Near the end of one of my "Jazz Odyssey" shows on KCOU, a listener called. She said, "I know it's getting late in the show, so you probably won't have time to play it today. For the edification of whoever is on the air tomorrow, though, could you please ask that DJ to play a song by Bobby McFerrin?"
I don't know if the following day's "Jazz Odyssey" DJ followed up on her request, but I hope he did. Three things about her call impressed me:
- She said she listened to "Jazz Odyssey" regularly and that she wished the rest of the station sounded like that show.
- She acknowledged that getting her request on the air in the last few minutes of the show wasn't realistic.
- She was willing to wait 24 hours to hear her requested song.
I don't doubt that such scenarios still happen today. With much quicker, wider access to music and a faster pace of life than we had 28 years ago, however, I suspect they happen less often. We should all be so polite--and possibly use the word edification a little more often.
