Radiordinary

I'd been thinking about purchasing an I-Home, or maybe a Squeezebox, or even new computer speakers. I couldn't decide. I got confused about "audio streaming," and "uncompressed formats" and "compressed formats" and "transcoded formats." What I really wanted was to catch my radio show in the kitchen, where there's no radio.

I found the perfect technological solution. I reached for the am/fm radio that was my husband's in high school. I love the look of it: chrome and a friendly slider antennae and sturdy knobs. When you twist the "on" knob, you can feel the pleasant resistance as it turns until making a satisfying click. This solid little piece of engineering is thirty-something years old.

And Thistle and Shamrock sounded as merry and airy and balladful as ever.

What ordinary, perhaps old-fashioned object in your possession still serves you? Write about it.