NPR did not hire me to say this.

This morning I woke up to a quiet, articulate voice providing factual information that meant something to me.

My clock-radio got a little out of whack yesterday, so on impulse, I tuned it from the usual local fluff station I'd been using the last several months back to NPR. For whatever reason, radio reception in that room is unreliable. Some stations I like don't come in at all, or fade in & out. NPR, unfortunately, is one of them. which is why I had given up trying to listen to it some time ago. For now, however, it comes in, so I'll keep it.

I've been a regular listener for about 10 years. My favorite morning person was Bob Edwards; I'm glad he has his own Saturday interview show and didn't just vanish when they did the staff shuffle a few years back.

People who don't listen to NPR probably don't realize how much of the world they're missing. I found out the hard way about 3 years ago. Back then, the Tom Delay/Jack Abramoff scandal was being updated nearly every day on NPR. At work, there was a conference room that the manager considered sacred -- no food allowed in there at any time, to maintain a clean, professional ambience for meetings. Well, one day there was a social event and the only room available was that one. When we began setting up, I turned to one of the organizers and joked, "Did someone have to bribe Jack Abramoff to get this room?" I got that polite little smile that clearly says "I have no idea what you're talking about, so let's just find another topic, OK?" It puzzled me for a second, and then I realized, it was simply one of many news stories not covered anywhere else except perhaps the Washington Post, the NY Times, or the Wall Street Journal. I was in the midst of a strictly local/celeb news crowd.

Another reason I enjoy my church so much is, most of the people there are NPR listeners too. Our minister finds it a useful source for many sermons.