But nearly every week, for more than 25 years, I have had "NPR hours." That's when Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" is on. Saturday nights at 6, or (when I miss it, or want to re-listen) Sundays at noon, there's a great hour of radio.
Turns out, I'm a newcomer, along with my wife, who's also a fan. (The kids, not so much. Their loss.) This week, Keillor and Company celebrate an amazing 40 years on radio. Four decades of music -- everything from opera to blues, but mainly folk -- plus inventive skits, wonderful sound effects, incisive commentary and, of course, "The Week from Lake Wobegon."
For one hour each weekend, it's like visiting with an old friend. The minute you hear the opening chords of, "I hear that old piano from down the avenue ..." you have arrived. You know the back stories; you're aware of the quirks and the corny jokes. But each experience is enjoyable and, in its own way, enriching.
There are the ads for Powdermilk Biscuits ("Made from whole wheat raised in the rich bottomlands of the Lake Wobegon river valley by Norwegian bachelor farmers, so you know they're not only good for you, but also pure, mostly." "They give shy persons the strength to get up and do what needs to be done. Heavens, they're tasty -- and expeditious!") Visits to the Cafe Boeuf with its pretentious waiter and wonderful faux French. Ads for Bebop-A-Reebop Rhubarb Pie (and frozen pie filling). And on and on.
Keillor has created something special here. Over the years, I've come to care about the characters -- Rusty and Dusty from "Lives of the Cowboys"; Pastor Ingqvist and, more recently, Pastor Liz. I'd love to grab a cold one at The Sidetrack Tap.
Actually, I have. OK, the beer or other beverage is usually in my kitchen or on my deck, and the conversation at The Tap is coming over the radio. But once a week, I'm part of this wonderfully wacky, comfortably familiar, family.
Here's to 40 years, and many more, of quiet weeks in Lake Wobegon.
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