Anyone else here listen to Prairie Home Companion on Saturday evenings?

[bvar22]

It is broadcast live every Sat evening at 5PM Central over an NPR Radio network,
or on Sirius/XM.

There is nothing that can replace A Prairie Home Companion after it is gone,
and Keillor, like me, is getting pretty old.
It is a shame that this art form will be gone forever.

If you miss the live broadcast, you can catch a Sunday Morning replay.
Check you NPR listings,
or tune to channel 122 at 11 AM on XM.

Tonight was the return to live broadcasts from the Fitzgerald Theater in St Paul.
Keillor opened with a hilarious song, "Putin on The Blitz" ,
of course sung to the tune of Puttin on the Ritz.

Prairie Home Companion is a Saturday ritual in our cabin in Arkansas.
We lived in St Paul before moving to The Woods in Arkansas.
We listen every Sat evening, and miss Minnesota.

Hi to all my friends in Minnesota.
You know who you are!
I haven't forgotten you.



So,
does anyone here listen to Prairie Home Companion?

[No Vested Interest]

1. I listen when I'm in the car when it's being broadcast.

That's often early Sunday afternoon, about 1p.m.
Some parts I like better than others.
I enjoy Lake Wobegon especially, not too crazy about Detective Noir.
Enjoy Garrison Keillor's songs, but not always the country-style guests.

I do hope Keillor stays around for a while - I'm getting older as well.
Another 10-15 years, it won't make any difference.

[Blue_Tires]

22. Guy Noir runs hot and cold

Some are great, and some are real WTF? -moments...

[IrishAyes]

2. I've always loved most things on NPR, but especially PHC.

In AZ I could pick up a station that made my Saturday nights complete; it would've taken Al Pacino to drag me away from the radio. First, two solid hours of PHC, followed by an hour of Thistle and Shamrock, and then another Irish music show which featured a lot of rebel songs. Anti-Brit. Like red meat to someone from my heritage.

After PHC does fade away someday, I hope they keep the archives available. I'd rather listen to Keillor reruns than new anything else. And he's such a Good Liberal!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I saw Garrison Keillor at a concert last weekend

and he did look older than I remembered, but I don't think he's going anywhere for awhile. I do love PHC; the monologues about Lake Wobegon crack me up. The first time I heard Keillor on the radio was waaaay back a long time ago before PHC when he was broadcasting from KSJN/KSJR, and one morning he played the Beach Boys' "Help Me, Rhonda" like 11 times, just because he liked it. And later, when PHC got going and he started talking about Norwegian bachelor farmers I totally cracked up because I had two great-uncles who were totally those guys! Norwegian bachelor farmers are real, and I'm related to a couple of them.

[Ptah]

6. I like the Beach Boys version of "Help Me, Ronda" much more.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Duh, did I say Beatles? Beach Boys, of course.

I'd just read a post about the Beatles and the name was stuck in my head.

[Jenoch]

4. You're lucky you aren't in St. Paul this winter.

Last week parking on the even side of all residential streets was banned until further notice.

I've never been much of a PHC listener, but I used to work in the 'CCO radio building and got to know Tim Russell, he's a great guy.

[bvar22]

9. I was watching you guys this Winter.

It has been a while, but
you guys got a "Minnesota Winter" this year.
Part of me was jealous.

Believe it or not,
I miss the stark beauty of the Minnesota Winter.
Starkraven & Myself lived on House Boats frozen in the Mississippi River
below the haunted, abandoned Power Plant in St Paul back in 2000 - 2003.
We loved it there.

20 below, sunlight so strong that it seems like lasers,
Frozen winter quiet that one has to experience to believe,
ice crystals floating in the air and refracting the Winter light,
Things I am grateful I had the opportunity to experience.
It is so breathtakingly beautiful it can kill you,
and WILL if one doesn't pay tribute and respect to the Gods of Winter.

[Jenoch]

12. A few years ago I had to spend about

six weeks in Arizona helping my father recover from heart surgery. The temperature did not reach 70° a single time while I was there. Then in March we had about ten 80°+ days. It was a winter without snow and an early spring. This winter reminds me of the severe winters we had when I was a kid.

