christmas on the air

When I was a radio journalist, I volunteered to work during the holidays. It allowed coworkers to spend time with their families. That brings me to one Christmas Day in a small Saskatchewan town. I was the Jewish radio news reader. The deejay was Jehovah’s Witness. He spun all Christmas music of course but he never once mentioned the holiday. Not one word of “Christmas” all day, even if it was part of a song title. Just time checks and weather. Then the news sting would play, and I boomed “Merry Christmas, here’s what’s happening!” No local news to speak of, just updates from Bethlehem, holiday fluff wire copy, and messages from the Pope and the Queen. For four minutes at the top of each hour, it was Christmas on Christmas day.