I was frantically trying to find Rush Limbaugh on my radio as I was heading to Best Buy to have a new radio installed.
Because of new technology, it is now possible to buy a radio that you can listen to all day long and not hear Rush
Limbaugh -- even if you live in Oklahoma. Although the radio cost about $300, it would be worth it to be Rush-Free.
But I wanted to hear him one more time before they installed the new radio -- to remind me of why I was spending all
of this money. After today I would never have to listen to him again. Sometimes you just gotta Praise The Lord!
Unfortunately, all of the local stations had different hate shows at 10:00 a.m. so I had to settle for "Dr" Laura.
She was another reason I was getting this new radio, so it was good to hear her voice.

XM Radio is based in Washington, D.C., and broadcasts through 100 radio channels from two satellites. Each of the
100 channels has its own station manager -- someone who has a strong love and respect for the particular music that
they are responsible for. XM Radio will allow me to travel the entire USA -- coast to coast -- and not have to listen
to hate radio -- even in hick towns in hick states. The selection is incredible. They have a channel for each decade of
music (Channel 4 is The 40s). They have several channels for Country, Jazz, Classical, Rock, Top 20, Spanish Music,
and my favorite: Chrome.

My first road trip was to Denver where I was going to give a talk on World Peace at a two-day convention. I was eager
to try out the new radio and see if it really could pick up 100 stations in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The quality and selection was stunning. I was able to receive CD quality music while driving through a thunderstorm into Guymon, Oklahoma
(where previously I was only able to get a Farm Report station). XM Radio had easily passed the first test.

Another test that it passed was the Traffic Jam Test. As I approached Denver on I-25, I got stuck in a traffic jam.
It took an hour to go 4 miles. I wasn't constantly changing lanes or pulling out my map to find an alternate route --
I was just inching along enjoying the music. It is hard to participate in Road Rage when you are listening to "String of Pearls"
by Glenn Miller or "Surfing Safari" by the Beach Boys. And it was wonderful to be able to listen to music that I had not
heard for over 25 years -- music that defined my life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania between 1976 and 1980. Music by
Donna Summers (I Feel Love), The Bee Gees (You Should Be Dancing) and Chic (Good Times) caused me to pull
over several times along the trip to turn off the engine so I could hear every wonderful sound from my new radio.
I never thought I would hear songs like "Born to be Alive" or "Shame Shame Shame" again.

My topic at this conference will be World Peace. I will explain that we need to learn more about the world so that we
are not Geographically Illiterate. I will give examples of brief encounters I have had with people from all over the world -- people who were pleased to find someone in the USA who knows where their grandparents are buried and where they
were born. I will tell the people at this convention that their hobby gives them a perfect vehicle to work toward World Peace.

And then, at the end of my talk I will tell them them about a new way to help bring about world peace:
Hate-Free Radio.

I will invite them out to my van to see my new toy.
I will let them listen to Do The Hustle at full volume.
They will think I am an idiot.

Ha ha.
 

World Peace is just around the corner.