Remembering CKLW

A few weeks ago I was driving to Michigan to visit my son and daughter-in-law. Since I was travelling solo, I began station surfing on the radio. I was able to receive only three AM stations. WLEC (the local station), WJR in Detroit and CKLW in Windsor. CKLW was carrying the Michigan-Oregon football game so I settled for that offering. I normally listen to music when travelling, however the game sounded exciting and I figured it would help me pass the time. I also wanted to see if Michigan's loss to Apalachian State was a fluke. Oregon went on to upset Michigan. It was apparent that the Wolverines still had a hangover from the previous upset loss. For years WJR carried the Michigan football games. A couple of years ago WJR started broadcasting Michigan State games so Michigan moved to CKLW.

My how times have changed! Growing up in the 60's, CKLW was the staple for teenagers. When you "buzzed" the ave, you had your radio tuned to the Big 8 CKLW. With their 50,000 watts of power, CKLW could be heard clearly far and wide. They played mostly Top 40 records and Motown music. Teenagers were attracted to the Big 8 because they played feel good, sing-a-long type music. Unlike today, CKLW broad casted very few commercials. I can remember a few of the commercials. Detroit Dragway "Drag Capital of Mid America" and Mickey Shores car stereos stick in my head. The commercials always seemed to be entertaining. They also featured short news briefs every 20 minutes. The news briefs usually started out with alliteration such as "A badly burned bruised body was found on the East side of Detroit".
Yes, times have certainly changed. Even FM radio stations play less music. Most stations have changed over to a talk show format. Perhaps that is the reason that satellite radio continues to gain popularity among radio listeners.
Whatever the case, good, free radio is a thing of the past. There never will be another CKLW in our lifetime. We can only have fond memories of the past.

Anonymous Postings

Why do people choose to post comments on blogs without stating who they are? My last entry, Bumper Stickers and Window Clings struck the nerve of one individual. The person chose to "hide behind the curtain" and called me resentful without giving any specific reason why they felt that way. My blog contains my opinions and how I see and feel about everyday events. Resentful? No, not resentful, merely writing how I see things. You don't have to agree with me, but use common courtesy and either state your name or e-mail me with your thoughts. I will not reply to anonymous postings. By the way, I am able to track any/all postings, so I have a pretty good idea who the anonymous posters are. In the future, all anonymous comments will be deleted by the administrator.

Bumper Stickers and Window Clings

I've often wondered why people enjoy displaying bumper stickers and window clings on their vehicles. Have you ever given it a thought? Perhaps the people that display these mobile bulletin boards think this is a good way to voice their opinions. I really don't care who you support in the next election or who you voted for in the last election. I also have no interest if you are pro-life or how you feel about the U.S. government or President Bush. Certainly, much can be learned about the type of bumper stickers or window clings an individual chooses too display. Some of the combinations are laughable. Of course if you notice a large number 3 window cling, there will also be number 8 on the opposite side of the window. Unless you live in a cave, you know that the numbers 3 and 8 are synonymous with the late Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jr. respectively. They were/are fan favorites in NASCAR auto racing. Dale Jr. will be assigned a different car number next year (since he changed teams). It will be interesting to see how people react to this change. It's a good bet that these people also have a rebel flag somewhere on their vehicle.

Jan and I have 4 adult children. They were usually honor students in elementary school. We always encouraged them to do well in school. One thing Jan and I agreed with was to not display bumper stickers that told the world that "our" kids are honor students. What is the purpose to proclaim that you have intelligent kids? There are plenty of children that have difficulty in school. There never is a need to brag about how well you do in school.

In recent years parodies of the honor student bumper stickers have surfaced. I'm sure you've seen them. My kid beat up your honor roll student etc. Perhaps these were humorous the first time, but after that they became annoying.

The latest fad is the the high school sports window clings. Soccer moms taxi their athletes around town in their mini-vans and SUV's. The back window of the vehicle is wall papered with clings such as soccer balls, softballs, basketballs, megaphones etc. Underneath the graphic is the kids name. Now, let's say you have 3 kids and they play 3 seasons of sports. That equates to 9 window clings. A little of this goes a long way. For crying out loud, who really cares that Tommy plays soccer or Amber plays the flute in the marching band? Just go to the games, cheer for the kids and support them without advertising, please.