Saturday Morning, May 23, 2026
Oh Honey, You Turn Me On...
He lifted up and turned the gift-wrapped package over and over in his hands. A light finger tap revealed nothing. Feeling the weight hinted not a clue. The contents, a mystery. He could always guess presents. It was nothing he had asked for this birthday. Way too small for a baseball glove. He smiled. Way too big for a Mickey Mouse wrist watch.
Original MTV staff jacket. These tidbits of rock history arrive to us from an estate in which this person entered MTV on the ground floor. She was an active participant at Brown Bros. on weekends, as consistent as all of you.
His grandparents watched him, expressionless. Their specialty. He tossed the package up and caught it coming down. No reaction. They, forever lecturing him for throwing things around the house. Silence.
MTV t-shirt front and reverse.
Why don't you open it? asked his grandmother. He tugged off the ribbon and tore the overlapping paper apart. A plain box revealed. Slipping his fingernail under the lid, he lifted the flap. He stopped. He couldn't believe his eyes. Never, ever did he expect a gift like this. Nothing in his grandparents house indicated they even knew another world existed. After breakfast, they set the table for dinner. Who does that? Here, he would expect a telegraph key, but this?
He pulled out a red plastic transistor radio. A simple front grill hid a speaker within. Two knobs. One with numbers starting at 560. The other labeled Volume. He felt for the switch then slid it on. Loud static filled the room. He turned the knob until he reached a station. There weren't many. A magical moment. Sound. Voices from far-away places. Thank you. The words stumbled. A radio. My radio. His life changed as did the world once again. One gigantic Nantucket sleigh ride.
On MTV's thirtieth anniversary, the company released this CD featuring the first hour of MTV"s first show.
The Lines are Open
In the pioneer 1950's, the world sat on a threshold of incredible change. Music, science, opportunity, all shifting into high gear. Within several years unaffordable component stereo systems were reduced in price so much, every teenager could buy one. In arrived Rock n' Roll available on FM radio. Stations so young, to fill the airwaves, DJ's played entire record albums. The only static one could find was on AM. The world itself would never be.
Superman, number 156, features Superman suffering from a killer virus strain, decades ahead in Kryptonite years.
Danbury Mint Class of 2020 Hall of Fame - Derek Jeter
Eight tract cartridges led to thin tape cassettes. Estes rockets led to a man on the moon. Commercial flight changed from prop planes to jets. Computers advanced everything. Though there were wars and conflicts, even these added much. The medical helicopter perfected in Vietnam would revolutionize medical care in the states. Lee Harvey Oswald's death lay the foundation for intravenous saline injection to stabilize patients at the time of trauma. This scientific breakthrough, although ironic, was invented by the Dallas doctors at Parkland Hospital. But on that day, November 24, 1963, the treatment was not yet known. Had Oswald been afforded this treatment, chances were strong he would have survived. That would have really changed the world. Truth does that.
Land of the Lotus Eaters
All of these advancements have created a new world. Homes with three or four bathrooms are commonplace. Late model cars available each year for a signature. Movies with a push of a button. Food stores stocked with almost anything one desires. And delivery to one's home for goods made anywhere in the world, within hours. Fresh Maine lobster in Denver. Oysters out of the Chesapeake Bay in Chicago. The Romans thought their aqueducts were engineering marvels, ice from the Alps an extravagance. We just open our freezer door, or better, slip our glass under the door dispenser.
1990 Playboy needs no introduction.
These arenas have no limits. So much extravagance, it leads to First World problems. Which designer handbag do I want? Ones starting at $1,000.00 a piece. Or upset if our luggage is lost on flight. This, more of a rarity, as bar codes track every suitcase in every airport. And so, we indulge. The key is never taking our world for granted, forever being respectful of our gains. Because even in this world of grandeur, even today, at midnight it can all still turn back into a pumpkin.
Doors open at 8 AM. Auction starts at 9 AM.
Be mindful for the reason we can enjoy Memorial Day. Our cemeteries a constant reminder of the cost. [bb]