CQ, this is your son. Come back?

Remember the 1997 film, Contact directed by Robert Zemeckis? I was reminded of the film upon watching the new series Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking airing on the Discovery Channel. His now already famous quote, “If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans” is an early gem from the series.  Hawking’s grim yet grounded opinion about what would happen if aliens landed on Earth made me nostalgic for the feel-good, hopeful opinion crafted by Zemeckis into the Jodie Foster film.

Based on the novel by Carl Sagan, there are many wonderful, smart moments throughout the film, but what particularly stands out for me this time is the early scene where the young Ellie (played by a very talented Jena Malone) tries to reach her father, after his funeral, by ham radio…

“CQ, this is W9GFO, do you copy? Dad, this is Ellie, come back?… This is Eleanor Arroway, transmitting on 14.2 megahertz. Dad, are you there? Come back? Dad, are you there? Dad, this is Ellie…”

Aching in its portrayal, the 11 year old Eleanor Arroway had not only learned about the heavens from her dad but about reaching out to others by radio.  She never gave up and eventually… <well> if you haven’t seen the movie, throw it into your Netflix queue.

I recently lost my mother. It was sudden, no warning. Marion Margaret Caffrey Allen, was a real Irish, red hair, green eyed beauty…my mentor and muse. She was the one that believed in my radio career. She was the coach. Back in the day, she used to get up in the wee hours of the night to listen to my voice over the Classical 24 airwaves, I in St. Paul, she in the Shenandoah Valley – savoring her son’s voice wafting over the ethers and relishing her growing knowledge of classical music. As a matter of fact, my earliest “radio memory” is from 1957, sitting on her lap in a convertible at a burger joint, the radio blaring and her moving wildly to the music. I said, “What’s that, mom?” “Elvis!” was her one word response.

To have her gone is hard to comprehend. As tomorrow approaches and for the first time no mother’s day card in the mail, I am quite reflective.

I’ve owned every kind of radio imaginable in my life, but never one powerful enough for my needs – right now.

Happy Mother’s Day, mom. Miss you.

Your loving son,

Jack