"The Deadly Process" - CBS Radio Mystery Theater - July 22, 1974

Plot:  In order to save his job and further his career, an unskilled engineer pilfers the secret to a revolutionary process from an old friend. Now he must lie, cheat and bribe his way through life in a desperate bid to keep his new-found status.

Today is the 122nd birthday of the writer Ernest Hemingway.  Nobel Prize winner, war correspondent, sustained a shrapnel injury, was in two plane crashes (2 days apart),  four wives, three children, notorious drinker, the subject of multiple postage stamps around the world and wrote 19 books and 3 plays. That’s a lot of life. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

"The Philadelphia Story" - Victory Theater - July 20, 1942

The stars of the film appeared in a one-hour radio adaptation on the premiere episode of the War Office's special Victory Theater summer series. This episode was specially produced by Lux Radio Theatre volunteer personnel as their donation to the Victory Theater series, and it aired under government, not Lux, sponsorship.

Today marks the 186th birthday of the artist Edgar Degas. We all recognize his work if not for the subject matter, then for the muted color palate. The world is a better place he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

Thirty-six years ago today, the film The Legend of Billie Jean premiered. This mid-80s movie has a great cast, a great soundtrack, the classic underdog-fights-back plot, and a Honda Elite Scooter that plays such a prominent roll, it should be listed as a cast member. You have to see this movie.

Song:  Pat Benatar - "Invincible"

"The Swing Years and Beyond" January 19,2008 (partial episode)

The Swing Years and Beyond was a radio program on KUOW, an NPR station from Seattle. It began in 1968 and was hosted by then-KUOW program Director Don Wirtz before he handed the reins to Bill Snoopy who became the first to hold the position long term. In 1979 Cynthia Doyon took over the hosting duties, and in 2003 Amanda Wilde hosted until the last show on February 25, 2017.

There is a generation of Seattle residents that spent at least some of their Saturday nights listening to a thoughtfully curated playlist of music from the 1920s to the 1950s. I was able to connect with Amanda Wilde and offered to make one of her shows available for fans to download. Then, my scouring of the internet turned up two other shows available and have added them here.

Today is the 154th birthday of the larger-than-life Molly Brown. If Thelma Ritter, Tammy Grimes, Debbie Reynolds, Cloris Leachman and Kathy Bates play you in a film, you have won at life. Watch the Debbie Reynolds film, I am not sure how accurate it is, but it is a lot of fun. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

Today is the 84th birthday of the man that once said:  “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”:  Hunter S. Thompson.  The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

Today is the 100th birthday of the astronaut and senator John Glenn. An American hero that devoted his life to service. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

"The Dream Woman" - CBS Radio Mystery Theater - July 18, 1974

Plot:  Convinced that a woman he met at the local bar is his soul mate, a man abandons his faithful and loyal wife in order to pursue her. He is soon plagued by visions of his death at his new lover's hands.