Radio

This Sunday I will have known Eric for 17 years. It seems like a heartbeat to me.

I don't know how many times -- most often in the car, and particularly on longer road trips -- I've asked Eric to explain how radio works.

He always explains it, and I always find it interesting, and then I promptly forget. So (from my end, anyway) the "how does radio work?" conversation is always fascinating.

There's something about the difference between the FM waves and the AM waves. And there's something about tunnels and something about clouds. There's a gesture he does with his hand (leaving one hand on the steering wheel) that simulates the motions of either the FM waves or the AM waves (I can't remember which).

While I can't remember how radio works, I can picture driving across many valleys, with crops on either side of the road, while Eric explains it to me.

This morning, driving to work, I asked Eric about a funny looking bump on the top of a car. He explained that it was a satellite radio antennae, and that satellite radio will be standard equipment on new cars five years from now.

I thought, "Five years from now? Will I be alive five years from now?"

(But I know that no one knows the answer to that question -- for me, or anybody else.)