Laughing Aloud

After walking this morning I calmly got in my car, started the engine, turned on the radio and prepared to listen to my "girlfriends" on the way home. Then, in an instant, my world changed!
Kathy and Judy were anouncing that today -- TODAY -- was their last show!

The cleverly named "Kathy and Judy" show has been a fixture on WGN radio for 20 years. They are two women my age who rather accidentally ended up on talk radio and developed a unique, sometimes serious, but often hysterically funny call-in show. Everyone who listened to their show was a "girlfriend" - including a significant number of "guy girlfriends". When a topic was touchy and callers didn't want to be identified they were always "Ronda" or "Vince".

Wednesdays were "Speak Your Piece": People would call in and briefly state what significant or insignificant but annoying thing was bugging them. Thursdays from 11:00-11:30 was "Sex Thursday" when they would warn all the moms to get their kids away from the radio while they discussed - you guessed it - sex. Late in August was always the "Saying Goodbye" show when they would play a totally sappy song about kids growing up and parents would call in - usually crying - to tell what it was like to take their son or daughter to college. Then, of course, in December was the reading of "Merry Medical Christmas" -- actual Christmas newsletters that explained in painful detail about someone's surgery, abdominal distress, or oozing inflammations.

I haven't listened to Kathy and Judy every day. For most of their tenure I was working and would only catch them in the summer or on a vacation day. I don't think I've ever listened to an entire show. Since "retirement" I've heard them most days, but usually only for a short time in the car.

So why am I in shock over this? Why do I feel like life as I knew it is over? Because they made me laugh! Without absurd adolescents doing ridiculous things that we could laugh about in the teachers' lounge and without little kids of my own doing totally funny things that would make me laugh aloud, I've so appreciated the times I've unexpectedly laughed aloud while listening.

What a wonderful thing - laughing aloud! It's only a radio program....but I will miss it!