Mom's Radio

Frequent visitors to 3374 will perhaps recall this artifact from the kitchen: My Mom's Panasonic table radio.

The radio was a gift from my Dad, if memory serves, and Mom had it on all day long, usually tuned to classical music or NPR.

This radio first introduced me to NPR, to the Goon Show, to "I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again" (featuring Monty Python's John "Otto" Cleese), and to the wonders of Jean Shepherd - known to most as the author and the narrator of "The Christmas Story".

When it was time for the family to move out of the house, I wanted this item more than any other, given its formative effect on me. My brothers generously let me stroll off with it.

This radio is probably vintage 1970 or so, maybe a little earlier. It was way past its expected service life by the time I got off to college: turning it on would fill the house with loud crackling sounds as you turned up the volume. The "slide-rule" tuning system slipped as you turned the tuning knob. The light bulbs had burnt out.

After a little hunting for rare vintage "fuse-type" light bulbs, a little TLC, some beeswax for traction on the tuning string, a half-can of contact cleaner and new felt pads for the decaying feet, Mom's radio is back in regular service in my home, replacing a big plastic boom-box.

Now if only Atlanta's awful public radio affiliate would catch up; I don't share my Mom's affinity for classical music. Don't get me wrong, I like classical, but don't want to hear it all day, every day, and certainly don't want to hear the "Classical Top 40".

I'd much prefer either the news and public affairs programming of a WAMU, or the eclectic music and culture of a KCRW. Atlanta's WABE is like a small-town public radio station out of the '80s...