I’m into the Morning Edition part of my NPR book now. The show debuted in 1979, and I’m at the part around the beginning of Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
Reading this book and familiarizing myself with the shows and personalities of NPR takes me back to my senior year of high school. Also, that summer before I started college. One of the biggest transitions in my life at the time was coming, and that would be me living away from home.
Around this time, I was listening to 90.5, which was Pittsburgh’s jazz station at the time. They had a smooth jazz channel but that format didn’t last long. In 1996, I was more into the hits that were being played on B94. Also, the station was part of Duquesne University.
I got a subscription to Newsweek from my Gramma around my birthday in 2000. It was the perfect time to get that subscription as we were entering into a big presidential election season. Al Gore was running against George W. Bush. I was educating myself on the candidates and their running mates, Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney.
How good it felt back not to be ostracized for whom I was voting for. I should have learned to tell people to mind their own business.
We would have a new president no matter which party won. I took Government during my senior year, before the election season really kicked off. Therefore, it would have been interesting to follow the race in class. That 2000 presidential election was also known for the ‘chads’ that were of the hanging, dimpled, or the pregnant kind. Amazing how that headline still sticks with me 25 years later. It decided the election though and why third party voting is useless.
While I spent my senior year listening to NPR and the jazz selections on 90.5, I was also interested in the genre as well. Once I arrived at HGA, I was limited. I wasn’t able to pick up most of the Pittsburgh stations in Johnstown. This was 2000, before online streaming really took off. But I was able to get accustomed to the different radio stations the town had to offer. I listened to a lot of Power 99.1 (now Rocky 99) and 96.5 The Mountain (now 96 Key). The frequencies switched by the mid 2000’s, just as my college era was ending.
Closing off the blog, I’m planning to buy Governor Josh Shapiro’s new memoir within the next week. Not sure if it’ll be Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or locally (Completely Booked?). I’m saying yes to learning more about our Governor, and also when it comes to reading about the Jazzmen (Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie). I’ve been perusing the books on Amazon and plan on buying them soon. Maybe I’ll start once I get to halfway on the NPR book. I’m trying to limit my intake of books on political figures, as I easily get triggered from all I see on social media.
Looking well ahead (late Spring, early Summer), I have another book I’m interested in is “Three Shades of Blue”. This is another jazz-centered read that goes into the cool jazz era. The author has also penned biographies on Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. He also co-wrote with Jerry Lewis and John McEnroe.
Stylish 🍒 