"That's the news from Lake Woebegone, where all the women are strong,all the men are good-looking and all the children are above average."
I have enjoyed the radio show A Prairie Home Companion for about 25 years, almost as long as it has been on the air in its present form. Host Garrison Keillor turns 73 this year and occasionally threatens retirement but so far has been unwilling to go through with it. The May 10th show was a typical combination of dry humor and American music, including an effective parody of "The Times They Are A' Changing" that emphasized how we are changing: "my daughter doesn't dare leave me alone ..." There was an episode of Guy Noir, private eye (a tribute to film noir that I'm sure many people don't get) and "commercials" from Bebop-A-Rebop Rhubarb Pie and The Ketchup Advisory Board. Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White and Kentucky Thunder performed some country rock ("Home is Wherever You Are"), Stuart Duncan performed a bluegrass version of a Waylon Jennings song and Keb' Mo' played the blues.
The highlights of the show for me were the sketch about Dwayne and his mother, who always tells Dwayne everything is okay when it isn't, and the news from Lake Woebegone, this week about a dog that died, a cafeteria lady at the elementary school who retired, and what happened at Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, as well as the sermon at Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility. As always, Fred Newman did wonderfully effective sound effects.
I grew up in a small town and I am not one who thinks that Keillor condescends to the people in small towns such as Lake Woebgone; rather, it is an attempt to understand those people and what goes on there, even if one doesn't want to continue living in a town that doesn't have a public library. And there is no question that Keillor has wide-ranging taste in music, having musical guests in just about every genre, from classical to country, as well as local guests wherever in the country he takes his show.
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