The Rocket Radio

While technology has come a long way, I find it interesting that just about every radio ever built would still work today. My first was a crystal radio shaped like a small rocket. What looked like the antenna on my new Rocket Radio was actually the tuner and the wired clip was necessary to pick up nearby stations. There was no volume control and amid the crackling sound you could listen to your favorite DJ delivering music through this tiny invention.

Back then, it wasn't about the quality of the sound. It was about what was coming from the other end: a person, a show, a feeling.

I recently was given one of these vintage radios and thought I'd see if it still worked. Nothing seemed to bring in a signal until I found a piece of metal railing to attach the small clip. There it was all over again. That crackling. That sound.

I still find it amazing.

This decades old technology still works and even the dynamic of radio's appeal and purpose is still intact. That's the exciting part. No other medium can touch our imagination like radio. The real question lies in how we choose to use this electronic miracle.

I'll keep this plastic gem on my desk as a reminder.

The audience is waiting.