Radio Days are Here Again - A Post-Christmas Tale

At our quiet little 1950s rambler (ranch style home if you live elsewhere) in St. Paul, the radio is on almost all the time. Tuned to WCCO AM 830, it tells us the big news from CBS every hour and drones on with random talkers and callers throughout the day. Over Christmas, it played awful old Christmas songs constantly, alternating with some slow-moving radio play called, "The Christmas Box." It entertains the dogs and cats, and provides a background for our days of working at home. (I'm especially fond of "Jingle Bell Rock, warbled by Brenda Lee!)

Recently, the radio in the kitchen finally gave up the ghost, after many years of service, and my wife requested that I find a replacement for it, but "NOT ANOTHER DAMNED RADIO WITH TUBES!" Now, I like old vacuum tube radios. The one that used to live in the kitchen dated back to about the 1954 date the house was built. But, the old electrolytic filter capacitor failed, causing a loud hum, and they're hard to find and a little expensive, so that radio is toast.

So, off I went to eBay, where I did a search for 60s vintage solid state radios. There were lots of them, of course, but nothing that really had the exact style I wanted, or came with assorted stains, cracks, and other disfiguring issues. Finally, though, there it was. A black-faced, chrome-trimmed, walnut-grained Admiral clock radio of about 1964 vintage. "Solid State" was in chrome-plated raised letters, right on its front, to let buyers know it was a modern, up-to-date radio. It's brand new, still in its original box that features the image of a woman dressed in classic 1964 attire lounging on a sofa, right next to her black and walnut grained Admiral "Solid State" clock radio. Luckily for me, it was a Buy It Now item, so I quickly clicked the Buy It Now button and its price, which included shipping, was extracted from my little-used PayPal account instantly.

It should arrive in today's mail, with good fortune. I'll open that original box, lovingly put this relic from the year after I graduated from high school on the kitchen counter, plug it in, turn it on and tune it to 830 on the dial. BTW, the dial also features the little CONELRAD triangles, so if there's a nuclear attack, I can tune to one of those triangles before heading to our fallout shelter. That's a comforting additional feature, along with its "glow lit clock face" and chrome-plated accents.

Since I'm now 68 years old, and since this radio is, indeed, "Solid State," I expect it will still be playing on the kitchen counter when I take my last breaths. What a deal for $39.95! I'm bursting with anticipation. What a wonderful thing is the Internet and its access to eBay, where I can purchase a brand new radio, built 50 years ago.

It rarely gets better than that, I think. Small pleasures are the best pleasures.