Shamanic. Imaginal. Numinal. All words having something to do with experiences of the mind and body, the understanding of which is more related to creative psychological analysis than logical, empirical examination. All experiences that have little to do with external sensory adventures and more to do with the capacity of the mind to create another reality.
Back in the 1940s, when I was a severely asthmatic only child confined to bed for long periods of time, the radio offered me escape through imagination. Let
Kalilily Time
Just an old lady talking to herself
And I can tell you the radio magic still works. I have a box of tapes of various old radio shows and a box of cds of “The Shadow.” The images still form in the mind, a world you create yourself out of the audible clues of words and sound effects. Better still, radio let you move about; you didn’t need to be glued to a chair for the visuals. Those you carried around — weightlessly — with you.
OOOh. The Shadow. How could I leave him out! Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. Oh yeah! That was a “leave the night-light on” one.
Great post, Elaine! You’re bang on about the magic of radio. It’s one of the best things about being our age–having had our childhood during the glory days of the medium. Three other shows besides the ones you mention spring to mind–more appealing to males, no doubt: The Lone Ranger(who could forget the wonderful theme music? Probably my first exposure to classical music); Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy; and Gangbusters.
Oh yes, I listed to those too. It definitely was a boy’s world on radio back then, wasn’t it. So I had to balance it out by reading all the Nancy Drew books.
Of which: Turner Classic Movies the other night ran a series of Nancy Drew movies featuring Bonita Granville as Nancy.
Funny you should mention that, since I forgot to. I taped them!
I HAVE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WHO I AM TODAY IS ALSO BECAUSE OF OLD TIME RADIO!! I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING OTR SINCE 1984 AND HAVE BEEN A FAN SINCE 1970(I’M 43!) YES,OTR IS ALIVE AND WELL HERE IN THE 21ST CENTURY(JUST ASK ALL 2000 OF MY RADIO SHOWS!!)IMAGINATION INDEED!!