The Shows go on – and on – –

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Jack gets over the line again – –

A very odd coincidence happened on Monday evening.

I’ve been producing and presenting a weekly Celtic music show on the NPR station in Johnson City Tennessee for nearly twenty years now (WETS.fm). It’s called ‘Celtic Clanjamphry’ and initially airs on their main FM and HD1 channel on Sunday evenings and then repeats on their HD2 channel on Mondays and Saturdays. It then goes out on WEHC.fm here in Virginia on the following Sunday. Because I record them ahead of time with the enormous help of my engineer Dirk, I’m never quite sure which episode is airing any particular week. I got a message on Monday morning from a listener and so I checked the Monday evening repeat to check which one was going out.

Wendy interviewing a turtle

But – –

A few months ago Wendy started working part-time for West Virginia Public Radio as a producer and presenter for their show called ‘Inside Appalachia’ which goes out there on Sunday mornings and is then re-broadcast on a whole host of other NPR stations from Ohio to Georgia, and Kentucky to North Carolina. One of the stations that takes it is – yes – WETS.fm in Johnson City!

Last week her first program came 2nd in Best Feature at the AP Virginias Broadcasting awards, out of more than 400 entries from all over Virginia and West Virginia which was very exciting! Her latest story is all about a 10 year search for the maker of hand thrown clay mugs. It’s quite a moving story!

On Monday past, at 8pm I went to the WETS website to check which of my programs was being broadcast on HD2. Lo and behold, to my surprise they were airing ‘Inside Appalachia’ on their fm/HD1 channel at exactly the same time, and it was Wendy’s mug story! So we were both on the same station at the same time!

So I went to Wendy and told her this and with a big grin on her face she said, “Hmm, which one shall we listen to?”

I’m a smart husband…..

And the Award Goes To Most of Us

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I’m off to my first ever awards ceremony for the Associated Press Virginias Broadcasters Award. Which is fitting because I’ve been nominated for my first ever story for Inside Appalachia as a Folkways reporter.

The story was on mushroom hunting’s popularity. You can read/hear it here.

The group of people who work in broadcasting are fun but also funny. Ageism reigns supreme, which is interesting in a culture that honors its elders. A lot of the stories we produce are about people in their golden years who have practiced their art form for decades, so the attitude toward the older reporters can border on comedic irony at times.

It is fun to learn a new skill later in life, notwithstanding the heaved sighs and eye rolls of those who expect us to be less interesting/intelligent because we don’t know about all the tech they learned to use in college. Children, we know things you will not learn for another decade or so, and that’s why we see more clearly through our bifocals. Don’t worry about it; you’ll see someday. And laugh about it, just as we do. (At you.)

Meanwhile, let the good times roll, rather than the eyes. You’d be surprised what good conversationalists someone with a few wrinkles about the eyes can be. Those lines? They mean we laughed a lot. We saw things. We could interpret them. We have thoughts that we are smart enough to keep to ourselves unless invited into safe spaces for conversation.

So I’m off to the award ceremony, wearing comfy low-heeled shoes and a bright smile. It will be fun; I’ve never been to one of these and I look forward to meeting some new friends. Or watching from the corner as people schmooze. Both are entertaining. I’m taking some crocheting.