As most of you are well aware, I listen to a lot of talk radio. This means that I am pretty knowledgeable about what plays on which stations. Here in the Tri-Cities, there are really only 4 A.M. stations that are worth your time. 610 KONA, 870 KFLD, 960 KALE, and 1340 KTCR are the only ones that have anything worth listening to. Well, and they are the only ones that don’t sound like a record that has been dragged through a rock quarry.
So with only 4 stations to keep me occupied, sometimes I like to have a little fun on my drive home from work. Maybe everybody knows this, but once night falls, the A.M. dial drastically changes. Stations known as ‘Clear Channels’ that during the day can only be heard in their respective local areas become A.M. powered blow torches at night. So right around the time it starts getting dark out, stations that are referred to as ‘Local’ or ‘Regional’ are required by law to power down. Of course this in turn makes it possible to tune into the clear channel stations that are hundreds of miles away. This my friends is where my fun begins. I will scour the A.M. dial looking for far away stations to listen to. Some I can get to come in for a minute or two, and they are lost to static. But there are three that I have found that I can tune in to every night.
The first station that I discovered was KSL 1160 out of Salt Lake City, which is a little more than 625 miles from good ol’ Kennewick. This station is mostly just news, weather, and traffic updates. What I enjoy most out of this station is the traffic updates. Now I have driven in Utah many times, and I am here to tell you, it isn’t the roads or the congestion on the roads you have to worry about. It is crazy SLC driver man/woman.
You have all seen this person before. They would pass you on a one lane road with no shoulder. They will be driving at 85 MPH in a 60 MPH zone, slam on their brakes to look at an accident that happened on the other side of the highway, and then speed back up again like it is totally normal to drop from 85 down to 35 and back up to 85 again. A lane change in SLC isn’t the usual one lane change like it is in the rest of the country. It is a “cut across 4 lanes and skim the water buckets in front of the exit so you can make it to the Jazz game on time to watch them get their butts handed to them by the L.A. Lakers again” lane change. I have driven in several metropolitan areas, and even though SLC might be the smallest of them, it by far has the most insane drivers. So that is why I tune into KSL from time to time. Nothing like hearing on the radio, “We have a 5 car pileup on MLC drive to watch out for. Apparently all 5 drivers were texting to one another about how they heard that Marylyn Manson is LDS.” Ahh, good ol’ Utah.
The next station that I check from time to time is KFBK 1530 out of Sacramento. KFBK is even further away from Kennewick, a whole 683 miles away. KFBK is a lot like KSL. It is a news/weather/traffic station. I actually don’t listen to this one very often, and the main reason is because nothing ever exciting happens on their traffic reports. I just may be because there aren’t enough Utah people living there.
The third station that I tune into is by far my favorite. It is a whopping 1065 miles away! I really have no idea how I even pick this up as clearly as I do. The station I am referring to is KFI 640 out of Los Angeles. While this station is like the ones listed above (news/weather/traffic) it has actual shows on the air. In the morning I can listen to Bill Handel, and for the drive home I can tune into The John and Ken Show, which is the most listened to local talk show in the nation. And of course more often than not, you get some great traffic updates. Updates like, “Naked man running down the Santa Monica Freeway waving a machete and decrying the fact that his Ralphs store ran out of toilet paper” or “Man throws mistress out of car when he finds out she is cheating on him.” And then there are the police chases. Of course these are always better watching them live on TV, but there is something that gets me going when I am driving home here in Washington State, and I can hear about a police chase in Riverside or West Covina.
So next time you are driving at night, scan your A.M. dial, and see what you can find. You might be surprised at what actually comes in.
9 comments:
Marilyn Manson is mormon???
LOL...
We've got a very low powered daytime station (well, they may be 24 hours, but unless you're within eyesight of their transmitter, they're daytime only) out of Olympia at 680 AM. At night, I get a sports talk station from San Fransisco, every bit as clear as our own 710 KIRO. There's not usually much on there that gets my interest, but it's fun to just listen in - almost like getting free cable channels or something!
Gee Donald, I can't help but think that some of those drivers you described sounded an awful lot like you. I was also expecting you to tell about your accident story while in Utah. You know the one in the parking lot, when the young, newly married, guy pulled out of his parking spot and slammed into you? That was an incident where those Utah drivers became a good thing for you as I recall.
good morning, thedonald:)
my first car only had am; so, i (at a relatively early age) was made very aware of the fun that could be found while driving home at night.
while reading your post, i also had a great memory flash. when i was a freshman at murray state, i had a guy friend that had a bright orange vw rabbit. he was a one lane passer, too, ha!!! further when on two lanes with a car heading our way, he would pass on the sidewalk!!! don't worry it was usually empty, BHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
thanks for a morning smile:)
db
I am a HUGE fan of AM radio. It makes me smile:). yes, gotta love those (utah) mormons!
Donald, I haven't commented in sooooo long!!
I can explain: your blog somehow got deleted from my blog roll. I swear I didn't do it!! I don't know how it happened!!
Now to redeem myself I tell you that what made realize your blog wasn't on my list anymore is because I was sitting here thinking about how I haven't seen your name at the top of my list with a new post for a very long time. I get some credit for that right? :o)
Now what is your excuse for not commenting on my blog for so long! :oP
D. Mathews happens to be an amazing guitarist.
Ok Mr. AM Radio Expert. Where in the heck is Glenn Beck? How do I listen to Bill O'Reilly? I haven't figured out when they come on here & it just doesn't seem to coincide with picking up and dropping off my kids. I've reverted to listening to CD's again in my minivan. I'm so sad--I miss my KC AM radio--they actually had a really great station. I guess I should just get satellite radio or something. I can't believe you listen to traffic updates--sorry Donald, you need a new hobby ;D
KFI is online to listen to as well. My husband likes to listen to the John and Ken show.
I had an old car with only AM in HS too, so I listened to Paul Harvey and Dr. Laura. I still listen to Dr. Laura most days and catch a little Rush and Dave Ramsey in there too sometimes.
(PS. George and Shirley are my in laws and my oldest does ballet with your oldest...)
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