Adjusting

In the mid 1950’s, the local radio station, owned and operated by the government, was on the air for only a couple of hours at noontime and for three hours at night. It carried local newscasts in both English and Spanish and occasional BBC rebroadcasts. A momentous addition to our life in Belize was the arrival of the shortwave radio Bucher had ordered.

The first evening we had the shortwave, Bucher tuned in to Armed Forces Radio clearly. It was a strange and welcome sensation to hear a newscast cover world events almost as they were happening.

The morning after the arrival of the radio, I turned it on when Bucher and I settled down with our first cup of coffee. To our horror, a record show blared forth. Although we both leaped at the offending device as if it were a raging beast to be captured and tamed, turning the volume down instantly, we were sure we had blasted our unsuspecting neighbors out of their beds at an unseemly 5:00 am.