Me? On CBC?

“TURN ON THE RADIO!!!”

It was early Saturday morning. I had already been out for my early grocery shopping outing and was on the couch with my tea barely registering what they were discussing on the TV news. The house was asleep and I was enjoying the peace and tranquility of the early morning before everyone was up. But it wouldn’t last.

“TURN ON THE RADIO!!!”

A door being ripped off its hinges; a thunderous stampede up the stairs sure to break the support beams within; panicked commands to TURN ON THE RADIO - it was enough to wake anyone from a tea-induced stupor!

I usually have the radio tuned in to the weekend show ‘North by Northwest’ on CBC Radio One with Sheryl MacKay, but that morning I didn’t. I should have.

So when the half-naked man charged up the stairs, complete with bed-head and sleep-swollen eyes, and barreled through the house screaming to turn on the radio, I knew better than to ignore him. I raced over but the half-naked man had beaten me to it and was already bent over the radio that resides on a table near the floor.

CBC Radio One hosted a writing contest – enter 300 words about an epiphany that changed your life course, what happened and how you turned your life around – and I had entered. My piece, ‘Sticks and Stones,’ was about how being called a name, at age 34 no less, changed me. As the Jan 27th deadline was a while away at the time I entered, I put the whole thing to the back of my mind. Knowing that all of British Columbia would likely be entering the contest, I figured my piece would just be one of thousands lost in a pile. I was proud of myself for at least entering the contest in the first place.

But that morning they were picking stories at random to read on the air – the ONE Saturday morning I didn’t have the radio on. The contest hadn’t closed yet, so the reading didn’t mean I had won. I later remembered thinking as I entered the contest, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if they read my story on air and my husband (who listens to the soothing voice of Sheryl MacKay in the mornings as he lies in bed) heard it on the radio?’

It turned out to be funny alright. The excitement was enough to wake the....well...to wake an un-impressed 17-year-old boy from his beauty sleep.

With the radio on we listened to Sheryl MacKay recite the words I wrote. I had only missed the first few sentences during the broadcast – that’s how fast my husband bolted out of bed and up the stairs. She my piece perfectly, making what I wrote sound better than I remembered. At the end she recited my name once again, and moved on to the next entrant’s work.

We stood there gushing, oohing and ahhing over the whole thing. The half-naked man didn’t know I had entered, so through giggles of excitement and tears of laughter and surprise, I explained. He was most impressed – what a supportive guy. He said he was half-asleep listening to Sheryl’s smooth voice (he likes her voice) when suddenly my name was read on air. ‘That name sounds kinda familiar’ he sleepily thought, and then REALLY woke up when he realized what was going on!

The joy and excitement settled down, the supportive half-naked man congratulated me, gave me a hug, and toddled back downstairs to jump in the shower. ‘After all that, I’m awake now!’ he announced without bitter resentment from being woken from his sleepy state. I was lucky.

I stood by the radio wanting to savour the moment of having heard my work read on the air. It was only after Brian Dance started with the news that I realized – my half-naked husband and I had been standing by an open window the whole time.

I learned a few things that exciting morning. Always listen to CBC during the weekend mornings and always leave the drapes closed. You never know what may happen.

CBC Radio Victoria Open House

CBC Radio Victoria has a new home in Victoria, BC, and they are having an open house – be sure to visit!
Friday January 25, 2013
780 Kings Road (the parking lot entrance at the back of the CHEK building)
6:00 AM to 6:00 PM

(authors note: I have permission from the half-naked man to air his adventures.)
(at the time of this writing, the CBC writing contest is still on, deadline January 27, 2013 - be sure to get writing!)