10-4 Good Buddy

The Curmudgeon has declared today (10-4) as CB Radio Day. He has asked those of us who remember CB Radios to write a Blog about them. As a general rule I usually do not participate in Memes, but in this case I will make an exception.

In the early 1970’s CB Radios were becoming a fad. Until that time they were primarily use by Truck drivers and Taxi drivers to communicate over short distances. Unlike Amateur (Ham) Radio operators, no real license was required. Any fool could broadcast over the 27MHz airwaves. Some marketing genius came up with an idea to sell more radios. Let’s get the general public interested in using the Citizens Band.

Here’s my story.

In 1974 one of my frivolous neighbors, (you know, the type that must be the first kid on the block to own anything new, regardless of cost) bought a CB Radio for his car. He would sit in his car, outside of his house, and listen to the truckers driving on the Highway that fronted our Community. He would sit there for hours.

After watching him do this for several days, I had the gumption to ask him what he was doing. He showed me his new toy, gave me the lowdown on CB Radios and told me that he was trying to learn the CB language so that he could communicate with other CB’ers. Wow! If I hadn’t thought that he was a nut case before this time; this cinched it.

I asked him why he needed this device. Although he gave me several reasons, the bottom line was so that he could know where the Cops were setting up speed traps on the Highway.

First of all, everyone who traveled that road, on a regular basis, knew that there were only two places that the Police (could and did) set up speed traps. Secondly he didn’t use that road on a daily basis and rarely had to pass where the speed traps were set up.

After a week passed, he was no longer sitting in his car listening to the CB. I thought that the novelty of his new toy must have worn off.

A few days later I asked him why he was no longer listening to his CB Radio. Had he mastered the language?

He told me “not yet” but he had bought a home base so he could listen in the house rather than sitting in the car. The look on my face must have been very similar to the AFLAC Duck’s expression when Yogi Berra sez “They give you cash, which is almost as good as money.”

The Beach Bum