site.
