On this day in 1982, I recorded my first radio show. Although the station I invented, CATZ 105 FM, only existed on my cassettes, I acted as though it was actually on the airwaves. At least a year passed before I realized that I'd never assigned the station a specific digital frequency. Because most radios used dials instead of digital readouts then, it hadn't occurred to me to specify where I would have placed the station beyond a vague 105 FM. It was common, after all, for professional stations to round their frequencies up or down when referring to them on-air. I decided that CATZ's frequency was 105.1 FM. No St. Louis station had that frequency at the time. Thus, if I'd ever found a way to actually broadcast my shows, if only around the block, that would be the station's precise location.
I've made no secret of preferring to be an adult instead of a kid. I still miss one overriding aspect of childhood broadcasting, though. I still like that everything--the station's name, the frequency, the music, the announcing, and all program elements--was up to me.
That's true job satisfaction--even when the job isn't real.
