October 28, 2009
Interview with a Senior about Radio
with Deborah “Debbie” Cronan
Short biography -
Debbie was a Navy brat, the oldest child in a family of four. She went to college at Drexel University in Pa., and is now working as a middle school teacher in San Francisco. She is a widow with one son, David. And Emily Rose is Debbie’s grandchild, a 10-year-old creative-thinker whom Debbie loves very much.
• age -67
• gender - female
• where in the world your interviewee grew up –
From age 10, Debbie lived in San Diego, California, before that their family lived everywhere: Norfolk, Virginia,: Annapolis, Maryland,: and England.
• what his or first media memory was—headline in a newspaper? Something heard on the radio? Magazine cover? Other?
She heard the neighbors had a television. She went over for a Saturday night sleepover. “Unfortunately I only saw the Sunday morning shows” all boring news. She was so disappointed she doesn’t remember the top stories. First memorable headlines were the summer of 1952, “I was 8 or 9” The Republican National Conventions took over the radio. Adelaide Stevens. “I was buggered over the television” “[There was] nothing for me.”
• What were the call letters of the radio station most listened to as a child?
No, she can’t remember call letters in the 50s.
• Anything else you’d like us to know about the person you are interviewing.
“My life is a comedy.”
• How often does she listen to the radio today (every day? only in the car? favorite radio programs?
Debbie doesn’t have a car. She listens to it every day in her house. She gets up at 5am for school, turns on the radio listens to NPR, PBS, or any other public radio, and turns it off when she leaves the house. She also turns the radio off when the news is irritating.
1. How important was the radio to your family?
Debbie’s mother, Lorraine, listened to Soap Operas. All the kids in the family did not have access to the radio. The radio was just for mother.
2. What was your favorite radio program? Did you listen to it alone or with others?
Her favorite radio program was TNT, Toon News & Time. It was a rock n’ roll radio program. “My mother thought the radio was a disturbance for children, even if it was Rachmaninov.”
3. Was there diversity in the radio programs that you listened to?
“No, I just wanted to hear music.”
(I asked further about social and cultural diversity…)
No cultural diversity. The radio was audio not visual so you didn’t even know what culture was.”You didn’t know what Japanese-American, African-American voices sounded like. It was all the same. “You didn’t know what color was until there was TV.”
4. Did you hear any major events in our country's history, such as the Pearl Harbor Attack or the end of World War II etc. via the radio? How did it make you feel?
No. She was born the year of Pearl Harbor, at age 3 WWII ended.
5. As a teenager what did you listen to on the radio? Were your parents okay with you
listening to it?
“It happened all at my friends’ houses.” From birth to age 20 (she still lived at home then), she was not able to listen to the radio at home. “If you lived at home you have to play by the rules [Lorraine’s Laws].”
6. When the TV became affordable, were you drawn to television, or did you stay listening to the
radio? Why?
Her family got a TV in 1953, TV was on more than radio, watching TV was allowed. Mother watched lots of TV. Once Debbie and her siblings finished the dishes they could join. They would watch Perry Como, Liberachi, Nat King Cole, Joe Stafford, occasionally there was a 15 minute segment of music that Debbie would like. Other favorites were Superman and The Lone Ranger. The kids would go to bed at 7:30pm.
7. How have your radio listening habits changed as radio has changed?
“Until public radio became what it is,” Debbie didn’t listen to the radio too much. She started listening to public stations when she moved up to San Francisco 18-20 years ago. Debbie likes the news.
8. Compare radio when you were growing up to today's radio? What do you think about these changes?
Radio was a place to hear music in Junior High and High School. Now Debbie listens to information-oriented radio. “Music like Norah Jones and listening to book reviews are like gravy.” They’re side projects. She doesn’t need to be entertained. “[I’m] supposed to be grown up now.”
“I really just listen to PBS and pledge support. The idea that I have to listen to 20 minutes of radio for each hour is a waste of my time.”
9. Would you and your friends discuss radio programs you listened to with each other, the same way we discuss the things we find on the internet or see on TV?
Yeah, if you hear about something of interest you share it with your friends. She still talks to friends these days about media. She calls them and tells her friends to tune in.
10. Was there a generation gap that separated you?
The gap wasn’t the media it was the fact that the radio was mother’s information. Debbie had no interest in her mother’s soap operas.
(I asked: Could you have talked to your mother about the content of the radio shows that she listened to?)
“Are you kiddin’ me? It would have been a bad thing. It was taboo to talk about her show. No no no no no…”
September 21, 2009
"Schwartzwald"
(revised November 15, 2009)
Oration, Theater, Politics are an alliance of active arts & offices that have existed since
humanity was a twinkle upon the eye of Earth.
This metropolis is large, full, and foreign. The plant's pressure gauge runs high. Factories burning
coals, mouths burning rumors. Minds soaked, coked, in exhaustion, fingering, lingering, smoked in
polluted clouds. Walk away from the city streets. Go to your tree. Look below to your roots.
Our core is wild.
Breaking out from the fibers of earth, we've just been exposed to our first
bits of sunlight. Benign beginnings start at the foot of this big,
beautiful trunk. Dark brown skin filters out photons. Some will stagnate
in the Darkness for the abyss is wide, dark, and hollow. Above, Light pushes branches, springing to
tiny twigs.
High, sky within reach, you shoot up the canopy to the tops of the
Overgrowth, so close to the Sun. Looking back, follow, wallow in the trail of knots,
growths carved by your beautiful dancing. Light shines upon the theatrics
of pulp and it's bark: twists, turns, and knobs of branch. Warped wood
sculpts souls, stories into these sylvan skeletons.
It gets colder.
