No matter what city you live in, there are always corners you’ve never explored. Maybe you’ve heard of them, but don’t even know where they are on a map. Maybe they have a car dealership or mall there. Maybe you have a friend who once went to an Olive Garden there. These are radio places.
Also, I'm pretty sure no one has ever actually been inside one of these.
Why are they called radio places? The primary reason behind this is that you hear about these places an inordinate amount on the radio. There could be annoying commercials for an “automile” in that area or mentions of a festival there which will feature an appearance from a former local sports hero who played back when the team was good. People on call-in shows will often be from one of these places. Multiple traffic light delays are reported daily from this place, making you wonder why anyone is there in the first place.* And for some reason, schools in these districts are always the first and sometimes only schools that will close on days when it snows.
* No one has ever heard a traffic report that was relevant to their driving route. I don’t know how they do this. Maybe they always just report about traffic in the same (possibly fictional) place. On a related note, I am never driving near the Doubletree Hotel.
Your interaction with this small city/township/locality consists entirely of hearing about it on the radio and possibly passing the exit for it on the highway about 30 minutes from where you live. Do not visit it, you will get lost somewhere between the Bed Bath & Beyond and the Big Lots.
A couple of my radio places:
- Mentor, OH
- Bedford, OH
- Parma, OH
- Castle Shannon, PA
- All of Beaver County, PA
What are some of yours?
Arbitrary song of the day: The Orb – Pomme Fritz
