Listening to NPR Saturday afternoon when "This American Life" came on, and soon I found myself sneering at the haughty, know-it-all flavor of the broadcast..."smarmy snark" I might say...but what I actually said to the empty kitchen, as I grabbed the remote to change to a CD, was this:
"...get lost you **&^!#2* liberal Northeast elitist snobs!"
OK, maybe I didn't use those exact words, but it's close.
This from the guy who was born in New York City, The Bronx no less.
But it's true how annoying the show can be! The 'tude!!!! Where's Lewis Grizzard when we need him?
Hey, I always thought you were one of us, Tim, way back when you were on WERC in B'ham - back when talk radio was more informative and less jarring & abrasive. Anyway, I guess it's not too late to say "welcome" after 34 years down here.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of the flip side of that - born and raised in Alabama, I get frustrated sometimes with things down here. For me NPR and The New York Times are my lifelines.
Lewis Grizzard is one of my all time favorite Southern humorists and and writers period! I was living in Germany when I got hooked on him. He brought the South home to me in a way that nothing else could. I will never forget the day I heard he had died. Nor will I ever forget the AJC editorial cartoon of his black lab 'Catfish' waiting on him at the Pearly Gates. There will never be another Lewis Grizzard.
ReplyDeleteSay it ain't so Tim. I've lived in California, Virginia, and now Washington state since leaving the Northwest in 1972. Yeah, there's BS attitude, left or right, elitist or populist, EVERYWHERE you go. But NPR is my rock. Enjoy it without the guilt of feeling superior to the Faux Newsies.
ReplyDeleteJust turn off the radio, Tim.
ReplyDeleteEasy, wasn't it?
I do know what'cha mean, Tim. I've never much cared fir Ira Glass, either. Mama's fried chicken, back yard barbecues, iced tea, football, bass boats... Good clean fun, that's my kind of country! Problem with the "other folks" is that they genuinely can't appreciate culture. Why, if a plateful of various cheeses, mushrooms and beer were to be set before them, that'd be about the most culture they'd ever have! On a deeper level, however, I think it's probably that Glass and others like him genuinely loathe themselves, and therefore project that upon every other person or thing about which they talk. They are, above all people, to be pitied, for they lead tiny little lives.
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