Saturday, February 23, 2008

Why I listen to NPR

I believe I have mentioned my distaste for election years a few times (maybe more) before. I find that a nice alternative to "he said, she said" reporting is the ecclectic collection of far more interesting news stories found on National Public Radio. I listen whenever I am in the car.

This week on NPR, I learned there is a company that makes military uniforms working on a new design for combat wear. The latest is that one day soon soldiers will be able to wear fatigues with built in tourniquets in the arms and legs (injuries to the extremities being the most common). Upon deployment following a wound, the tourniquet will be in place within 22 seconds. It is predicted that many lives will be saved from the bleed out caused by wounds to the major arteries in the arms and legs.

Next, in a report entitled, "Old Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills", I learned studies have revealed self-regulatory skills are learned in imaginative play. Many children are missing out because video games and tv have taken the place of good old fashioned play. Back in the pre-computer days, we created fond memories of neighborhood football games, playing Daniel Boone in the fort in the back yard, sleeping outside on cots under the stars, and escaping from the enemy by doing the army crawl along the bottom of the retaining wall during military exercises. One summer we even opened our own neighborhood library, checking out books to all of the would-be readers on our block.

And finally, did you know that the Smurfs are poised to make a comeback?

As one who is seriously tired of bad news, my vote is on NPR, where I also learned that the latest winner of the Westminister Dog Show was a beagle. There IS still good news to be found - you just have to know where to look.

No comments:

Post a Comment