Foliage curls, stems tingle.
Before autumn's fall don't prepare just soak. Gaze out upon all those who have branched out, danced
out away from the streets.
The Drama looks beautiful from such distance!
And in the End you will know, it's good to be a bud.
September 21, 2009
Please excuse the extensive hiatus. Considerable amounts of thought needed
analysis and reorganization. Given that space (and summer), I'm now comfortable
with blogging again. And now that the new school year has started and it's
back to the books. It's time to pull out those digital scrolls.
June 20, 2009
There should be a class in school called deconstruction of the modern world. Slowly, the course would begin
dissecting patterns of 21st century institutions all the way through the beginning of the industrial era.
Ideally, this would teach kids how to deal with life from the core constructs, eliminate miscommunications, and
foster pragmatism to empower the mass of modern global citizens in obtaining 'the good life.'
.....
We often like to stereotype people upon first glance, oh she's loud, he's this, they're that. Try living your
life positively. Make things fun, don't concern your self with your flaws, support each other unconditionally.
Of course not everyone can understand this. But don't be an overbearing zealot, ect. Don't ignore people, deal
with what you have. include people to the best of your ability. 'What's wrong, can I not have an opinion?'
of course you can. There is nothing wrong with judgement, but when you fail to extend your arm to an active,
asking friend, this is where power complexes intervene to create a shitty, unlevel reality.
These are not complaints, read progressively.
April 26, 2009
A Poem by Louise:
BIG TRUCKS BIG TRUCKS BIG TRUCKS
boom boom
boom boom
I AM KING
boom boom
April 22, 2009
Those who act gain more appreciation than those who care. Those who gain power are more successful than those who are devoted. Politics is theater. I tire of trying to change things when judgment is solely upon surface perceptions.
Gender, Maturity, Age, Ethnicity
Do not live between the barriers, do not live amongst the opinions of others
You say you're fighting for the cause, but you're blind to your own actions.
I may be an idealist but changing these things isn't that hard. This is how wars are forged, people shot, babies die.
Figure it out because there is nothing we can do can change it for you. The only stake in the field of your future is yourself.
Tighten up, toughen up and be compassionate to those around you. Don't be the carriers of hatred's past.
Be conscious of your actions; Don't oppose or criticize who or what you don't know: talk to strangers,
find commonalities. Brighten up, lighten up, release, and smile.
picture (unknown photographer)
April 14, 2009
Things are progressing awfully nice these days. I feel as though I've finally released the reigns from childhood and
totalitarian parental authority, and am spawning my life as a free-functioning being.
Speaking of freedom, I just signed my CLV contract. Now I am officially bound to work in Bemidji this summer; It'll be
nice being back to work with friends, and along with my little goober campers.
I am currently on the American Literary EPC (Event Planning Committee) andddd I'm quite excited to be designing the invitation
and the event program. The Release Party is on the 28th and it's all coming up so soon!
Amlit doesn't fail to give creative love and support.
I'm also set on switching majors (hopefully after January of next year). My inner drive needs this!
Life is nothing but RIGHTEOUS.
March 26, 2009
This week we will be examining the difference between
NOISE and MUSIC and emphasizing (at all costs) NOISE over conventional structure.
March 2, 2009
Is information becoming too universal? Not to sound hypocritical or unorthodox,
but sometimes I can't conclude on complete laissez-faire.
February 25, 2009
I just savored the entire peach, seed and all.
Louise Brask, the bad catholic
Culture studies, beautiful spring days, 1 hour photography session at the peace corps, LIFE
What's really great is how i've been listening to my entire ipod on shuffle today:
rediscovering melodies otherwise forgotten.
Personal parties on the university shuttle. You know how I flyyy
February 22, 2009
if you like my work,
if you've enjoyed certain pictures of mine,
please donate monies. -Thank you Ryne:)
February 15, 2009
Today
I looked at the pictures of laundry lines and clothespins.
How could I have forgotten the role they have played in my life?
Hanging the wash with mother in New Zealand. So many colors against the bright blue sky.
The rusty ones were always to be left on the ground...
Pineapple ice cream with Billy, running through the tropical fields of Oahu, the shells of turtles surfacing like whales.
The flood of childhood emotions and happiness carving out forgotten gulches of information.
These things only able to flourish in the realm of my mind...
February 14, 2009
Someone explain to me the appealing aspects of greek life, because i am at loss.
Also,
Rekindling relationships: what satisfaction.
February 10, 2009
I promise to start wearing more skirts/dresses. Starting
here.
Now that i live in a more relatively decent climate I need to start shedding my tendency to want to layer
everything and take advantage of the warm breezes!
February 09, 2009
I would like some wild rice soup.
February 02, 2009
It makes me so pleased to see how the year after I leave my home state,
two of my most favorite & memorable programs of my public education get cut from the
budget.
The 6-9th grade German program in the Edina Public School System and now possibly
my entire Arts high school.
When business creditors, banks, and financial lenders fuck up our system, they get
bailouts and a reassurance that their fields and jobs will (for the most part) be
compensated for. Well my fields of interest get dissolved for their "mistakes." The
basic education for these things that make me passionate about life exist no more.
Social progress as a whole is dependent on the arts (even if the connection is not
clearly visible), and therefore the public should be at least minimally be willing to
fund a minimal amount (One school of about 300 kids).
It makes me frustrated to see modern capitalist, cookie-cutter interests driving the
education system.
Also, for those who dare to make noise while I'm working in the Library,
prepared to be bitch glared.
February 01, 2009
Superbowl night at AU, Pittsburgh Steelers vs Arizona Cardinals. I was rooting
for the Steelers. I think it has to do with this weird east coast thing
I have going now.