Holland Tunnel

Waiting to get through the tunnel into Manhattan, I scan the AM radiowaves for encouraging news:

“That part of us which lusts after that which is forbidden! That part of us whose core is the essence of selfishness! What is a predator? Well, let’s get a definition from the dictionary. The American Heritage College Dictionary says that a predator is – and I quote! – ‘an organism that lives by preying on other organisms. One that victimizes, plunders, or destroys, especially for one’s own gain.’” 

“Notice that the primary characteristic of a predator is that it preys on other organisms. Well, what does the predator within prey on? What do our carnal natures prey on? What is it? Well, the carnal nature preys on our spiritual natures. Are you listening to me?”

“Every human being has two natures. God created us with a spiritual nature, but as a result of Adam’s sin we also received a carnal nature. Now the Christian recognizes this very well because the spiritual nature in the Christian has been resurrected. It has been revitalized and-”

Turn the dial.

“-we’ve seen that just disappear! Cash! Everything! The margins of safety for our country’s families are based on how much money they make and how much money they spend. That’s it. And if you have debt, you can’t adjust that quick enough for the harsh economic times that are coming. We’re going into the worst recession in our country’s history. So to answer the question, it’s not about building wealth anymore, it’s-”

Flipping past Chinese opera, I land on a blues guitar strumming across a cheering crowd. “How’s everybody doin’ tonight?”

* * * 

Here’s my cellphone recording of the radio, in case you’d like to hear the preacher rage, the economist whine, and Chinese opera lady sing.