Our Big Saturday Night Thrill

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You had to know that I couldn't stay quiet this long even though the antibiotics have yet to prove the ultimate panacea I had hoped for in this last miserable episode. It did, however, provide some relief for the creeping staph that threatened to completely block my nostrils with its colonial agenda. Many thanks to those of you who sent the messages "Don't reply - just wanted to send you our best wishes". It really helped boost my thoroughly depleted morale to know that someone out there really cared. I have just swallowed the twentieth remaining pill in a regimen of 56. I am NOT a pill taker so this is a milestone of accomplishment for me and I am patting myself on the back vigorously for being so disciplined.

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Tonight is Saturday night and the highlight of our week here in the hinterlands. It's not that Saturday marks the end of a hard week of M-F, 9-5 but that our favorite on-line radio program comes on. I have to put this into perspective: With no radio signals reaching this far into the wilderness, we have to wait until 'generator time' and satellite access to the outside world. This arrangement might be considered unacceptable in the current world of immediate gratification but it makes the occasion all the more precious to us. Saturday's particular thrill is Randy Bachman's CBC Radio Canada show. Remember Bachman Turner Overdrive, the Guess Who? Randy is now a 60ish old fart but retains a fairly amazing memory for the minutiae of rock background and history of pop music dating back into the 50s. He is promising to do another popular radio lesson on guitarmanship with his Fender in the future so if you have any long suppressed rock star fantasies still seething in your veins, you might want to keep track of that upcoming event. Just be forewarned: he gets preachy about global warming.

We click on: http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html#

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Our Saturday night big thrill reminds me of my mother's tales about their first 'crystal set' radio back in a young 20th century when one of the siblings was elected to be the crystal meister, the one who touched the probe to, hopefully, just the right spot on the crystal to bring in exotic broadcasts, oh, maybe as far as 500 miles away. The 'crystal meister' would endure constant abuse for losing a program just as it became interesting. This, in turn, reminds me of television in the 60s when one person would adjust the steel wool pads or aluminum foil on the 'rabbit ears' and have to remain motionless in place until the favored program had finished. This emotional urgency has not changed for us as the spotty satellite reception and this miserable XP operating system choose to fade away for no apparent reason. Then we are like a couple of sullen kids who didn't get a ride down to the ice cream parlor as promised. But some nights are good as this one is proving itself so far.

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Our other auditory treat is tuning into the various programs available through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. My favorite physicist had turned me on to their web presence and it's been another great blessing, especially if you like classical music. Unlike CBC, you can play a current program at any time. This is a good thing when you don't feel that you can stay up all night to play a program live. Look up:

http://www.abc.net.au

and give it a try. If you like classical or jazz, there are plenty of programs to satisfy your soul's desire.
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