Papa's Ponderings

The shack study guide

In the movie "Frequency" a man tunes an old radio that belonged to his father and ends up talking with his father and getting information that will change all their lives. If you missed it, it is a good rent. This is my father's radio. It was his prize possession. I remember when he brought it home in the early 1960's. It was Curtis Mathis, state of the art. The cabinet and shelves are solid 3/4 inch walnut, the latest turn table for vinyl records with stack changer, a HUGE 25 inch color TV and a crystal clear tube style radio receiver. The TV is long gone, the record player..let me pause here to explain, my youngest son Dustin did not know what a vinyl record is. They were 11" flat vinyl platters with groves in them. A tiny needle rode the groves and vibrated to make the sound...sort of. They scratched easily but were so cool when the old style DJ's would back spin them to rappers to give a wooossshhhing rhythm. Anyway the original does not work, but the replacement still plays dads old records. Sometimes I will go into the room where it sits and put on an old record and have a "visit" with my dad. He's been gone 18 years but that old consul is like a time machine to me. I think that is the only reason Dee lets me keep it in the spare bedroom. To her it is way short of a true antique and a lot closer to junk. To be honest, I snuck it upstairs when she was not looking and it is to big to get it out of the room now. The radio was working until I told one of our Praise Band members, Tony, he could take any tubes he wanted for his antique guitar amps. It was not much of a sacrifice for me and Tony needed them. They are very expensive to buy IF you can find them. Besides, every Sunday Tony blesses my heart with his spirit and talent on the bass. For me the bass makes the music and Tony is the best. The tuner on the radio was getting a little worn and it was getting harder to tune the radio anyway. On that old style there are no presets. The dial had to be turned to the middle of the frequency to get a clear sound. This model had the latest technology. As you approached the center of the frequency a green light (the round thing in the center of the dial above) would fan out glow brighter and then fade as you past the optimum tuning point. It made it easy to "fine" tune the radio. Remember the guy on "Frequency"? He had to keep fussing with the dial to here his dad. I love that old stereo. I suppose I should get rid of it, it really doesn't work and is not Dee's style, but I imagine my children will have to figure out what to do with it some day. For me it unlocks forgotten memories and transports me to a place and time I left 50 years ago. Worthless to some, priceless to me. The radio is a subtle memory jogger for me in a different way. It reminds me that I have no preset buttons to press when I am allowing the Holy Spirit to talk with me. I have to pause and watch for the brightest green light. I must get on HIS frequency, not ask Him to get on mine. There is way to much static on mine.