Saying Goodbye to a Piece of the Past

I was cleaning out a cabinet today where I've kept a lot of old technology and found something that not only brought back some memories but played a role in my own political awakening.  It doesn't look like that much today:

This portable radio which could run on batteries or AC was given to me by my parents I think at Christmas in 1974. I was a freshman at Point Loma College and sometimes in my spare time I liked to run down to Lindbergh Field and park right near the end of the runway and watch the aircraft. This radio, in addition to the usual AM/FM bands, also had aircraft band and it made the plane watching hobby a lot more enjoyable. It also helped me learn aircraft vernacular well enough that I amazed my flight instructor the first time I used the radio during an early lesson. I sounded like a pro.

This radio played another role in later years. Sometime in 1991 or so I had to go up to Beverly Hills to visit my branch offices, and as was common in our office, I sought out a passenger to go with me so I could use the carpool lane. Our sales manager joined me and on the way he said "would you like to listen to some crackpot radio?" I said okay and he turned on Rush Limbaugh.

I'd never heard of Rush or ever listened to talk radio. We listened for awhile and I began thinking that if this is crackpot radio, I must be a crackpot because so far I agree with everything this guy has said. He wasn't bringing me around to his point of view, but was simply confirming things I already believed. I couldn't believe I was hearing that on the radio. I was hooked...instantly.

Since Rush is on from 9-12 in California I wouldn't be able to listen unless I had a radio in my office, something very few people had. I dug out my trust old Lloyd's radio, plugged it into my office, and started listening every day and for the next four years that I was in that office that radio was a regular feature. I doubt I would ever have become as politically active had that not happen.

The old radio doesn't work anymore and it's on its way to radio heaven, but I kind of hate to see it go.  It's been a good friend.