It’s time to decide

I always thought it was crazy for people to pay to listen to the radio in their car, and I’m not talking about pledging to your local NPR station. I mean actually paying a subscription fee to turn on the radio and listen. I just couldn’t understand it. I figured it was a frivolous way to spend money (of course, this is coming from the same person who washes Ziploc freezer bags for reuse). After all, why fork out good money for something that’s free?

I totally get it now.

After spending the past 11 months with my free one-year subscription to Sirius radio, we are now receiving renewal notices in the mail with offers to continue the service. Of course, not a single offer includes the word ‘free.’

Driving to work this morning, I had to bring the hubby’s older truck — a vehicle that only offers AM and FM radio stations. It was the longest 10-minute drive I’ve taken in some time.

I have a very eclectic appreciation of music and the satellite radio service offers everything from Arias to contemporary jazZ. It also delivers a plethora of ‘talk’ radio options — sports, comedy, politics, medicine, religion... and my favorite, BBC World News.

It doesn’t matter how far I am from home. Whether I’m 90 or 1,090 miles away, I can just tap my pre-set channels and I’m listening to exactly what I want — and with perfect clarity. No crackling. No fading. No interference.

If there’s one thing that annoys me, it’s losing my radio signal in the middle of listening to a program as I put a bit of distance between my car and the transmitting tower.

It’s also such a challenge to find something to listen to when traveling out of state. Sure, when you’re near a city, you can generally find something to hone in on.

However, the further south you travel, the more prevalent country music and radio evangelists seem to be. Nothing against either genre, but neither one would be my first choice... or second... or third. It’s simply a case of different stroke for different folks. Right?

And that’s just fine as long as I renew my subscription to satellite radio.

So anyway...

We have a decision to make within the next several weeks. Can I go back to simply AM/FM radio? What to do... what to do...

Contact Dana King at dking@shawmedia.com