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Listener Appreciation Day We loved hearing from you about why you listen to KUNC! Members of the Advisory Board have reviewed all the entries and picked the winners. Thank you for all your creative submissions - and thank you for listening and supporting KUNC! Libby James of Fort Collins is the grand prize winner and receives a pair of four-day passes to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival - Congratulations Libby! A single click and they show up, this cast of characters who’ve taken up residence in my small black box. One by one they arrive, faithful to their appointed times every week. I welcome each old friend, anxious to hear what they have to say. They’re such old friends, and so familiar, that not one of them cares if I’m having a bad hair day, or if I’m naked or forgot to shower. They overlook my dusty shelves, unmade bed, coffee stained, crumb-encrusted place mat. If I burp, slam the screen door or don’t answer the phone, they don’t even flick an eyelid. I can pick my nose or let it drip and they never notice. If, for a moment or two, my thoughts wander and I lose them, they don’t say, “Pay attention, will ya?” They teach me how to cook fava beans, be patient with my Jetta, and tell me what’s up in Antarctica and Ouagadougou. Sometimes they make me stop in my tracks and listen to them. They force compassion upon me. They make me furious, guilty, suspicious, kinder. You know who they are. And they are the reason why KUNC is my radio station. Jeb Tilly Boulder We moved to Colorado in 2003 poor, jobless and determined to live in the mountains. My girlfriend Ashley wrung her hands as we drove up I-25, wide-eyed at the jagged peaks on the horizon. We’d rented a house high above Boulder. No furniture. Just an espresso machine, two dogs and the radio Ashley’s parents had given her in eighth grade. KUNC was the only station we picked up. That first night we huddled on a makeshift pallet in our empty living room, wind howling, and listened to the President’s State of the Union address. “We gather in this chamber deeply aware of decisive days that lie ahead,” the President said. We felt the same way. KUNC was our beacon, our connection to the twinkling lights on the plains below, to warmth, civilization and faraway friends. Five years later we’re still in the mountains, married now, and buying a house. We know enough to make sure the property has trees to buffer the wind and southern exposure to capture the winter sun. But at each “for sale” sign, before we look for those things, we tune the radio to 91.5, just be sure the signal is strong. Bob and Susie Baker Phippsburg KUNC Doggerel (Not to be confused with real poetry) Who is this “turn up your world” voice Is she a local or just some disembodied choice Hidden in our mountain glen We think of KUNC as kin When we’re up to our rumps in snow Tom Throgmorton tells us the garden is to hoe High atop old town Fort Collins is sun and wind While here in the Flattops the storm clouds roll in The days we are a bit under the weather Wendy Wham’s lilted laugh is like the balm of heather Katie Goetz is our morning call Kyle Dyas our music thrall NPR may be entertaining and wise But the local folks remain our allies The TV has grown unbearable Our old radio is more wearable With an ear to KUNC Everything is okey-doky. Written at our house on the Dunkeley Pass Road, 4 miles west of Phippsburg, Colorado, elevation 8000 ft. Diane Eckert Evans Why I listen...to the tune of "YMCA" I've got -- an advanced degree But I've got-- two kids at home with me, So I wake up -- before they do, Morning Edition with my morning brew. That's why I listen to K-U-N-C, That's why I listen to K-U-N-C, I can get all my news, Not just a mother of two, But for a moment, I'm a grown-up, too. Then when -- the day draws to an end, All Things Considered-- is my very best friend, 'Cause when I hear it-- over all the noise, I know it's almost bedtime for the boys... That's why I listen to K-U-N-C, That's why I listen to K-U-N-C. Steve Lam Longmont My childhood memory of broadcast radio is that of my father sitting in a storage shed, secretly listening to the Voice of America broadcast. He was risking his life listening to forbidden Western programs. With everything taken away, radio was his only means of holding on to his hope and dreams. While listening to foreign broadcasts, he imagined raising his family in a society where his children are free, educated, and successful. Life as I know it, began with a radio broadcast like KUNC. Today, I listen to KUNC for the same reason my father listened to his radio thirty years ago - to learn about the lives of people beyond my “storage shed.” KUNC's programs spotlight the plight of people gasping for freedom in the highlands of Tibet and those struggling to find their own national identity in the streets of Sadr City. Sometimes I wonder if someone else's father, perhaps struggling for survival in Darfur, is listening to the Voice of America and thinking similar thoughts my father had three decades ago in Vietnam. KUNC connects me to the human stories around the world, while serving as a bridge to the past and a roadmap for the future. Barbara Keenan Fort Morgan You are my wake-up call each morning, and my wake-cup call each day; You bridge me to the past, to the future, and to minds, talents,thoughts, philopophies, places, and events ; You are my university, my enclyclopedia, my atlas, my thesaurus; You impact, Inform, Invigorate, Improve, Infuse, Inquire, Initiate, Inspire; You are a dear companion; You keep me connected; You expand my world. Roger Morschhauser Fort Collins I relocated to Fort Collins last October from Ohio. Before arriving I had some trepidation about KUNC's programing, including "diverse music." After tuning in KUNC for a couple of days, I was reminded of an old story about an immigrant to the United States in the early 