The Radio Boys was written during a time when using your bare fists to beat up a bully was considered a perfectly acceptable, and admirably manly, way to dispense corporal punishment.  Today, of course, such actions would be justification for the bully hiring an attorney at great cost and suing the tar out of the “hero” on charges of assault. The hero wold be hauled off to prison, where, due to his youthful good looks and strong jawline, he would become some thug’s bitch.  The young victims of the bully, of course, would be placed in state custody since their parents were not hovering nearby, and would be forever traumatized by the experience, resulting in years of therapy and PTSD flashbacks.  Fiction vs. reality.

The series was written well before we understood the hazards of freshwater swimming holes (flesh-eating bacteria, anyone?), before sun-screen was considered an essential any time you poked a naked toe outside,  and when ethnic slurs were considered harmless, nay normal.  Any cabin without the carcass, or portion thereof, of a dead forest creature on full display was considered lacking, and a situation to be remedied stat, typically with the use of ballistics.  Such writing, today, would be edited out of existence, not that such editing is a bad thing.  Still, it is helpful for the listener to understand what was considered appropriate, if not expected and applauded, behavior 100 years ago.

The English language is constantly evolving, and even small, three-letter words have taken on meanings and definitions that probably were not foreseen by the authors in the 1920s.  It might be helpful for certain individuals inclined to lead  fundamentalist self-righteous boycotts (or girlcotts) of The Droning Voice that the word “gay” meant, at the time, “happy and cheerful”.  And The Droning Voice will leave it at that.  If you still insist on being outraged, please notify NPR and other major news networks of said outrage to better drive traffic and clicks to The Droning Voice website.

And now, let the adventures of 4 chums lull you to sleep.  Because…Ham Radio.* ‘Nuff said.

You lucky people.  Mr. Somner owns the complete set.  There will come a time when devoted members of The Droning Voice claque can fall asleep to all of these great titles:

• The Radio Boys’ First Wireless
• The Radio Boys at Ocean Point
• The Radio Boys at the Sending Station
• The Radio Boys at Mountain Pass
• The Radio Boys Trailing a Voice
• The Radio Boys with the Forest Rangers
• The Radio Boys with the Iceberg Patrol
• The Radio Boys with the Flood Fighters
• The Radio Boys on Signal Island
• The Radio Boys in Gold Valley
• The Radio Boys Aiding the Snowbound
• The Radio Boys on the Pacific
• The Radio Boys to the Rescue

All of the Radio Boys series can, apparently, be purchased on Amazon, if you just can’t get enough.

*If you are really looking for material to put you to sleep, and you are NOT a Ham Radio operator, please stay tuned (hah!) for readings from extremely old QST Magazines.