christopher lydon. the connection.

there's snow on the ground this morning! one similar year when spring came late, my friends jim and lydia invited me to an easter party. christopher lydon, a man i frankly idolize, was there with his date, a poet.

christopher lydon's 1990s radio show, the connection, remains the best radio i've ever heard. 2 hours a day of live call in radio on an amazing variety of topics. it might be illuminated manuscripts, marc orfaly, bebop. keynesian economics, kim deale... roseanne, rashoman, rosh hashanah... will rogers, roger wilkins, local politics, liberation theology... snoop dogg, mortimer adler... ok i'm not sure about all of these but i'm just trying to illustrate- the range was crazy! and one never knew who might spontaneously call- it could be gore vidal or ted sorensen or some other harvard friend of christpher's who just happened to be listening and wanted to weigh in. but a north end cop or roxbury cab driver (-or "amber"- for those who remember-) might be just as likely, and their comments were given equal weight and were usually as astute. (amanda palmer wrote a song about her call to the connection) the best aspect of the show was that the callers engaged in back and forth conversation with the guests and host. you have to imagine camille paglia in excited conversation about string theory with a southie construction worker.

the easter party guests were asked to bring a reading to share. i decided it would be more fun to write a poem. my "poem:"

in spite of environmentalist's warnings
i'm getting impatient for global warming.
so, doom predictions not withstanding,
i'm fossil fueling and aerosol canning,
in hopes the  "winter of our discontent"
may be made summer, this end of lent,
through use of "lysol, fresh clean scent"

i'm chlorofluorocarbons wielding.
and so my frozen garden's yielding
to "hosts of golden daffodils"
blooming early, due to environmental ills!

glorious "sun of york-"
shine down on us through that giant ozone hole in the sky!
so easter bunnies can nibble flowers this april,
or at least so the snows can be over, by... ...july?


christopher lydon laughed and clapped and HUGGED ME! and said he LOVED the "poem"
the poet politely complemented me on rhyming the word chlorofluorocarbon.