We eased into our second winter of van life, by stopping along our route to visit friends. We enjoyed their hospitality and stories, while we relished our extra few days of easy access to hot showers and plush towels. Soon we will be pulling out our shower shoes, checking campground restrooms for spiders and resigning ourselves to using our quick dry camp towels that feel paper thin.
In Cincinnati we stayed with Bruce Harris. He’s a long time family friend with memories of museum outings with our sons when they were just preschoolers. Bruce shared an office with Joe back in 1986. Bruce will tell you that he encouraged Joe to ask for my hand in marriage. Since Joe’s proposal was just one word, “Well?”; it’s a story Bruce still loves to share.
Bruce is retired, yet busy. He spends about 35 hours a week volunteering at different organizations. He’s also a high school debate coach. On Tuesday mornings he’s the producer for the live portion of WRRS radio.. The station call letters RRS stand for Radio Reading Service. Volunteers aid the visually impaired by reading the news. Daily. All year long.
Our Cincinnati visit included a tour of WRRS. Bruce, with a business background, learned the art of radio producing on the job. He remembers being overwhelmed by the number of switches on the control panel when he first started volunteering. While in the booth Bruce demonstrated his radio voice and gave us a sample of his morning patter. We loved the tour and hope to catch his performance next time we’re in town.
