"Watching" The Radio

Yep, back in the day, we "watched" the radio. Why? Because 90 percent of the population didn't own a TV and half the people weren't even aware of its existence. So we listened to shows like The Jack Benny Show, Dragnet, Amos and Andy and more.

Before television, the radio was the popular means of getting the news, listening to music and most importantly, listening to your favorite radio show. On Saturday nights, my parents would turn on the radio around 7:00 p.m. and we would listened to the various shows. I use the term "listen" but, in fact, we literally watched the radio as the show progressed.

The radio was a piece of fine furniture and was positioned in the living room much in the same way as today's television sets are positioned. Our radio was an RCA Victor and the top lifted up to use the turntable to play records. All of our records were 78's and rarely had more than two songs on one side. Woe be unto the child who dropped a record because in those days, the record would shatter and break.

The Jack Benny Show was the number one show of the day, but there were many more memorable shows on the radio. Other great shows included: My Little Margie, The Green Hornet, the FBI and the inimitable sounds of Inner Sanctum.

My favorite show was the Lone Ranger which thankfully came on at seven o'clock. I wasn't always able to listen to all the shows because bedtime was nine o'clock. Many a night after being tucked into bed by my mom, I would sneak out of bed, lie down next to the bedroom door and listen to the radio shows. I also woke up on the floor many times as well as I fell asleep listening to the radio.

Radio days of the past are just a memory now, but one would use one's imagination and literally visualize the shows and the characters. Although today's technology offers an abundance of innovative ideas and products, the art of imagination, alas, has fallen by the wayside for most people. But, that's just me.....

The News As I See It: Papa John’s is testing a new system that lets customers pay $3 to skip the line and get faster pizza delivery. And for $6, Peyton Manning will throw the pizza at you from a speeding car.

In California, an experimental self-driving Uber car drove through six red lights. In other words, it just passed its Los Angeles driving test.

This Date In History: 1845; Florida became the 27th state in the United States. 1875; Georges Bizet's opera Carmen debuted in Paris, to cool audience reception and panned by critics. 1879; Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood became the first woman lawyer to be admitted to appear before the Supreme Court of the United States.

1918; Germany, Austria, and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. 1931; The "Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the national anthem. 1991; Rodney King's vicious beating by Los Angeles police officers was caught on videotape.

2000; Former dictator Augusto Pinochet returned to Chile after being detained in Britain on torture charges. 2003; New embassies opened in Kenya and Tanzania, to replace those lost in the 1998 terrorist bombings.

Picture Of The Day: Saturday nights were social nights and the family gathered around the radio to listen to the programs.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) I bought a used UPS truck. It gets poor gas mileage but I can park anywhere. 2) I changed the mat at my front door to read: Welcome (except for spiders). 3) When I see a flash mob in public I immediately join in to make it seem like they didn't practice enough. 4) Facebook game requests are the Jehovah's Witnesses of the Internet.  5) If you want to find out if the FBI or the NSA is listening to your call, sing "Sweet Caroline" and if more than one voice responds with "bum bum bum", then you'll know.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Pisces - March : Fridays are for good times, so let your hair down and go for it. If you're going to the local pub, just remember, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you. Chances of romance are 71 percent. Forget world peace. Visualize using your turn signal.

Birthdays: George M. Pullman, industrialist 1831, Alexander Graham Bell, American Inventor 1847, Matthew Ridgway,  U.S. general 1895, Jean Harlow, actress 1911, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, athlete 1962.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A husband forgot his wedding anniversary and had been given the silent treatment for a few days, so he decided to try to make it up to his wife and bought her a bunch of cheap flowers from the local gas station.

He got home to find his wife cleaning up in the kitchen. He put the flowers down on the counter-top next to her. The wife took a sideways glance at the half dead offering and sarcastically said,"I suppose you want me to open my legs for those." The husband turns to her and says, "You can love, but I think they'd look better in a vase....."

A man picked up a girl in a bar and took her home with him. After some preliminary drinks and talk, they got undressed, climbed into bed and started going at it. After a few minutes, the girl started laughing.

The fellow asked her what she found so amusing. She replied, "Your organ, it's a bit on the small side." He replied, "Well, It's not used to playing in cathedrals."

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: Murray and Rose are senior citizens and Sam has always wanted an expensive pair of alligator cowboy boots. Seeing them on sale one day, he buys a pair and wears them home, asking Rose, "So, do you notice anything different about me?" Rose says, "What's different? It's the same shirt you wore yesterday and the same pants."

Frustrated, Murray goes into the bathroom, undresses and comes out completely naked, wearing only his new boots. Again he says, "Rose, do you notice anything different?" Rose says, "What's different, Murray? It's hanging down today, it was hanging down yesterday and will be hanging down again tomorrow."

Angrily, Murray yells, "Do you know why it's hanging down? 'Cause it's looking at my new boots!" Rose replies, "You shoulda bought a hat!"

A woman realized that her dog could hardly hear so she took it to the veterinarian. He found that the problem was hair in its ears. He cleaned both ears and the dog could hear fine.

The vet then proceeded to tell the lady that if she wanted to keep this from recurring she should go to the store and get some "Nair" hair remover and rub it in the dog's ears once a month.

The woman goes to the drug store and to get some "Nair" hair remover. At the register the druggist tells her, "If you're going to use this under your arms, don't use deodorant for a few days."

The woman says, "I'm not using it under my arms." The druggist says, "If you're using it on your legs, don't shave for a couple of days."

The woman says, "I'm not using it on my legs either. If you must know, I'm using it on my schnauzer." The druggist says, "Stay off your bicycle for at least a week."

That's it for today, my little poochies. Remember, Smart Cars are a good idea until you die in a 5 mph parking lot collision. I'm heading over to AREA 51 for happy hour.

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More next week.

Stay Tuned !