Radio host Art Bell dies at 72
When I have the time and the energy [I have more of the former but less of the latter as I get older], I will peel off towards either the Jersey Shore or Rhode Island to shred some waves. Since I abhor traffic and want to find a free place to park near the beach, I often leave home at 3 in the morning.
I've been making these drives for twenty-one years and always look forward to sharing the ride with the host and guests of America Coast to Coast, which is syndicated all over the country on AM radio, and always in the middle of the night.
If you haven't listened to the broadcast, it is the proclamation of "America Go Crazy" in its most wonderful form. Every night either Art Bell or his successors host a variety of marvelous loons who have either been abducted by aliens, observed Bigfoot in his natural habitat, or have a new theory about the Philadelphia Experiment. They present their findings or experiences and take phone calls from like-minded or curious individuals from across the country. The thing that makes this show so great is that one winds up loving this collection of nuts. They are always sincere; they are always welcomed.
I've learned from Bell and his crew about the Montauk Men, the real Men in Black, and the UFO crash in Texas in the 19th century. One foggy night, in a full moon, while driving through the Pine Barrens, I listened to Bell interview a convincing expert on the Jersey Devil. It gave me the willies.
Anyway, I'm glad the show is still on and I'm really glad that radio is still a forum for crazy energy in a world that is increasingly homogenized. Hail and farewell, Art.