In which I tell a story that I didn't anticipate telling

I went to the radio station this morning, although it isn't technically "my turn" in the tall chair.

Mary Marguerite and I take turns hosting the program, with Jim filling in for us as-needed. We aren't normally as elegant in the studio as we are in our publicity photo, by the way. I often wear my jammies when I'm on the air. Hey, it's radio. Who can know what we look like?

So anyhow, it wasn't my turn this week. But I went in anyhow, because I had a story to tell and I wanted to tell it and I didn't want to wait a whole week. This is typical for me.

Mary had the guest mike and headphones all set up for me, and we were almost ready to go...when the phone rang.

When the phone rings at a commercial radio station, a paid employee picks up the line and speaks in a professional manner with the caller. At a public radio station, especially a teeny-tiny public radio station like KSER, the phone is answered by a volunteer. On the weekends at KSER, the phone is often answered by the same person who is running the FCC checklist, making the coffee, swabbing the bathroom, and spinning the program...in other words, there is only one person in the building, and the voice you hear on the phone is also the voice on the radio.

Except this morning, remember? Because today wasn't my turn. So Mary turned off my mike and told a story on the air, and I talked to the person on the phone.

The person on the phone, bless her heart, was calling in a membership pledge, even though the pledge drive was finished last month. Hey, at a little station like ours, we'll take new members at any time of the day or night! So, I talked to her for a while and took her pledge information. It was nice. She's a nice lady, and she called our station on a Sunday morning to do membership stuff without us even having to do the "pledge thing" on the air. It was really nice.

So, I told a story just for the lady. And now I'm gonna tell it for you.

And hey, if hearing the story makes you smile, just think how much the person on the other end of the phone will smile if you call KSER and pledge some money as a member. Honest. We smile for hours after a call like that. Just think about it, okay? And see if you smile at the end of the story before you make a decision. The pledge info is at the bottom of this page.

The Storyteller's Blessing

If the player embedded above doesn't work for you, you can visit the storage site to play the story, instead.

Here's info about the radio station, just in case you smiled when you heard the story:

LISTEN LIVE LOCALLY at 90.7fm Streaming on the web: http://www.kser.org/

Between 7am and midnight (sometimes earlier and sometimes later, too) there are live, local people running the shows, so if you'd like to call and make somebody smile, the phone number is (425) 303 - 9076 Tell 'em the Sunday Storytellers sent ya.

If you want to pledge online, the smile is slightly more remote but just as genuine. Totally secure pledging at the website http://www.kser.org/ click the "Donate Now" button.

End of public service announcement and now we return to your regular Haiku Farm Day:

Life is good!