I’ve always loved music. I can remember sitting by the stereo for hours waiting for my song to come on the radio so I could push record. Then getting mad when the DJ would cut into the before it completely ended.
As a young child I remember sleeping with a radio under my pillow and listening to different AM stations from around the country. They were very distorted at times and would go in and out, but I’d wait to hear where the station was from. Then I’d change to another to see where they were from.
One year my Aunt and Uncle gave me a small handheld radio for Christmas. I was so excited. I carried that thing around with me outside every chance I got. Now days I turn the radio on to the “oldies”, if you can call 80s music oldies, and I can start singing with a large number of the songs. My kids are always saying “seriously Dad you know every song!” So I explain to them how much my life revolved around the radio.
All that aside, what amazes me most is how when you hear a song, it can take you back to a certain memory. It’s like your personal soundtrack to your movie. It’s like having your very own time machine! Turn on the radio and go back to any date you want. Today they have all kinds of ways to listen to music. You can go online and listen to different decades and relive any memory you want. Do you know how many hours I could have saved waiting for my song to come on? Now you can look it up and play it anytime you want.
Would I go back and change it? Not on your life. The time seemed so much simpler then. Summer vacation revolved around going outside to play and then coming in to listen to the radio. You could also take your large boombox with you outside! It may not fit in a pocket, but it could blast the tunes. No way I’d trade those days away. If I could just hand pick the music I like, I’d never have been exposed to so many different styles. I listened to country, rock, pop, southern gospel and anything in between. I’ve probably got more song lyrics stored in my brain than I do any information from school.
Wanna get away for a little bit? Need a vacation but don’t have the money? Turn on your radio! Listen to the “oldies” and take off in your time machine. I’m doing it right now!
I’m currently in 1986, I’ll be back soon.