MAGIC IN THE SKY

We humans seem to have a trait that forever embeds in our memories significant “firsts.” First day of school, first date, first car, just to name a few.

Now I have a friend, a real estate broker, who wryly told me there are times when it pays to be second. I asked, “for instance?” She shot back, “Second mouse, second wife, second real estate agent.”

This being a magazine devoted to our magnificent hobby, I’ll shift back to firsts and have you recall the thrills of your first encounter with the existence of radio, your first successful experience passing a license exam, your first two-way contact and after that, you can fill in the blanks on those significant “firsts” of your own, such as awards, new (to you) operating modes, your first experience operating a “dream” radio and so on. Each significant recollection should raise a smile, as these and more are what has been the crux of this column for so many and it is really an indescribable, unquantifiable force, perhaps similar to dark matter, that first attracts us, then keeps us engaged and fascinated by this medium we call “radio.”