American Radio On Okinawa

Nefredia and Murphy Figuring Out My Car Radio

by Pa Rock
Cultural Explorer


There are two American radio stations on Okinawa, both run, more or less, by the military.  The FM station has a playlist of about ten songs, mostly hard rock from the eighties along with a couple of rap selections, and one or two sad country songs.  And while the country songs are awfully pitiful, they are not nearly as sad as the radio station itself:  WAVE 89.

I had heard that the other station was more intelligent - an AM outlet that is basically rebroadcasts of NPR programs in the morning and talk radio reruns in the afternoon.  My house radio wouldn't pick that station up for some unknown reason - it just screeches, and my car radio wasn't working because I couldn't figure out how to operate it.  This weekend while we were on our trip up-island, Nefredia tackled the car radio and got it to working.  It is now set on the AM station and I don't mess with any of the controls except the volume.

It is good to hear NPR again, but the talk radio is another matter.  Today as I went to lunch I was disgusted to hear Sean Hannity on the air.  That jerk is really a trash-mouth!   I finally had to turn the sound completely off as he was preparing to introduce Christine O'Donnell - the Delaware politician who recently told Delaware Republican officials that she has Sean Hannity in her "back pocket."  That got to be a tight fit!  Tonight on the ride home I was treated to Ed Schultz's show.  He is as left as Hannity is right - only much funnier!  Limbaugh's show is also featured sometime in the afternoon, but, Praise Allah, I managed to miss that Missouri pork chop!