The first time I heard Mr. Shepherd I was 15 year old boy. Late at night in the summer as I laid in bed, in a room without A/C. However we had a whole house fan that kept a fresh stream of moving air stroking across a night of shorts and no T shirt. The radio signal where I lived was 90 miles away. I discovered if I placed my hand over the bedside radio on the floor beside me that the station came in stronger. WOW! I thought had discovered something very new and scientific. I wondered if the magic was in my arm or my hand and thought if I cut off my hand and placed it over the top of the radio the rig would still work great. However, what if I was wrong. Never giving thought of all the blood and pain. It was then I also discovered positioning the radio from left to right and upside down my reception would come in stronger and weaker. I wondered did the radio engineers know of this phenomena? Those nights while listing to Jean on WOR I became interested in radio communication and electronics as we knew it then. From that time on I subscribed to magazines pertaining to the science, like electronics illustrated popular electronics and Radio-Electronics. I used to go trash hunting looking for old radios people through away, then try to fix them, but mostly blowing fuses in my parents house. Jean gave me my start with his bizarre philosophy and the science of Radio.
Today's Jean Shepherd special guest vocabulary word is "Stygian" as in stygian landscape. I suspected the word was close to Dystopian, and when I looked up Stygian, my suspicion was confirmed. Stygian means dark and murky, referring to the "terrible" dark and murky River Styx which "flows through the Underworld in Greek Mythology." BTW, I know almost nothing about Greek Mythology, but now I have added another small feather in my cap.😛
Thanks, Shep. Rest in peace.❤
The first time I heard Mr. Shepherd I was 15 year old boy. Late at night in the summer as I laid in bed, in a room without A/C. However we had a whole house fan that kept a fresh stream of moving air stroking across a night of shorts and no T shirt. The radio signal where I lived was 90 miles away. I discovered if I placed my hand over the bedside radio on the floor beside me that the station came in stronger. WOW! I thought had discovered something very new and scientific. I wondered if the magic was in my arm or my hand and thought if I cut off my hand and placed it over the top of the radio the rig would still work great. However, what if I was wrong. Never giving thought of all the blood and pain. It was then I also discovered positioning the radio from left to right and upside down my reception would come in stronger and weaker. I wondered did the radio engineers know of this phenomena? Those nights while listing to Jean on WOR I became interested in radio communication and electronics as we knew it then. From that time on I subscribed to magazines pertaining to the science, like electronics illustrated popular electronics and Radio-Electronics. I used to go trash hunting looking for old radios people through away, then try to fix them, but mostly blowing fuses in my parents house. Jean gave me my start with his bizarre philosophy and the science of Radio.
Today's Jean Shepherd special guest vocabulary word is "Stygian" as in stygian landscape. I suspected the word was close to Dystopian, and when I looked up Stygian, my suspicion was confirmed. Stygian means dark and murky, referring to the "terrible" dark and murky River Styx which "flows through the Underworld in Greek Mythology." BTW, I know almost nothing about Greek Mythology, but now I have added another small feather in my cap.😛
The guy in the Ballantine Beer commercials sounds like Dick Cavett.