✏️ Newsletter for April 6, 2021: “Back to the Grind”

That was a much needed, and WAY too short, week off. I got some good gardening in, created a few radio shows (as a volunteer), and got some rest. I think I finally got my sound levels sorted in this “Monday Mix” featuring Elvis Costello’s tunes. You can listen HERE.I could have used another week, or maybe a month. If you aren’t feeling “fatigue” from this past 13 months, congratulations to you!

It’s sort of a confusing time to be honest with you. There are some reasons to celebrate, including the reopening of parts of our economy after an extremely difficult period for many business sectors. The vaccine rollout seems to be going well, despite lack of supply. There are concerns about herd immunity, variants, and still much to be learned about the longer term situation with COVID-19. Laine Hendricks, Marin County Public Information Officer and I had a nice chat after both taking last week off. You can listen HERE.

Yet we forge on! Humans are resilient and generally seek things that make us feel joy.

We were able to have our first family gathering in over a year. It was great to see my in-laws in an outdoor setting, sharing a meal. Vaccinations abound with this group. As we sat there in Santa Rosa in the sun, hummingbirds flying about, you could see the neighbor readying his property to rebuild his home that had burned down, as had several others in the area. The scorched hills surrounding the area were a striking reminder of the fire season, our new reality. Cariadne guest hosted “Original Minds” yesterday and had an interesting discussion about wildland fires with Gray Brechin. You can listen HERE.

I was taking to a colleague who runs a radio station in Texas, and we were discussing how we are coping with dealing with so much complex information and also trying to find joy in this world. And as another colleague, Dave Cort from the San Geronimo Valley Community Center said, “Opening back up is going to be harder than closing down.” I concur. A friend said that to keep our brains “exercised” one should do things like grocery shop through the store in the opposite direction. I almost tried it, but abandoned the concept the minute I got my cart the other day.

 Image courtesy of Pexels.

I like systems that are efficient, logical, and are couched in good communication. I want to succeed and I want other people to succeed. As we muddle through this reopening, we need to be kind to ourselves. It’s a lot like grocery shopping backwards.

Some joy that I have found recently is in listening to programmers live in the studio, playing their music for you! This week you can expect the return of Larry Rippee and Coast Highway Blues, and Shorty’s Bunkhouse with non other than Shorty! Anneke van der Veen is also ready to return for Morning Glory!

And digging in the dirt, planting seeds and watching things grow is a pretty darn joyful activity. And we will be getting to those pledge premiums this week, and that will give some of you joy!

And we all know that Waylon brings joy.

 Waylon.          photo: Amanda Eichstaedt

Hang in there folks!

Amanda Eichstaedt
Station Manager/Executive Director

p.s. This week you can be part of the Curio Cabinet show by calling in to 415-663-8068, Ext 105 to report if you have ever “resurrected something from the dead!” Or just send a voice memo to programming@kwmr.org by Wednesday at noon. It’s ok to be anonymous!