NPR

This wasn't going to be my next topic. I have actually been meaning to blog about how incredibly thankful I am for my life and friends and family, but instead, I am about to reveal the depths of my utter dorkiness: I love NPR. Specifically, I love the shows that you can listen to on NPR that you don't find anywhere else. I've been listening to "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" while attempting Christmas cards and I've had to stop because I'm laughing so hard that I'm about to seriously color outside the lines. Since my wonderful Uncle Jimmy bequeathed me a pair of computer speakers I have been able to listen to podcasts of various different programs, in addition to my music (finally!). I like the news shows (as much as I can), especially since they cover topics that I would never hear about otherwise. I can listen to Latino USA and keep somewhat keeped…. I can't believe I just wrote that. I can listen to Latino USA and keep somewhat up to date (there we go) on things happening in the other half of America. If I tune in at the right time to the LCC station from Eugene I can listen to all sorts of Latino music announced in Spanish. I can learn about art, science, music, history, current events, and just about anything else. Perhaps the best part is that I have an alternative to listening to the same 100 songs over and over and over again. Or those ridiculously moronic morning shows. Am I the only one who thinks that most of those shows are STUPID?

I have the sneaking suspicion that this intense love for NPR comes from my family listening to Prairie Home Companion and Unshackled, not to mention other shows, when I was a little girl. I can distinctly remember when we lived in the bottom story of my grandparents' house, tuning into the AM station for Unshackled, or while we were on our way to church in Grants Pass on Sundays. When I was in my teens, I would carefully hunt for the one station that would play the old radio shows at 10 pm on Thursdays, carefully placing my radio to pick up whatever faint signal I could get. The radio makes me feel safe and comfortable in a way that television never can. Okay, as long as you don't mention the time we were camping out at the logging site with Grandpa and listened to the one with the church bell and the monster that still gives me nightmares. *shivers* Ohhh, it was creepy! I wonder if I could find it again…

Now, I know some of you are out there rolling your eyes about what a supreme geek I am and how glad you are that you have more of a life than to sit around listening to radio shows, for crying out loud, on the computer. All I have to say is, this is what I enjoy! Unlike watching television, listening to the radio allows me to multi-task. TV invades my brain through any available USB port and makes it rather difficult to do much else. Oops, I'm degenerating into my anti-TV rant, which is a topic for a later blog! So, yes, dorky it may be, but at least I have something to listen to at night now! I do admit that I've been catching up on my old movies as well, courtesy of the library. Does anyone else suddenly get the sense that I'm starting to ramble?