http://www.chfi.com

 My blog tonight is a companion writing to tonight’s show between 9 and 11pm. If you listen, you’ll understand why it’s just this simple…

 ”Little sister, do not sigh / Because the swallows said goodbye. / The summons came: they had to go / Before grim Winter brings the snow, / Winging over sea and strand / To settle in a distant land.

” There they’ll soar, so wild and free, / O’er places you may one day see, / Happy to be safe from harm / Where skies are blue and days are warm, / Wanderers a world away / From silent Autumn, cold and grey.

“But they will leave when breezes sweet / Stir our meadows and the wheat, / While beneath our changeful skies / Flit the dainty butterflies; / And you will watch them from the lane, / Your swallows, when they’re here again.”

 The poem is called “Swallows” by Peter Cliffe and featured in the collection The Fireside Book 2006 chosen by David Hope and published by D. C. Thomson and Company, Fleet Street, London. Its ISBN is 1-84535-049-9

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 Don Jackson

Tonight I have two very special guests in the studio with me. They are here to watch the radio show being aired and to see the ‘magic’ behind the curtain.

There is a very good reason why they are in the studio with me tonight. They are here to observe the show and to see how a radio station operates in this age of computers and the internet. The visit may inspire a dream to one day seriously consider a career in one of the many areas of the broadcasting field.

The radio stations today bear little or no resemblance to the radio stations of the past. When I began my career, computers filled an entire room and had no place in a radio station. We played records on turntables, commercials on cartridges that resembled eight-track cartridges (for those who remember having an eight-track in their cars), reel-to-reel tape recorders, cassette machines, bulky microphones, heavy earphones, and a control console that may have been home-made. The studios were not as quiet or as sound-proofed as they are today. The studio was filled with the noise of machinery running in the background. Turntable switches made a noise like a ‘thunk’ when they were turned on. There are sliders on the consoles for the control of ‘levels’ today, but in the past, they were called ‘pots’ and resembled the burner controls on a stove.

As technology changed, so, too, did the look and sound of control rooms. When CD technology arrived, turntables became almost obsolete, replaced by smaller, compact CD players. I was around for the advent of ‘DAT’ (Digital Audio Tape) technology that also decreased the size of tape machines. Reel-to-reel tape decks were almost a thing of the past by this point. The studios of today may still have a ‘DAT’ machine, but they may also have ‘mini-disc’ technology. Now there is software to record audio and music on a computer that doesn’t look anything like tape recorders but work in exactly the same way. They also feature an editing function which has eliminated the need for razor blades and splicing tape. You had to be careful editing tape in the past.

After the introduction of personal computers, some syndicated networks and radio stations in the States added CD jukeboxes run by computers. These jukeboxes could hold a huge number of CD’s for airplay. Some enterprising audio technicians believed there was a way to program a computer to run the day-to-day operations of a radio station. In the beginning there were growing pains, but eventually very complex software was developed that eliminated the need for records and commercial cartridges. I knew someone in the United States who owned his own radio station. Thanks to computer technology, the entire operation was housed in one of the bedrooms of his home. He was a one-man outfit and listening you would never have believed that it was possible to run a radio station from a bedroom in your home.

Times certainly have changed.

I wish I could show my guests the differences between the studio I started out in, and the ultra-modern facility I now work in. We do have a display in our front foyer that shows original radio station equipment as well as photographs, but it is not the same as being there.

You may have also seen major changes in your workplace thanks to computers and microchip technology.

In your workplace today, you may have also seen a few new faces: young people accompanied by parents to see first-hand the working world they will eventually be a part of.

Today is ‘Bring Your Kids to Work Day‘. It’s specifically for grade nine students in high school to see how the working world ‘works’… My daughter and one of her friends are here. My daughter and son have accompanied me here in the past. This is the first time my daughter has invited one of her friends. I can’t say for sure that either one will one day pursue a career in broadcasting, but I’m sure they will consider it after seeing how this radio station functions. I’d like to thank the management of CHFI for allowing them to be here on this most important day, a day that could shape a future.

