This one goes out to the one I love...

There are few things in this world I enjoy more than listening to the radio. I think it dates back to when I was in junior high and although I had to be in bed by a certain time, my parents couldn't stop me from listening to the "Top Ten @ 10" on my town's local Top 40 station. The cool thing to do back then was call in and request songs, which of course I did from the landline next to my bed since this was before everyone had cellular telephones and the Interweb. A couple years later when I entered high school and developed a crush on a particular boy, I would lie in bed night after night calling in to request the same song:

"F.M. 97, you're caller #4, what do you want to hear?!"

"Hi! I'd like to dedicate a song."

"Oh. Hi Jess. 'Love of a Lifetime' by Firehouse?"

"Yup. Going out to Tim from Jess."

"Yeah. I know. I will see if I can get it on for you."

It was all so fabulously pointless. If I had thought things through, I would have realized the chances of him ever hearing one of my pathetic little dedications were slim to none considering he was totally punk-rock and would've rather driven nails through his head than listen to a Top 40 station.

Fast forward...my tastes have changed a little. I'm mostly a 'talk radio' gal now and while I love tuning in to hear 'Car Talk' and 'This American Life', as well as the nut jobs that are on 'Coast to Coast A.M.' every night, I also have a soft spot for the simplicity and purity that is 'Delilah after Dark'. You can find her on your local soft-rock radio station from 7 until mid-night, fielding calls from trailer parks all across this great country. She listens to peoples' happy, sad, tragic and inspiring stories then offers some gentle wisdom while choosing the perfect easy-listening song to play for their situation. Finding the right song is not something to be taken lightly, nor is it always an easy task, yet Delilah makes it seem effortless. It's evident she takes her job as the self-appointed "Queen of sappy love songs" very seriously. If you listen often enough, you can start to guess what song she is going to play, depending on the story from the caller. (I feel like there is potential for a drinking game here...) For example: whenever anyone calls to dedicate a song to their kid, it is almost guaranteed she will throw a little 'Baby, Baby' by Amy Grant up on the turntable, at which point I will get pissed off and change the station because that song makes me want to kill people. But I digress...

As much as I enjoy making fun of this particular radio show, I have also found myself balling my eyes out on the drive home because of an especially tender love story, or one I can identify with for one reason or another. I'm currently sorting through some feelings about various people in my life and I'm not gonna lie--there is a part of me that wants to give Delilah a ring, spill my guts and see what gem she comes up with for me...