This past week marked the third anniversary of our last live radio broadcast. Within a few days after our March 15th, 2020 show...well, you know. Things changed. In the playlist commentary that week, I wrote:
"We live in interesting times. And 'interesting' is waaaaaay overrated.
"It's been pointed out elsewhere, but it's worthy of repeat play here: no one in the media is paid to say 'We don't know.' Nor would such an admission inspire confidence, but it's something that should be said more often than it is. We don't know. We don't know.
"And as we acknowledge our uncertainty, we can try to be vigilant, responsible...good. We can heed the advice of experts. We can try to do the right thing, even if we're still struggling to figure out precisely what that right thing is. We can for damned sure refrain from hoarding stuff. We can practice social distancing. Respect. Consideration. Remaining calm, keeping our heads, and washing our freakin' hands. These are things we can do. There is a light ahead. We'll get to it in due time, together. Maybe we shouldn't hold hands right now. But we'll still get there together. Stronger. Healthier. Together."
Yeah. I had no idea. I posted the above on Monday, March 16th. I still couldn't wrap my head around any understanding of what was happening, nor what was about to happen. Schools closed. Stores closed. I was furloughed from work. I couldn't visit my mom in her nursing home. I couldn't see my daughter. And Dana and I certainly couldn't continue doing a silly radio show.
The community center that housed our studio locked its doors for the duration. I have not set foot inside the building since driving away a few minutes after midnight on 3/16/2020. It's likely I'll never go there again.
Some places that closed never reopened. The convenience store across the street from the studio, where Dana and I used to stock up on junk food just before showtime, went out of business. No retail operation could possibly survive that sudden drastic loss in Sunday night Cheetos sales.
The center itself has reopened. We don't do shows there anymore. As we pass the third anniversary of our last live show, we approach the third anniversary of our current run of prerecorded shows. We skipped one week in 2020, then did a live Zoom show with Pop Co-Op on March 29, 2020. We figured out how to record shows at home, collaborating from remote locations, and TIRnRR returned with an isolation edition on April 5th.
We adapted to our circumstances. It's a minor thing, and it means absolutely nothing against the stories of lives disrupted and lives lost in a pandemic. Life during wartime. I didn't see it coming.
We keep on making our way as best we can. We have records to play, and some friends we hope to bring some smiles, some camaraderie, and some chances to sing and dance. Interesting times. It's not like it was. But it's what is. We're grateful for that much.
This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio
You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO).
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