74. National Public Radio

I have to say I really enjoy listening to the radio and have ever since I was a small child. The idea of someone’s voice just flowing directly to me from thousands of miles away as if by magic through some little speaker directly has never lost its ability to captivate me.

And here in the United States we have a particular station that I am especially fond of.  Every morning I turn on my stereo and go about the routines of getting ready for work while listening to the news from National Public Radio. When I go on drives I tune in to “This American Life” or “Fresh Air” from a recorded podcast on my phone. I feel really comfortable allowing the likes of Ira Glass, Terry Gross or any of the various reporters and entertainers from that station into my home. I like their connections to other parts of the world, their quirky little stories from our own country and their new perspectives on the world in which we live. What a joy it is to feel a level of comfort with complete strangers that I have come to trust even though I wouldn’t recognize them from any other character on the street except, perhaps, by their voice. I think that’s the wonder of radio.  It provides a level of intimacy that doesn’t typically border on the creepy like it can with movie stars or television personalities. At least, in my mind, radio personalities seem like the average person like a newspaper reporter, except I recognize their voice.

But that’s why I like radio. Why I like National Public radio is its variety and balance of entertainment and news that gives me insight into our country and our world. I know that other countries also have great radio broadcast corporations but here in the US we also have a really good thing going with NPR. So my love for radio combined with the balance and entertainment of NPR makes me really grateful for those stations.

Core of Discovery

Core of Discovery

You came upon me like one too many

bits of red sauced lasagna with red wine—

or maybe like the cannoli and coffee after—

burning up from my belly right

into my chest

almost buckling me over right there

at the gas pump.  But then, almost as quickly

You were gone, leaving me spent from

a little shopping.

The rest of the day I slept dreamlessly,

glad for Saturday,

And the year ticked by like one of those

Old wall clocks

buried in my chest that like

overpriced gasoline burned

into my chest

finally leaving me out in the rain

burning inside my chest

crying out as a robot

dug into me

bypassing that ticking

inside my chest

leaving me spent from

too much shopping for tomato sauce

spilt crying out on the ground

in the rain

or maybe it was the extra

glass of red wine?

Whatever happened, You

Surprised me

and I’m not sure

I’ll recover.

Brian Potter

73. Postal Service

            Sometimes the most obvious aspects of our lives go overlooked and underappreciated. They are those things that we really couldn’t even live without but because of that we almost view them as part of ourselves and forget to be thankful for them sometimes, even complaining about them in little ways—“I wish my hair weren’t so frizzy,” or “I wish my eyes were brown like hers.” That same under appreciation can also apply to our lives as Americans.

            The Post Office is one such American institution that truly is under appreciated. We have always relied on the Post Office to get our messages, gifts and trinkets to our friends and loved ones. Now we shop online and expect those parcels to somehow magically appear at our doors. And they do. That magic is all because of the American Postal Service. And I, for one, am an American who really feels glad that we have such a service. So next time you grouse about the price of that stamp of your favorite cartoon character, remember the magic is there and be thankful.