Radio Dispels Loneliness

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 27, 18 January 1929, Page 31

Radio Dispels Loneliness

Salient Proof of Worth of Broadcasting

RAvI0 has proved its worth in many (directions, and not in the least is that important function of dispelling loneliness, for few people realise the tragedies and struggles there are behind the trim casement curtains of many of our suburban homes. There is a case known to the writer of a family of three elderly sisters, who live together, as the relic of what was once a gay and happy home in a large house, The war years have come and gone; the dwindling value of their investments; the change in the attitude of domestic help, coupled with long years of nursing both father and mother, have brought these good souls one reward only-a mellow, but lonely satisfaction of their own eventide. Their needs are not great; in fact, it would be difficult to find a more simple

life than theirs. They sometimes dream of the might-have-beens as we most of us do, but their one joy and refuge is the wireless. "Dear mother loved the headphones when she was unable to get up from her bed," the white-haired eldest sister will tell you, if you know her well. Their lives hang on the invisible threads sent out on the air; their clocks are kept to time, and the announcer’s "Good night" sends them upstairs at night with a happy heart. The outside world has no place here, except through the air. The traffic is much too dangerous for them to go abroad, beyond the local shops, and should one of them go to town, there are blazing lights and anxious eyes behind the curtains, until the wanderer returns to the fold. With eternal needlework they pass the hours away. following the programme with that silence which needs no conversation to tell of its love. They were lonely until this magic charm came to their fireside. and now they can forget some of

their sorrow. How many are there similarly situated? ANOTHER lonely soul, known to the writer is a middle-aged lady, who has tasted life and publicity to the full. Through no fault of hers, perhaps, she figured in a Divorce Court action. Only able to save enough from the wreck to vent a small bedroom in a suburban

house, this poor, faint heart was erush ed and stricken with nerve trouble. A kindhearted handyman in the house gave her a portable set to keep beneath her bed. The landlady was fussy about wires, but the lonely soul left the set untouchd for days. Then one day, when it rained and stormed outside, she turned the tuning knob for help. There is now a new and brighter look in her eyes, and she no longet suffers from nerves. LONELINESS is, perhaps, the greatest puzzle of the age. Men and women suffer alike, but probably women most. Some will find refuge in books, for a while, others break into an orgy of hectic entertainment-seeking in a last despairing attempt to keep in the swim. But youth and the: speed of modern life make them return to a quieter round of life. Then loneliness returns with unabated ferocity, and they are tired. Tired of trying, until the warmth of the spoken word and wireless music ex~ presses their pent-up feelings, and the intimate association of the programmes floods and thaws their frigid heart~ strings anew. "THERE have been several admirable campaigns for the installation of wireless sets in hospitals, lighthouses, and lightships. I should like to see a secret society to give every lonely lady a small, simple set for her very own this Christmas. A good friend of mine who has ten sets, in various stages of construction in his house at the present moment, confided in the writer that he kept his most efficient and helpful ladyhelp, who was a real wonder with the kiddies, by the simple process of making up a special quiet set for use in her own room, whenever she felt inclined. The tip is passed on to others 3 itis worth thinking over.-Peter Mart