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Don Jackson

 I’d like you to click the heels of your “ruby slippers” together. We won’t be going home just yet. “We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz… because, because, because…”

“Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies with Uncle Henry who was a farmer and Aunt Em who was the farmer’s wife.” A few lines you wouldn’t know unless you read the book. A line you wouldknow, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain…” A line from the film version that we all remember so well. In fact, there were a few differences. We remember the dialogue from the movie. Another memorable line is when the villainess in the movie threatens to get Dorothy, “…and your little dog, too.” Who can ever forget Margaret Hamilton’s wonderful performance as the witch, and I would imagine her flying monkeys gave a lot of people nightmares. “I’m melting…”

 One of the great scenes is Dorothy’s first encounter with the kindly ‘Wizard’. I have a tendency to believe in magic behind the curtain where the crystal ball is concerned. It’s the scene when Dorothy runs away from home just before the tornado hits. She meets the traveling mystic at his trailer and he uses his crystal ball to foretell her future. He tells her to close her eyes… While they’re closed, he rifles through her purse and finds a photograph of Dorothy’s Aunt Em. He then returns the photo to the purse and tells Dorothy to open her eyes. He proceeds to gaze into his ‘magical’ glass ball. He says that he sees a sad, older woman standing on the porch of a family homestead, and Dorothy is convinced that it could only be her aunt. He says that she seems frightened for someone who has run away. Dorothy thanks the kindly professor and heads off home, just in time to meet her destiny. After she leaves, the crystal ball gazer remarks that he hopes that she will make it home safe and sound, especially with the storm brewing. I’d like to believe that all crystal ball gazers have such altruistic intentions as the great Oz, but I don’t. Let the buyer beware when visiting a fortune teller…

 It was on November 3rd, 1956, that the film first appeared on television. What an event it was that night, almost like the first time “Star Wars,” or “ET: The Extraterrestrial” made it to the small screen in our homes. But this really was a big event. There were no VCRs for people to record it so they had to be in front of their tv sets in order to see it. They were that night, and each time it aired in the years that followed.

 The film grossed $3 million dollars in theatres, but as New York Times best-selling author Joe Garner said in his book, “Now Showing: Unforgettable Moments From The Movies,” published in 2003 by Andrews and McMeel Publishers, “The tremendous cast, new technologies, and the promotional campaign drove final costs to nearly $4 million.” Some lines later, he continues: “It wasn’t until a deal with CBS in 1956 that initiated annual broadcasts of Oz that it became both profitable and an American icon. Generation after generation of children continue to revel in the wonderful magic of Oz, a movie that embodies the best of Hollywood–with a brain, a heart, and some nerve.” The book’s ISBN is 0-7407-3836-4. It even comes with a DVD hosted by Dustin Hoffman.

 L. Frank Baum, the creator of “The Wizard of Oz,” wrote: “Imagination has brought mankind through the dark ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone talking machine, and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So, I believe that dreams–daydreams, you know with your eyes wide open and your brain machinery whizzing–are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to invent, and therefore to foster civilization.”

 Speaking of imagination…

 ”According to the legend, when George Jessel introduced child singer Frances Gumm for the first time, he momentarily forgot her real name and introduced her as Judy Garland because he had just sent actress Judith Anderson a note using the word garland. The name just popped into his head. Thereafter Frances Gumm was known as Judy Garland.” An excerpt from the book, “Hollywood Trivia” by David P. Strauss and Fred L. Worth, published in 1981 by Warner Books. 

 In 2005, someone paid $252,000 at a London auction for the blue and white dress worn by Judy Garland in the film.

 Judy Garland, once remarked, “In the silence of the night I have often wished for just a few words of love from one man rather than the applause of thousands of people.” That quote proves just how lonely she really was at that time in her life.

 On June 22nd, 1969, she died in London at the age of 47. Even though her adoring public knew the rumours of ill health, alcohol abuse, and drastic weight gains and losses, they were still in shock over the news. ‘Dorothy’ had died..

 It’s also interesting to note that on the day of her death, a tornado touched down in Kansas.

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 Don Jackson 

 In tonight’s show, I feature some thoughts on some of the pleasant fragrances and aromas associated with the time of the year. You might think that since all the summer flowers have disappeared there are very few smells to savor. If you live in a part of the city that hasn’t passed a by-law concerning wood-burning fireplaces and wood-stoves, step outside on a night like tonight and you might smell the pungent smell of wood burning in a neighbour’s fireplace. We smell the savory aromas coming from backyard barbeques in the summer, replaced by woodsmoke from glowing hearths in late fall and winter. Our parents’ generation will remember the smell of burning leaves at this time of the year as well. But it is inside where the most appetizing scents can be found…

 Fresh bread right out of the oven, hearty soups and stews steaming in bowls on the dining room table, a freshly baked pumpkin or apple pie cooling on the windowsill. These are the enticing smells that call us home, that beckon to us to come inside where it is warm and dry. These tantalizing smells are a part of the essence that emanates from the heart of the home at this time in the year. Forget air-fresheners and the like; fill a home with mouth-watering aromas from the kitchen.

