Boring Edition

I bemoaned the loss of Bob Edwards when he was forced out of NPR’s Morning Edition; now, a few years later, I am bemoaning the loss of Morning Edition itself.

This morning when the clock radio turned itself on, I realized, finally, that I no longer enjoy listening to NPR in the morning. Morning Edition has simply and quietly turned into All Things Considered. (In fact, it actually rebroadcasts stories from ATC!)

It no longer has a sense of quirky humor, it no longer wakes me with the quietly assuring voice of Bob Edwards. No, it now has the high-powered news anchor duo just like any other morning radio show but without the sound effects and contests. Or humor.

Now, I’m awakened each morning with interminable, 10-minute segments on Iraq, bombarded by war and politics and terror and death from the very second I open my eyes.

Yes, this is the real world; yes, there are huge numbers of people who awaken to the real thing every morning. But can’t I have just 10 minutes of something reassuring or engaging or just slightly funny to start my day off on a positive footing?

I used to let the radio play for an hour when I woke up, then listened to another hour in the car on the way to work. These days, I turn it off at the end of the 5 minute top-of-the-hour newscast and get on with my life and try to smile despite it all. (I don’t often succeed.)