1 Boring Old Man

There’s an enormous amount of buzz on the Internet about the callousness of Rush Limbaugh’s attack on Michael J. Fox. I liked the one by James Boyce, Rush Limbaugh: Winner Of The 2006 Swift Boat Asshole In Action Award. Limbaugh responded to Fox’s political commercials with the charge that Fox either stopped his medication or was acting in the commercials. My reaction to Limbaugh was a little different from most of the commenters – it felt "retro." It reminded me of the "Talking Points" from Bush’s first term, back before people were on to them. It used to amaze me how there was some contemptuous, disdainful story that explained away almost anything that happened that was adverse to the Administration on the streets in less than 24 hours. I didn’t know how it got out there so fast. I guess I didn’t realize how many people listened to talk radio back then. 

The other day, I was looking into something in our community, and found myself inside of a building in the woods, a tee shirt printing shop that appeared to print shirts for Christian Church groups. There were two employees, nice people who were helpful. Besides the printing equipment, there was an older Windows 98 computer, and a radio, tuned to Rush Limbaugh.

It reminded me of a few years ago. I went for a week to a folk school to take a blacksmithing course. It was as it should have been. No T.V. No computers. People making baskets and spinning yarn – playing hammer dulcimers. I stayed in an old "rock house." My roommate was an elderly man with a cane who was in a basketry class. When we were moving into the room, he set up a radio and turned on Rush Limbaugh which he played every morning. He was a kind old guy, and I could stop the radio by feigning sleep. But if I got up, on it came. I never asked him to turn it off. I guess I thought it was sort of his "Teddy Bear" and he’d earned the right by living into his 80’s and being still able to walk and talk. But I thought it was odd.