Wednesday night, January 8th this year, I drive into Kingston around the time I usually go to bed.
Broadway is dark, cold, empty. I punch the code and let myself into Radio Kingston. No one at the front desk at this hour. I take off my coat, take a seat behind the board in the studio. I’ve done plenty of radio before, promoting music and whatnot, but this is the first time I’m hosting/engineering my own show.
I haven’t met Blake yet, he’s doing his show in the other studio, which is hermetically sealed, so I’m basically all alone. Manuel, who does a show during the day, has trained me. But that was over a month ago, and I’m sort of forgetting half of what he taught me.
There’s a computer screen that displays things like station breaks that will play when you’re not talking, but it looks all wrong.
Peter Aaron, who does the midnight show after mine, shows up early tonight and ducks in to try to help. I show him the screen.
“I’m a Luddite,” he apologizes. On his show he mostly spins vinyl. He can’t make sense of it either.
The clock is ticking, my show starts in fifteen minutes. I take some chances. First, I try muting the theme to a show that was previously in this spot. Seems to work. Next, I search the system for songs I’d planned to play, find most of them, click and drag them into position. This also seems to work.
11 o’clock hits. I try to remember what Manuel taught me. Go.
The fader on the far left controls your mic. You hit ON, the mic glows red, you ride the fader up quickly and start talking. Introduce the show, start reading the book.
Eyes crossing, it’s dim in here, forgot to turn the lights up, don’t have my reading glasses. Have to keep looking up at the clock without losing my place. Very weird, you’re all alone in this little room, but it’s going out on the air, no idea who’s listening.
There are 18 other faders, some of them control music and station breaks. Ida, who hosts an afternoon show, taught me a trick. There’s a tiny button hidden among dozens of others that says Play Next. If you’ve programmed the computer correctly, just hit this button, you shouldn’t have to figure out what other faders to use.
Magically, it works. Over the course of the hour, I read the first two chapters of Kingston 76, play four songs, talk a little. Then it’s done. Switch the board to the other studio. Make sure mic is turned off. Kind of can’t believe it just happened.
The time of night, the dark, the cold, the wind, Broadway itself. It all adds to the surreality.
For the next fifteen weeks I will do this every Wednesday night. I get more comfortable running the board, with reading. Broadway gets a little less eerie as temperatures rise above arctic. Besides one shuffling guy asking me to buy him a beer, no one messes with me. The drive home seems safer and less desolate.
It’s Spring. The series has run its course and all episodes have been archived. You don’t have to stay up until midnight on a school night to hear them.
Link below, followed by brief descriptions of each episode. Listen if you like, it’s free. Hope you like it!
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https://radiokingston.org/en/archive/filter/kingston-76
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Episode 1 - Aired: 1/8/25
Chapter One:
We meet Timothy when he ties his sheets together and climbs out his bedroom window. Later that night, his mom and her new partner, Cathryn, host a women's support group in their living room.
Chapter Two:
Timothy is late for school because he sneaks into an apartment building on his street and winds up running to the store for the neighborhood prostitute.
Music:
Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain & Tennille
Lady Marmalade - LaBelle
Take the Money and Run - Steve Miller Band
Love is Alive - Gary Wright
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Episode 2 - Aired: 1/15/25
Chapter Three:
While playing baseball behind the Green Apartment Building, Timothy finds a meat cleaver, then splits when neighborhood friends make disparaging comments about a guy who lives in the building. At dinner he tells his mom and Cathryn about his Bicentennial assignment at school.
Chapter Four:
Timothy sneaks a cigarette then meets Ken who's outside testing Tannery Brook for toxins. Timothy goes into Ken's apartment and begins to learn that the pollutants in the brook might be connected to the city's biggest employer, International Photocopy Machines.
Music:
Jive Talkin' - Bee Gees
Sister Golden Hair - America
Laughter in the Rain - Neil Sedaka
Different Drum - Linda Ronstadt
You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees
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Episode 3 - Aired: 1/22/25
Chapter Five:
Timothy does research at G.W. Elementary library to learn how to sharpen the meat cleaver he found behind the Green Apartment Building. Separately, the newspaper reports that Ken up the street, who Timothy just met, has been assaulted and hospitalized.
Chapter Six:
We learn that Ken has succumbed to his injuries. Timothy, believing Ken's investigation into pollutants in the brook is connected with his murder, resolves to continue the investigation himself.
Music:
Killer Queen - Queen
Love Hurts - Nazareth
Dream On - Aerosmith
Take It to the Limit - Eagles
I Write the Songs - Barry Manilow
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Episode 4 - Aired: 1/29/25
Chapter Seven:
Timothy converts his bedroom into a crime lab, begins his investigation with a bike ride to the quarry, and does an initial water test proving that the stream contains unspecified toxins.
Chapter Eight:
Timothy drops film off for the first time at FotoMat, then meets an older boy who comes to his protection, Charles Lambeau, Jr.
Music:
Low Rider - War
Black Water - Doobie Brothers
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
Give Up the Funk - Parliament
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Episode 5 - Aired: 2/5/25
Chapter Nine:
Timothy assembles the elements of his investigation and concludes he'll need help to go forward.
