Gimme That Old Time Fun

The kind where we stay home.

Of course, now that I’ve typed that, I can’t get Grandpa Simpson out of my head. Now to the point…

There’s something really great about old-timey radio broadcasts. Abbot and Costello, Buck Rogers, Itchy and Scratchy (Eleanor Roosevelt did the voice of Scratchy during the war). I actually remember them from my childhood. Not because they were actually on. My mom was a huge fan.

Plus, when I was in the second grade or so, we moved into a big old house in Deer Park, Washington. It was creepy. In my bedroom closet (which was inexplicably attached to my mother’s closet, it was like a secret passageway…with clothes on the floor…I’m a slob) I found a cassette tape that was left by the previous tenant. A great old chiller called “Only the Dead Die Twice,” an episode from the infamous inner Sanctum series (give it a listen). I listened to that old thing all the time. In fact, the only time I would switch it out was to listen to my “Scooby Doo” radio drama (yes, it really existed but with different voices, on the tape I had they were busting counterfeiters). Or sometimes I would have to acquiesce to my sister and listen to “Thumbelina” or Strawberry Shortcake (I’m the Peculiar Purple Pie Man from Porcupine Peak, cha cha cha cha cha cha ch-cha cha cha!).

Anyway, I have since nurtured a big soft spot for radio shows. So you can imagine my thrill when I came across this on the net today while I was looking for something else. It’s amazing. I really only find cool stuff on the internet when I’m looking for something else. Rarely do I ever set out to find cool stuff. I forget that there is actually worthwhile crap on the web. I mean besides this blog, porn and video game cheat codes.

If you find yourself bored today, why not listen to an episode or two of the old Abbot and Costello show? They have really cheesy jokes. Some of which are just itching for a comeback.


Fun Fact: Charles Herrold of San Jose, California was the first person to broadcast a regular radio show. As a professor, his first broadcasts consisted mostly of his students playing popular records for their friends.

Herrold was on the air daily from 1909 to 1917 and didn’t give away a single U2 concert ticket.