Earlier in the day Marty had come in with the ZBS (Zero Bull Shit) catalogue and plopped it down in front of me and said, “The Fourth Tower of Inverness!”
We’ve been planning a car trip, to be taken fairly soon, and the Fourth Tower of Inverness (we had some cassettes of it back in the 80s which wore out in the 80s) was a wonderful Jack Flanders radio series done in 1972 that is punch drunk with things like Ram Dass playing the Wurlitzer of Wisdoms…perfect material for a long drive through Texas.
So, I look it up and see they have the original series in mp3 download plus, it seems, a newer version (?) on CD. Must be a newer version because the original radio series is given as such whereas this other isn’t. I called Marty at the studio and said, “The radio version, right?” though I already knew what the answer would be, which is what I’d choose. “But they have it on CD,” he said. “Apparently not the same thing,” said I. “Original,” he said.
And then in walks H.o.p. who interrupts and says:
H.o.p.: Mom, what’s alchemy?
Mom: Where’d you hear about alchemy?
H.o.p.: I don’t know. What is it.
Mom: I’ll tell you as soon as I get off the phone.
So I got off the phone and downloaded The Fourth Tower of Inverness (took a little while) and tried to explain a little bit about alchemy to H.o.p.
H.o.p. has some radar.
I fired up the Fourth Tower of Inverness and we began to listen to the first episode, which begins thusly:
And now, kiddies, just like back in those days of yore, the whole family can once again huddle around that beautiful mahogany cabinet, slowly turn that great heavy dial, and stare blankly at the speaker as in your mind vague forms begin to shape themselves. Can you see the mad alchemist with the bent frame, Dr. Missoula…?
H.o.p. was hooked. We are now on episode 3.
Highly recommended!
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