Before the Internet the Sony World 12-Band Radio was my only connection to the West from Biak, Irian Jaya to Tibet.
Primarily the BBC.
Big Ben’s bongs sounding the hour and then the soothing voice announcing, “This is the BBC. The time is 12pm Greenwich Mean Time.”
Plus listening to the music of the world beyond the unlit horizons.
Now all the radio’s dials are digital. No more fine tuning as if your fingers were cracking a safe’s combination. No freedom to fiddle in Rome, Timbuktoo, or distant stations across the globe. Just what digital gives you.
No surprises.
I left my radio with my Bali house keeper, Nyomon.
He loved me for it.
Long ago in Ubud, I once lived and listened through the night to the news of the world.
So far away.
Same as today from Ubud.
That young man is now in his 50s.
selamanya muda or Forever young.
