Saturday, July 20, 2002
Dale: Dale's Big Drive, Part II
I hit the "seek" button on the radio, and pulled in a blowtorch news radio station in Nashville. Every major city has its version, a 50000 watt monster that the locals can pick up with their fillings. I quickly lost interest for two reasons: first, it was all local news, and assumed basic knowledge I don't have. The second reason--no one had a southern accent. The broadcasters sounded like the blow-dried Detroit TV newsreaders. The continuing triumph of the middle American accent, and it was disappointing. Fortunately, the seek button found my listening salvation: Lucid Lunatic Radio, aka "The Art Bell Show." Art was on vacation, so the host was some avuncular fellow named George Norey. It started off mildly enough, and a little touching--people who knew when their close loved ones died--strange dreams or odd physical reactions at the time of death. I'm something of an agnostic about that phenomenon, but I'm open to it. A former classmate of mine, not known for flights of fancy, told me a convincing story about a similar dream he had when his wife was seriously injured (she recovered).
After this gentle start, the show quickly went "X-Files" on me. Sasquatch sightings, government tampering with the weather, and machines inside our hollow earth. The last is, of course, true, as reported by journalist Edgar Rice Burroughs. However, there are no machines--instead, it is a savage primitive land lit by a motionless red sun. However, the confusion is understandable, given the disinformation from our government.
And there was equal time for Catholics, too! A Marian apparitionist called, announcing that Mary and the Holy Spirit would be appearing--one day only!--within the next month. He also explained that the problems in our world were being caused by "mentally ill sorcerors." I thought this was informative, since I figured the real trouble would be caused by sorcerers who had it all together upstairs. Useful stuff. Then the sasquatch talk started up again, followed by a dull reincarnation discussion. I turned it off, as I was getting closer to my destination. The rest of the trip was radio-, bigfoot-, and loopy-sorcerer-free. But there's always the return journey....
I hit the "seek" button on the radio, and pulled in a blowtorch news radio station in Nashville. Every major city has its version, a 50000 watt monster that the locals can pick up with their fillings. I quickly lost interest for two reasons: first, it was all local news, and assumed basic knowledge I don't have. The second reason--no one had a southern accent. The broadcasters sounded like the blow-dried Detroit TV newsreaders. The continuing triumph of the middle American accent, and it was disappointing. Fortunately, the seek button found my listening salvation: Lucid Lunatic Radio, aka "The Art Bell Show." Art was on vacation, so the host was some avuncular fellow named George Norey. It started off mildly enough, and a little touching--people who knew when their close loved ones died--strange dreams or odd physical reactions at the time of death. I'm something of an agnostic about that phenomenon, but I'm open to it. A former classmate of mine, not known for flights of fancy, told me a convincing story about a similar dream he had when his wife was seriously injured (she recovered).
After this gentle start, the show quickly went "X-Files" on me. Sasquatch sightings, government tampering with the weather, and machines inside our hollow earth. The last is, of course, true, as reported by journalist Edgar Rice Burroughs. However, there are no machines--instead, it is a savage primitive land lit by a motionless red sun. However, the confusion is understandable, given the disinformation from our government.
And there was equal time for Catholics, too! A Marian apparitionist called, announcing that Mary and the Holy Spirit would be appearing--one day only!--within the next month. He also explained that the problems in our world were being caused by "mentally ill sorcerors." I thought this was informative, since I figured the real trouble would be caused by sorcerers who had it all together upstairs. Useful stuff. Then the sasquatch talk started up again, followed by a dull reincarnation discussion. I turned it off, as I was getting closer to my destination. The rest of the trip was radio-, bigfoot-, and loopy-sorcerer-free. But there's always the return journey....
