The Kissing Tone

 WLS (World's Largest Station) was a rock and roll AM radio station in Chicago.  Broadcasting with 50,000 watts, the signal reached several Midwest states.  It came in clearly at night in northern Minnesota, where I grew up. 

I acquired my first transistor radio when I was 15.  It had an earphone jack and a single earpiece, no stereo.  Much enjoyed listening to it in bed at night.

KOMO was another 50K watt station, broadcasting out of Oklahoma City.  It too, came in clearly at night. KOMO featured The Kissing Tone, which was very helpful to naive teenagers like myself.

Shortly after getting my driver's license, I asked a girl out on a date.  An older girl, no less.  After the movie, of course, I wanted to park somewhere and make out.  Problem was, I was too shy to ask her if she was interested, and too timid to just park, slide across the seat and clamp a lip lock on her.  Instead, I tuned the radio in to KOMO, and drove around town, waiting for The Kissing Tone.  

Finally, 40 minutes later, The Tone came on, a 15-second hum.  I pulled over to the side of the road, put the car in park, leaned over and kissed her.  Then, I took her home.  That pretty much sums up my wild escapades with high school girls.  Pathetic.

"Get Um Up, Scout!"

 If the title rings a bell, you most likely watched The Lone Ranger TV series, 1949-57.  The Ranger's sidekick, Tonto, rode a paint horse named Scout.

My horse, the one that lives on my patio may be a paint, also.  In its younger days, its coat was a solid rusty red color - bay in horse terms.  As he matures, however, his coat is becoming spotted.  I named him Bucephalus, after Alexander the Great's horse, which was most likely a bay, definitely not a paint.

Now, I'm in a quandary: should I rename Bucephalus?  Call him Scout?  Spot?

Jay Silverheels (Tonto) was Seneca/Mohawk, born in Canada.  He was an athlete, played semi-pro lacrosse and was a Golden Gloves boxer.  Jay was in dozens of movies, in addition to his Tonto role on TV.  He raised racehorses, was once asked if he'd enter Scout in a race.  He laughed and replied, "Heck, I can outrun Scout."

A Boy Named Sous

Evening meal preparation has been an ongoing controversy between Trish and me.  I've always done the grocery shopping, a task she hates.  She does the vast majority of the cooking, a task I hate.    

Neither of us could be called foodies.  She likes well-rounded meals, as do I.  Thing is, I just don't care enough about food to spend much time preparing meals.  If Trish isn't around, I grab whatever's quick and easy - canned soup, sardines, cheese and crackers, whatever.

We do our own thing for breakfast and lunch.  At dinner time, I help out by setting and clearing the table and performing a few sous chef tasks.  I barbecue the entree every few days, while Trish does the sides.  

The last couple years I've been stocking the freezer with frozen, single-dish meals like pot pies and P F Chang's, which lightens the load a bit.  So, do things even out?  We probably disagree, but have agreed to maintain the status quo.

Sous, aka Mike