I was chugging along the Long Island Expressway today at a glorious 12-15 mph, when a man zipped by me in the right-hand lane. (Yes, on a bumper-to-bumper LIE, the right-hand lane is the fast lane, but oh, watch out for those disappearing lanes and merging vehicles.)
The man in question was middle-aged, with ginger hair and freckles from here to Tipperary, and he was blasting a lovely tune, and jammin’ away, dancing and singing loudly. “Got to admit, it’s getting bettah, it’s a little bettah, all the time. It can’t get no worse!”
Ahh, I thought, the Be-atles, as Ed Sullivan would say. I loves me some Beatles (as Ed Sullivan would not say.) I turned off my beloved Hugh Hamilton to hear my only-slightly-more-beloved Beatles (sorry Hugh, truly–you’re just a millisecond behind, really.)
And I basked a moment. Then the man jutted ahead, and I popped Hugh’s “Talkback Live” back on, WBAI (Pacifica Radio NYC). He was, as he always is, balanced and fair (note, I did not say fair and balanced), and he was tempering some over-zealous caller’s unsupported rant, with decorum, style, grace, intelligence, and that damned fine Guyanese accent.
If you don’t know Hugh Hamilton, you should. He does the best radio call-in show ever, and he’s progressive, but never lets things get cheap or sleazy or stupid. Unlike some.
A little later, the right lane slowed, and the happy singing freckled man returned to my side. And he was still singing, but this time it was “Band on the Run.” And I realized, with some dismay, that he was not listening to the Beatles at all. It was Paul McCartney and Wings. It was a concert and the road was loud, so it is not surprising that the former song sounded right.
What a disappointment, freckle-man.
I smiled again, but this time the smug smile of a true Beatles fan. I cranked Hugh up as he threw down another crazy caller, propped up another wise one, and kept everything just so.
I hope to blog more frequently soon, as Hugh says when he signs off every day, “The Good Lord Willin’, and the creek don’ rise.”
5 comments ↓
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oh the Hugh. I do miss him. But I do have some issues with the man: he stayed all neutral during the xmas cue… taking over talkback for the terrible Utrice Leid….. you’re right, its a great accent… and I dont know why he does it, but I love when he says “good lord willing, and the great (pause) dawn rise.”
I assumed it’s “The Good Lord Willing, and the Creek Don’t Rise”–meaning, I’ll be back tomorrow in’ch’a Allah, and assuming a flooded creek doesn’t keep me from getting there.
I can see where his neutrality would become frustrated. When was that anyway?
I love-a da Beatles too.
He’s actually saying “…the good lord willing, and the creek don’t rise.”
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