 I mention the 2006 edition of The Fireside Book: Poetry and Paintings chosen by David Hope and published by D. C. Thomson and Company on Fleet Street in London, England. One of the poems I feature tonight reminds us about the sounds of pots and pans in the kitchen and what that signaled to the family. There was cooking and baking to follow. In that same poem is the memory of what happened to those same cooking utensils, how they lost some of their shine. To my way of thinking it is a small price to pay considering their long years of service. The poem also mentions how they were lovingly passed down to the next generation of chefs.

 This is a poem by Neil Abbott called What Home Means. It originally appeared in Sunshine Magazine. It reminds me of this time in the year…

“I may not remember all the furniture at home, / But I remember that deep, warm chair, / Where one of you would hold me and read / me my favorite story. / I may not remember the exact shape of the / fireplace, but I remember the shape of love / on your faces as we popped corn, or / dreamed there together. / I can’t recall the number of stairs, but that / scary one that creaked, I can still hear! Remember / How you’d come catch my hand when I hollered? / And the old piano–someone was always / ready to play it when I wanted to sing. / I may not remember every window in the / house, but I remember the one where we / watched the baby bluebirds learn to fly. / And the stove, and all the crusty, brown turkeys. /And the library table, and homework, / and discovering worlds of adventure in the / soft light of home’s lamp. / You say it’s a drafty, cold house, but all I remember / is warmth. / You say it needs work, it’s getting run down, / but to me it’s more beautiful than ever. / Because in the foundation is a devotion that has / never cracked, a faith that never questioned / the magic … of fairies, of books, of / popcorn, and singing .. or of baby bluebirds / learning to use their wings and leave / the nest–as I did.”

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 Don Jackson

 When the trees have mostly lost their leaves and the bare branches seem to be scrawled against the sky, there is still one last hint of colour that captures our imagination. It’s with us all the year through, but it gets paid close attention in November. It is the birthstone for the month…

 Some years back, the Jewellery Industry Council wrote, “The quest for a supreme golden stone ended in the Middle Ages when men found the topaz, whose name means ‘to seek’. Its golden tones have made it a wise choice for November’s birthstone. Emblem of ardour and long lasting friendships, the topaz also ensures long life, intelligence and beauty to its wearers.”

 The topaz is one of the stones termed “semiprecious”. Those born during the month of November might beg to differ. To them the topaz is most precious, indeed.

 Cassandra Eason in her book, A Complete Guide To Magic and Ritual: How To Use Natural Energies To Heal Your Life, published in 1999 by Judy Piatkus [Publishers] Ltd., London, wrote, “This opaque, light blue/blue-green phosphate, mined by the Egyptians in Sinai more than six thousand years ago, is regarded as a sky stone, a manifestation of the Source of Creation, and is often called the lover of gold. It is most potent if given to you, rather than bought.” (Page 103)

 Cassandra Easonalso considers it one of the “protective crystals”.  Her list includes: black agate, amethysts, bloodstones, carnelians, garnets, black and red jasper, lapis lazuli, rose and smoky quartz, tiger’s eye, topaz and turquoise.

 The author gives very clear instructions on how to carry these stones on your person. She suggests you carry one or more of these in a “dark silk purse”, especially when entering a potentially “hostile situation”. These are some of her suggestions on how to use them as well as their care:

“* You can use protective crystals on a desk or table between you and potential sources of negativity or between you and someone who unintentionally drains your energy by regularly off-loading woes and problems on you.”

 I’ve actually heard that kind of person called an “emotional vampire” in other sources. It’s not only at this time of the year that you have to worry about the negative aspects of being drained emotionally. These kinds of people can have the same sort of effect on us throughout the year.

 Cassandra Eason goes on to write:

“* Keep a chunk of unpolished amethyst or rose quartz near your bed to offer protection while you sleep.

“* Frequently wash your protective crystals in running water to cleanse them. If you have been in touch with a particularly negative influence, after you have washed the stones sprinkle them with salt, pass over them an incense stick or oil burner in a fragrance such as lavender, pine or rose and the flame of a purple, silver or pink candle. Finally wrap them for a few days in a dark cloth to rest.” (Page 116)

 Over the years, I’ve done some research on crystals and this is the first time I was aware that they needed to be cleansed and put away from time to time.

 The topaz was also once believed to indicate or be an emblem of ”integrity”.

 ”To seek” ardour, long life, intelligence, true friendship, integrity, protection against negative influences, by the wearing of such a simple, beautiful stone, says much about the gift and the giver.

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 Don Jackson