More Listening with Shadow . . .

Fourteen - 3/13/38 - The Silent Avenger:

  Well, I am back to posting in the Blog-O-Sphere again… it’s the beginning of July (coincidence?) and I’m in the local library drinking coffee, watching the people, and enjoying another early episode of the Shadow !!

  This show starts out in a courtroom where a man is being sentenced. But before the court can pronounce the sentence, the accused launches into a tirade about his anger at the jurors and how he will kill the Governor if his sentence is not commuted. Lamont and Margo are in the room watching. Their conversation is about how many of the unknowns in our world are labeled as being evil out of fear. Lamont decides to visit the killer, Joseph Brecker, in prison disguised under the cloak of the Shadow.

  The killer’s plan is to have his brother kill the jurors, prosecuting attorney, and the judge. But they’re all worried about the guy they can’t see… somewhere in the shadows. The think they can get the Shadow by throwing hand-grenades when he hears the strange voice of the man called Shadow.

  Shadows are an interesting topic to ponder…

  They are the opposite of, or maybe the absence of light. They can be used to tell time if we know our location. They allow us to recognize depth and space. Shadows can be very helpful, but there is also a very dark-side to shadows. We often speak of the evil in the minds of Man as a shadow. The shadow that interests me the most lately, are the things (shadows) we don’t or are unwilling to accept about ourselves but are true or the truth. (More on this topic soon!)

  My thoughts are deliciously distracted by the show, where a man from the jury is shot right between the eyes in front of a group of people in public. Then the judge is shot while speaking on the phone with the Governor. And then, as a cliffhanger moment, we get a commercial about how blue coal will save you money this winter.

  Lamont is theorizing about the killer’s brother that is shooting these innocent jurors and judge. They find out that he is a former soldier and a trained killer. What do we do with people who we train to kill when they come back to society? Can we expect them to re-enter society and ignore the horrors they may have witnessed? What about all those brave men and women who have served and then returned from Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan… Should we not offer them as much help as is necessary to become well adjusted, and productive members of society ?!

  I love these shows for a number of reasons. The best is for their pure entertainment from an era long gone. During a radio show, all action has to be vocally telegraphed so the listeners can follow the story. Then they add a sound effect that allows everyone’s imagination to fill in the blanks. Add some great music and recognizable voices filled with feeling and emotion and you can see why families all sat in their living rooms across the country listening to these weekly broadcasts.

  I love the way these radio shows cause my mind to wonder and then to make connections between the time of the Shadow and today… do we ever learn from history or are we all doomed to repeat it ??!

Ever Yours, In Rhythm,

Jahmahn

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