The KUER pledge drive got me again. It starts out the same every time. When the pledge drive starts, I grumble and groan. I tell myself I'm NOT going to call this time. I pledged last time, and that's good enough. I think about turning off the radio until the fund drive is over, but I can't. I'm addicted. I depend on public radio to make me feel connected and alive. I know this, and that's what opens the door for the glimmer of guilt. I listen right through the fund raising segments, feeling increasingly unsettled. I know I could save myself a few bucks by turning off the radio so I'm not tempted to call, but I just love listening. I can't stop, no matter how banal the banter gets, or how ridiculous the incentive gifts.
"For a pledge of just $200.00, we'll send you an NPR mug!" Yeah, a mug that says something so dorky, you won't want to be seen with it in public. "For a pledge of just one dollar a day, we'll plant a tree in your honor!" Or I could buy ten trees for the same $365.00 and plant them myself. In honor of NPR, of course. We would name the trees Lakshmi Singh, Renee Montaigne, Robert Seagull. Maybe even a Doug Fabrizio.
I listened all through the week until Saturday. It was Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me that finally broke me. I was in high spirits, having already caught the end of Car Talk, so I was an easy target for the fundraisers. My moment of clarity came sitting in my car during Golda's flute lesson. I'm not making this up. I was laughing out loud at Peter Sagal, and I threw my hands up in the air and shouted, "I love this! This is so FUNNY!" I looked around to see if anyone noticed the rabid NPR fan who hadn't made a pledge, having a "driveway moment." Nobody saw me, but I still knew what I had to do. If the people who shout about how much they love the programming don't call, who will? I picked up my phone and called 581-5837, just like my radio friends had been begging me to do all week. Darn them, they got me! And they did it by being so excellent, I had to admit how much I loved them. Thank you, NPR and KUER.
"For a pledge of just $200.00, we'll send you an NPR mug!" Yeah, a mug that says something so dorky, you won't want to be seen with it in public. "For a pledge of just one dollar a day, we'll plant a tree in your honor!" Or I could buy ten trees for the same $365.00 and plant them myself. In honor of NPR, of course. We would name the trees Lakshmi Singh, Renee Montaigne, Robert Seagull. Maybe even a Doug Fabrizio.
I listened all through the week until Saturday. It was Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me that finally broke me. I was in high spirits, having already caught the end of Car Talk, so I was an easy target for the fundraisers. My moment of clarity came sitting in my car during Golda's flute lesson. I'm not making this up. I was laughing out loud at Peter Sagal, and I threw my hands up in the air and shouted, "I love this! This is so FUNNY!" I looked around to see if anyone noticed the rabid NPR fan who hadn't made a pledge, having a "driveway moment." Nobody saw me, but I still knew what I had to do. If the people who shout about how much they love the programming don't call, who will? I picked up my phone and called 581-5837, just like my radio friends had been begging me to do all week. Darn them, they got me! And they did it by being so excellent, I had to admit how much I loved them. Thank you, NPR and KUER.
3 comments:
Now I'm feeling guilty - haven't been listening as much because of the guilt. I better call....I love all those programs - now you got me~!
Good for you! I love NPR but I'm very afraid to pledge because I think they will put my name in some data base that never forgets and continues to solicit donations forever!
I love that. Jay is a huge NPR fan too. I can listen occationally, but mostly it gets me anxious so I don't. I am evil right now. I haven't even been answering BYU's calls for donation....
Way to go charitable and talking to your self one!
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