Mike Matson

Chapter 23 September 16, 1978   An excerpt from Courtesy Boy: A True Story of Addiction The second hand swept north, bound for the 12 at the top. The song was fading fast, and Mitch Burns was ad-libbing a promo about a weekend bake sale, benefitting the St. Olaf Choir. “...the premier a capella  choir in the nation. Mutual News is next. Clear skies, sixty-seven degrees at ten o’clock on K-Y-M-N, Northfield.” To be officially and formally identified, the call letters needed to

The staircase steps were small and closely spaced on purpose, designed for children. Taking them one at a time felt like a lot of work without much visible progress. Two or more at a time was just as uncomfortable.   The comfortable balance was never found.   The broadcasting operations owned by what was then Stauffer Communications (one TV station, two radio stations, and three radio networks) were housed in a building that started life as a schoolhouse for Security Benefit

Social media post: “ Deadline for my next newspaper column is 24 hours away, and I’ve not a clue about what to write. Crowdsourcing ideas.”   A welder from Abilene: “The weather.”   Public radio station manager in northern California: “Writers block.”   Education advocate: “The mess that is college athletics.”   Fellow author: “If I had an idea, I would write about it. A weekly column is torture.” (Mine’s only twice a month, so maybe not torture. What comes right before water