Chapter Ten:
Timothy heads to Hilltop Meadows to enlist Charles' aid. Charles and Timothy then have their first official meeting at Dietz Diner where they begin to hatch a plan.
Music:
Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac
Taking Care of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
The Boys Are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy
Show Me the Way - Peter Frampton
Bonus:
“The Polly Seed Man,” a short story by my mom, Sandy Snyder
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Episode 6 - Aired: 2/12/25
Chapter Eleven:
Timothy sticks around for self-defense night in his living room. In the J. Watson Bailey science lab, he and Charles prove which chemicals are in the water.
Chapter Twelve:
Timothy starts working on his Bicentennial report then gets to use the photocopier in his mom's office.
Music:
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
Silly Love Songs - Wings
Bad Blood - Neil Sedaka
Some Kind of Wonderful - Grand Funk Railroad
You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls
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Episode 7 - Aired: 2/19/25
Chapter Thirteen:
Timothy, Charles, and Dwayne explore the quarry on minibikes to document where the toxic chemicals are being dumped.
Chapter Fourteen:
Timothy and Charles go to the Kingston Library on Broadway and find further evidence connecting the chemicals to IPM.
Music:
Why Can't We Be Friends? - War
I Wish - Stevie Wonder
Walk This Way - Aerosmith
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Episode 8 - Aired: 2/26/25
Chapter Fifteen:
Timothy deals with a noncooperative FotoMat manager. The Daily Freeman reports that IPM plans to expand, also that Luke Grafton will be transferred to a state prison the following morning.
Chapter Sixteen:
Using a forged late pass, Timothy skips school and tries to intercept Luke Grafton before he's transferred to Coxsackie.
Music:
Ballroom Blitz - Sweet
Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Jackie Blue - The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Smokin' in the Boys' Room - Brownsville Station
Still the One - Orleans
Bonus:
Genuine 1970s Tuna Noodle Casserole Recipe
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Episode 9 - Aired: 3/5/25
Chapter Seventeen:
Clock ticking, Timothy agrees the investigation must wrap up soon. He joins Charles and his mom for supper at their house in Hilltop Meadows.
Chapter Eighteen:
Neighbor Mr. O'Connor heads out in his big rig. Later, Timothy and his mom confront each other about the changes in their household.
Music:
Cowboy Song - Thin Lizzy
Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John
Convoy - C.W.McCall
Night Moves - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
Junior's Farm - Paul McCartney and Wings
Bonus:
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
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Episode 10 - Aired: 3/12/25
Chapter Nineteen:
Timothy and Charles investigate the Oriole Tavern, then Timothy visits Lynda to try to learn more about Luke Grafton's brother, Kurt.
Chapter Twenty:
Timothy and Charles do a stake out at Kurt Grafton's place and begin gathering information about him.
Music:
Nights on Broadway - The Bee Gees
You're No Good - Linda Ronstadt
Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy
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Episode 11 - Aired: 3/19/25
Chapter Twenty-one:
Timothy reads his Bicentennial project in front of his class. He forms a deeper connection with Cathryn when they go out for ice cream afterward.
Chapter Twenty-two:
Timothy and Charles trace Grafton to the pizzeria where he works. They observe that he is dangerous and did pull a job connected to IPM.
Music:
Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John
Let'm In - Paul McCartney and Wings
Barracuda - Heart
I'm Your Boogie Man - K.C. and the Sunshine Band
Bonus:
“What Do We Plant?” by Kingston poet Henry Abbey
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Episode 12 - Aired: 3/26/25
Chapter Twenty-three:
Timothy sees an opportunity to help Lynda by connecting her with Group.
Chapter Twenty-four:
Timothy and Charles do a stake out at a storage facility. Afterwards, Charles comes to Timothy's house for the first time.
Music:
Lonely People - America
You Are the Woman - Firefall
Rock'n Me - Steve Miller Band
You're My Best Friend - Queen
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Episode 13 - Aired: 4/2/25
Chapter Twenty-five:
A climactic confrontation, a chase scene! Can't say more without giving it away. This is the longest chapter of the novel, which is why there's only one this week. Back to two chapters next week…
Music:
Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas
Walk This Way - Aerosmith
The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace
Hotel California - Eagles
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Episode 14 - Aired: 4/9/25
Chapter Twenty-six:
Timothy and Charles present their case to the Police Chief, the Mayor, and the head of IPM.
Chapter Twenty-seven:
As the school year draws to a close, Timothy wonders if anything will come of the case. The school librarian reads aloud The Story of the Thunderbird.
Music:
Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller Band
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
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Episode 15 - Aired: 4/16/25
Chapter Twenty-eight:
Timothy and his family head out to the big ceremony at IPM.
In Chapter Twenty-nine:
Timothy’s mom and Cathryn throw a party of their own to celebrate Timothy and Charles' achievement.
Music:
Give a Little Bit - Supertramp
Golden Years - David Bowie
Everyday People - Sly and the Family Stone
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CLICK HERE for Kingston 76 book…