1900's. Shortly after he arrived he was listening to the radio when the announcer said "Don't touch that dial, we'll be right back." Wanting to be a good citizen of his new country, he never did touch that dial and listened to the same station for the next fifty years. I can truly say that since arriving in Fort Collins, I, too, have no desire "to touch that dial" as I believe that listening to KUNC makes me a better citizen of not only my country, but also of northern Colorado. The national NPR segments give me an insight into being able to form my own view of world events, while the local news helps to acclimate me to my new hometown. I am also pleased to say that, despite my apprehension, diverse music really works. I am always amazed how one selection, that is completely different from the preceding one, sounds just right. Kat Jorgenson Boulder Always in tune Bearing tunes and tales Creating tell tale images in my head Deciphering headlines ‘round the world Entertaining otherworldly views Foreign correspondents interviews Gross responds with Fresh Air Hair grown for “down there” Informative, and therefor I listen in my car Knowing Carl Castle might answer the phone Like phonographic melody Making phenomenal listening pleasure National Public Radio at my leisure Optimal publication via sound waves Prairie Home Companion wavelengths Quintessential companionship it is Recording artists from Shiphol to Timbuktu Stardate bucks up and enlightens the sun rays Tom and Ray with their gut-wrenching giggles Uncompromising gigs with the best in jazz Vivaldi to Vedder, promising song in the wild Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, I’m missing my que X-ray vision waiting to reveal the core Yeilding correlative points of view Zestfully relative to our community, always. These are some of the ABC’s of a fabulous radio station, KUNC. Aside from the obvious assembly of letters, another thread weaves these lines together, just as KUNC twines its listeners into a complex collage. I love this station and applaud all those who make it possible. Thank you. Neil Allen Greeley Love Poem For KUNC (a world of sound entertainment) Rollin' in, in '83. Hot July (how was I to know?) Moving, boxes, sweat, No A.C. (what was about to happen....) First things first, Receiver out (I had no clue) Speakers wired, crank it up! (almost there) Check out the F.M. on the left side. (let's see) THERE! The music sweet and cool to my ear. (delicious!) The beat, the wit, the news, the brains. (magnificent!) She has impressed me, delighted me, entertained me, amused me, informed me, fascinated me, charmed me, pleased me, and rarely dismayed me. My daily companion for twenty five years, I am grateful to her. While I have given her support in time and cash, these seem so slight compared to the world she has given me my gem, my incomparable, KUNC. Kim Wallin Ft Collins KUNC is a big part of keeping my marriage interesting. I’ve been married for thirty years and we both listen to KUNC in our respective cars on our way to and from work. Quite often the main topic of conversation over dinner is something we’ve heard that day. While we usually agree with the perspectives presented we often agree for different reasons. Occasionally only one of us agrees and then the whole evening becomes more exciting as each of us tries to convince the other that his/her opinion is wrong. References to previous programs to bolster our position are not unusual. KUNC keeps our conversations stimulating and reminds us that we each married a very smart person with good taste in radio programming. Karen Emmich Collins Longmont I HAD A LOVELY DREAM! In this, my perfect dream, I awoke to a Fresh Air breeze, as Terry Gross praised the fine art of diary-keeping. I gazed around my Prairie Home at my many blessings (ketchup, for one, came to mind). My good fortune in This American Life was abundant. Happily, there sat Ira Glass, reminding me of how summer camp shaped my life. I floated outside, where my automobile had some choice words. “But I don’t Car Talk…” I said, bewildered, but Tom & Ray eased my mind by the 3rd half of the program. It hardly felt like work that day in E-Town, where Nick asked Dr. John the very questions I longed to hear answered. “What’s for supper?” I pondered, as I headed home. I calmed myself: “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”, and I envisioned a World Café where brilliant, undiscovered music filled my plate. I was not disappointed, however, when I arrived home to The Splendid Table. I awoke disappointed it was a dream. But was it, really? Isn’t it all simply a fraction of the benefits of supporting KUNC? What a comfort. I think I’ll now settle in for a warm Bob Edwards Weekend. Andrea E. Kudwa Fort Collins Why I listen to KUNC.... Sunlight hits my eyes, the dog crunches a rawhide on the floor, and I hear a professor from the University of Virginia discussing the latest political drama. “Very interesting”, I think, “I haven’t talked to that friend from UVA in quite awhile…maybe I’ll call tonight”. I shuffle out the door, get to work and am greeted by raised voices; several labmates are debating a Morning Edition segment. I missed that, but will catch it at 3:00PM. I finish the workday and arrive home to find my eager canine at the door. I hear an evening theme song; she anticipates my return based on these familiar sounds. My brain is triggered and I call my friend from UVA. We don’t see each other daily anymore, but have national NPR programming as a commonality. I hang up and smile about tidbits of our talk while tapping my toes to the new jazz artist on air. I make a mental note of the artist and head for bed. My day has been bracketed by KUNC. While I don’t always consciously acknowledge the contributions of KUNC broadcasts to my life, I stay connected with friends and family by “turning up [my] world” every day. |
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