Month: November 2017

Two friends, Jim and Paul, are in a bank, when, suddenly, armed robbers burst in. While several of the robbers take the money from the tellers, others line the customers up against a wall and proceed to take their wallets, watches, etc. While this is going on, Jim slips something into Paul’s hand. Without looking down, Paul whispers, “What is this?” Jim replies, “It’s that $50 I owe you.” (thebayfieldbunch.com)

By Jim Hagarty
2011

I was driving into Sudbury from our friend’s cottage when I turned on the radio and tried to find a station I liked. Too hard, too soft, too noisy, too quiet, too much talk; every time I pressed the scan button I landed on another place I didn’t want to be.

And then, finally, there it was: The best radio station I’ve ever heard. Fantastic music. Rolling Stones. Beatles. The Animals. Creedance Clearwater Revival. Bob Dylan. Janis Joplin. One hit after another. In an instant, I was singing at the top of my lungs as I bombed along down the highway.

What a great Saturday morning this was turning out to be. A couple of hours off by myself with the van and the finest songs in the world. I soon began to lament that I live so far away from this place that I wouldn’t be able to hear this station again. I sure wish we had a station like this back home, I thought. Hardly any commercials.

Wow. Life is good. Do Wa Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Doo. I Wanna Hold Your Hand. The Times They are a Changin’. Perfect.

Then a female announcer came on the air. “It’s 11 a.m.,” she said. “And you’ve been listening to Songs for Seniors.”

It’s funny how you can’t find a good radio station anywhere any more.

Especially in Sudbury.

“I have some bad news,”
A relative tells you.
“I’ve just heard that Alan has died.”

What do you do
With information like that?
You stand up and you wander outside.

All of a sudden,
Nothing much matters,
As you walk the fence line in your yard.

You hadn’t seen Alan
In a lifetime of hours.
Still, to know he has vanished is hard.

A man who gave you
Permission to live
And the keys to overcome fear.

It’s just hard to believe,
That a friend such as Alan
Can somehow no longer be here.

But you look at your home
And your family within it
And know none of that ever would be,

But for Alan, who always was
So good at listening,
And he took time to listen to me.

JH