[bvar22]

5. Its a Wednesday, Supper Time on a Februrary evening in Minneapolis.

The temperature is falling, and the snow has moved in from the West off of the Prairie.
The wind is picking up, and the snow is starting to fly.
The temperature continues to drop.

Lena and Ole are eating supper at the dining room table in their small Craftsman Cottage 3 blocks off Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.
In the background, the TV is tuned to the local Weather on WCCO, which announces that Minneapolis has just declared a Snow Emergency.

Ole grumbles and curses under his breath,
gets up from the table, supper 1/2 finished,
begins putting on His Snow Boots,
Snow Pants,
Wool Sweater,
Snow Parka,
gloves,
and heads for the front door.

Lena asks, "Ole, where da hell ya goin?' "

Ole responds:
"Ya jus heard the report on WCCO same as me.
Dey done declared a Snow Emergency,
and you got to park yur car on the odd numbered side of the street on Wednesdays during a Snow Emergency.
Its da LAW."

Lena says,
"Ole! Why doan ja jus leave the car in the damn garage?"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Love that one!

And you can't imagine how awful the streets are around here right now.

[bvar22]

13. Luckily, when I lived in St Paul, I could walk to work.

I can't imagine driving for any distance or commuting in Winter.

Did you ever go to Twin Cities Magic & Costume of 7th Street in St Paul?
They have moved to downtown St Paul,
but I worked there when they 2000 - 2003 when they were on W7th Street across from the Ice Rink.

Working there was a Magical Mystery Tour.
Best job I ever had.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. I visited the place when they were on W 7th. Interesting stuff,

must have been a fun place to work.

I have now retired and don't have to drive anywhere during the rush hour any more. And I have a garage. But it's been a real pain for people who have to park on the street and drive to work. But I also remember how this kind of weather was pretty normal, back in the '70s and '80s.

[handmade34]

7. since 1978!!

it was even better back then!! yes, there is no replacing Garrison Keillor...

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. Used to listen to it with my husband. Have a bunch of "Tales from Lake Wobegon" tapes.

Hurts too much to listen in anymore. But I loved it.

[grasswire]

15. I've gotten out of the habit.

But I must change that.

I've avoided it because Keillor always makes me cry with one sentimental thing or another. Memories of another time and place, or family long gone.

We used to always see him at Wolf Trap when I lived in Northern Virginia or D.C.

[bvar22]

16. Keillor can do that to me too.

He sings of HOME, unconditional acceptance, and a place by the fire.
I've never really experienced that in my personal life,
but I KNOW of that place, and that can bring the tears in me too.

It is a place that lives in all of us.

[grasswire]

17. you said it better than I did

ouch. ouch.

[MannyGoldstein]

18. Always!

It's great stuff, and thinking about Minnesota's winters and mosquitoes makes me feel better about Boston winters and summers, respectively.

We're very, very fortunate to have had this gem amidst the the ocean of schlock that fills the airwaves.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

19. It's a different sort of entertainment.

But it can be hilarious, and at times I'll be driving and listening to them, and think, "Did they just really say that???" lol They can get away with stuff on Prairie Home Companion that they can't elsewhere, and not by using expletives.

I like listening to them, and listening to Car Talk.

[Aerows]

20. I'll always

enjoy the music you make, because it comes from your soul.

[Enthusiast]

21. It isn't a regular thing with us.

But we enjoy it when we listen. High quality entertainment, very well done.

[Kali]

23. listening right now

I mostly listen to my local community station (KXCI in Tucson) but on Sunday mornings they do 5 hours of gospel (I don't mind a little, but 5 hours of religion is way too much for me and it pisses me off that they have more religion than locally produced news/social justice/or other under-served demographic programming) so I switch to the local NPR until noon or so on Sundays.

[LWolf]

24. Yes, but not regularly.

Still, I love Keillor, and am always glad I remembered to tune in when I catch him.

[marzipanni]

25. I like listening to Prairie Home Companion! It's usually on when I'm in the kitchen

but I would like to download fun things like that to listen to while falling asleep for the second time, when I have insomnia. We have an old iPod, but since it's old, it's full of music. I'd listen to some of these-

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/old-time-radio-mysteries/id182469811?mt=2

https://archive.org/details/radioprograms