Radio Reception

Earlier this week, while driving home from work, I was listening to a distant station I came upon while scanning. Fuzzy, crackely, fading in and out, yet I listened even with stronger stations nearby. I had found a song (which one escapes me now) that I adore. It left me wondering about those songs I love so much that I will listen to crummy broadcasts. How about those old bootlegged tapes, or the tapes made from the radio? There are so many opportunities to find something else, so many reasons. For many, even most, songs I change with the slightest hint of fading or static. What makes these so special? Perhaps it is the link to something wonderful in my past. Or it captures something about me so wonderfully well. Or it’s grabbed ahold of a dream. These are wonderful moments, though, listening to these songs, fading in and out, scratching, grasping to stay ahold of my speakers and me, bending my ears, straining to hear.

A perfectly adequate Christmas letter – G. Keillor

A perfectly adequate Christmas letter

 This is the letter I should have written, if I was more honest. How many of us have been annoyed at the seemingly overwhelming wonderfulness infused in these things. Yet, in reality, how many of us live our lives completely confident in our competence?

 In reality, for me at least, life is a blend of madness, frustration and bafflement punctuated by moments of grace and joy. Sigh…