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January 8, 2007 | 8 Comments

Mr Keillor,
Just when I am at wits end from listening to your pompous blatherings and ready to reach for my radio dial for relief, you put on Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, Pat Donohue,or one of your other extraordinary talent associates. I am then hooked for another five or ten minutes of listening before the pattern repeats. Your sense of timing is absolutely evil, as I am tricked into listening to the entire show week after week. If you want my ever so humble opinion, you should give your staff a raise and put yourself on minimum wage.

Sincerely,
Vaughn T.
Bristol, VA.

You are probably right, Mr. T. But I'm not sure the Shoe Band is up for doing a two-hour show every week. It takes a lot of material to fill that time, and either you hire a raft of musical guests or you need someone to talk a little. Most people seem to like some talk on the radio, so they got me, the pompous blatherer. If this is a mistake, then it's one that's gone on for thirty years and a mistake of such long standing is hard to fix. I await your further advice.

8 Comments

Leon Edmond | January 8, 2007 4:01 PM

Pompous blatherer for president.

Ron Collins | January 8, 2007 4:53 PM

I wouldn't call it blathering, but we have noticed that the timing has been slipping a bit....like the segment last week where Fred Newman was supposed to break some glass and the "brick" seemed to bounce around before the crash. It really seemed to throw Sue as she delivered a very strange cackle as a gardenia in the same segment...the silence of the in-house audience was palpable. Billy Collins in the Guy Noir segment over the Holidays seemed lost. Many bungled lines. It's amazing the timing it takes to deliver comedy, especially on the radio. I think a real vacation is in order. Mr. Keillor, take another sabattical. (Just not as long as the last one).

Vicki Holzhauer | January 9, 2007 5:02 PM

I'm surprised by Vaughn T.'s comments, but he's entitled to his opinion. Although your music is mostly good (especially by the Shoe Band and other regulars), I'm not a music fan, and I sometimes find the guest artists unappealing (occasionally even painful). What I really listen for are the skits - Guy Noir, Dusty and Lefty, English Majors, Ketchup, and especially The News from Lake Wobegon. I also love the political comments and the remarks about the city from which you are broadcasting. I saw you last spring in Loveland, Colorado, and I almost collapsed from laughing at the piece you did with Fred Newman that managed to bring dolphins to the Front Range, along with golf balls bouncing off 18-wheelers on I-25. I don't think you need a sabbatical or even a longer vacation. The ones you take are already long enough for me. Please keep up the GREAT work!

Edie E | January 10, 2007 1:50 PM

Oh, Garrison, please don't stop talking! I have listened ever since I lived on a sailboat in 1986 and enjoyed every minute and comment. It always comes back to balance in our lives. We need some talk and some music. Some rest and some work. We need some people that love us and some people that don't. I like the music, talking and skits. Dusty and Lefty, Guy Noir and Ruth Harrison are almost part of the family. Thanks for years of laughter in my home.

catharine | January 10, 2007 6:23 PM

I love listening to the stories, the skits & the music! I love the soothing sound of GK's voice so much that when I read his books I hear his voice in my head- it's like he's in the room with me, reading to me as his personal audience of one!

Gary Galbraith | January 11, 2007 6:12 PM

Vaughn T. must have lead a fascinating life filled with great accomplishment to be able to offer such a critique.We can only imagine what those accomplishments might be.Garrison's on the other hand are certainly a matter of public record, thank goodness.Keep up the good,hard work.I miss you when you're on vacation.With all your other endeavors I'd be suprised if you take any vacation.

Algernon D'Ammassa | January 14, 2007 10:33 AM

This is the sort of fellow who goes to see "Snakes On A Plane" and then asks for his money back because he found the plot hokey. Garrison Keillor is to "Prairie Home Companion" as fireworks to the 4th of July, and Mr. Vaughn is walking around with his fingers in his ears wondering what all the explosions about and who are these people on his lawn.

Michael Wnuk | January 19, 2007 9:17 AM

For some reason my wife does not share my devotion to PHC. While driving with her recently she heard "Writers Almanac" on the radio and said, "what, they have that prarie home on during the week now?" Garrison, your voice is a trademark of the show and we would prefer a show with a few imperfections, it is live radio for goodness sake.