I vaguely remember the days, as a very young toddler, sitting in front of the radio with the family to listen to The George Burns and Gracie Show and other such comedies. On weekends, my Dad would turn on a radio station that played Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and other classical music.
My first real memories of the radio take place from 1962. Our family had been seduced away from the snow and cold of Michigan to the sunny shores of California. We drove across country in a 1952 Oldsmobile. Driving through Texas, my Dad turned on the radio in hopes of finding something to calm my brother and I down.
He turned the dial, finding only country music and Christian talk radio, until a new sound (to me) reached my ears. I yelled out, “Turn that back! What is that?” My Dad was not thrilled with the music, and even less thrilled when the DJ, Wolfman Jack spoke up, but if it kept my brother and I quiet, he was willing to sacrifice some of his peace to bring peace to the car.
I was shocked to learn that some of the music being played came from Motown, MY TOWN! How did I not know about this?
Later that year, my Dad gave me a transistor radio for my birthday. I could now listen to all the rock ‘n’ roll that my little heart craved.
Over the years, I had become fascinated with other types of radios. My interest really started when I was very young. My Dad was a ham radio operator. He met my mother through her brother, who was a ham in Chicago.
I used a CB Radio for several years, before it got inundated with creepy guys looking to hook up. When I was married, my husband was a ham radio operator. He and I built a 2-meter. (Yes, I was a bit of an electronic’s geek back then.)
These days, I generally only listen to SiriusXM radio in the car, and only if I’m not listening to an audio book.
None of these photos are my original photos but they are similar to the items I owned. (Well, except Wolfman Jack. No one could ever own the Wolfman.}
There are so many stories I could tell, relating to the radio prompt provided by the Writer’s Workshop Prompts for March 28, 2024, and maybe I’ll remember to share some more in the future.
yvensong 