Good morning listeners, this is Lemuel Huppe here at Desert Waves. These last weeks have seen both a blessing and a worrying situation and my emotions are somewhat frayed. I’ll start with the bad news as it’s somewhat pressing. Sophie Young, waitress at the 4 Aces Motel and my most loyal listener has gone missing, to be more specific it seems like she’s been kidnapped by agents not of this world. We don’t know how they are treating her or what they could be doing to her but I’m sure we all want her back in one piece. There is not much I can do here at my mixing desk, in my little town, but I know there are people out there who have the skills and knowledge to get her back, so I ask that you do everything you can to make that happen. Stay strong Sophie.

music break Sometime in the Morning, Brown Eyed Girl

Now I’d like to talk about the more pleasant things that have happened over the last week. First, thank you Lucy for sending me the cat food. It’ll really come in handy this month as those cats, while wise and majestic, are greedy little critters! Some people go hunting in order to provide for the cats during their month. But as a committed vegetarian I’m relying on tinned food, and you can bet they are picky about pre-packaged meat!

Second, we had some surprise visitors in the town! I got a visit from Castor and Lisbeth which meant I got to play host and tour guide for a day. I hope you both had as much fun as I did and that you left feeling refreshed and enlightened. Castor had written another poem for us and he since he was there with me I asked if he would like to record it for us listeners, and he agreed! I will play it after the next music break.

music break Here’s Comes the Sun, Wouldn't it be Nice

(Castor's poem)

music break Mr Tambourine Man, Eveybody’s Talkin’

Live from the streets of LA it’s Star Watch! I’m at the premiere for Dominos and wow are the stars out for this. It’s apparently been recut by Lucy McDonald to be a memorial for heartthrob Dmitri Anders, taken from us far too soon. I bet most people here didn’t know the guy and are only here to make it look like they care. Don’t worry, true fans - Star Watch is here to represent you. Keep your eyes open for our review of Dominos, up on the site soon!

music break California Dreamin’, The Air that I Breath

You know, I feel like I haven't read out a letter from a listener in a while. Don't get me wrong I read them all and write back too, but some of them deserve to be shared with a wider audience. So here is a letter from Ines. I’m translating from French here so I do apologise for any little mistakes, listeners:

Dear Lemuel, After listening to you tell us about your New Year's celebrations I thought it would be fun to write in and share our town’s tradition, which takes place every equinox and solstice. Our town is built around a perfectly round, impossibly deep pool of water. We think it goes straight to the centre of the Earth! Anyway, when it gets close to the quarters the water starts to spin, like a whirlpool, faster and faster, and there is a strange, almost rattling noise. I admit I do not understand fully what is happening when the water spins but I could not tell anyway. So, on the actual quarter day we all stand round the pool and make an offering of something. Food, carvings. Little things like that. Then at midnight the spinning always stops and the water is calm and quiet again. I worry that one day the town will be forgotten and no one will be there to do this and something terrible will happen, but hopefully that will not be the case. Anyway that’s our little tradition! Love your show. Ines.

Thanks for sharing with us Ines, and I’m glad you like the show. Do keep writing in listeners. I love reading your letters and hearing about the wider world.

music break Do You Believe in Magic, The Times They Are A-Changin’

Listeners, over the last two weeks, with everything I’ve been worrying about, I’ve been trying to focus on the good things in life. Peace, love, tranquility. I consider myself a pacifist, and this extends to as much of my life as possible. The way I eat, the way I relate to others, in everything I do I try to minimise the harm I cause to humanity, animals and the planet as a whole. I’m human, so by my very nature I cannot be perfect while still operating within society. I drive a truck, for example when I’m transporting things I can’t carry on my bike, or sometimes I get frustrated with someone and lash out with my words.

Despite that, I try to conduct myself with love. When I see examples of love in my daily life it always lifts my spirit. My neighbour nursing a desert critter back to health, parents playing with their children, a simple smile exchanged by lovers. I don’t consider myself a religious man, per se. I was raised in quite a conservative household, but these days I suppose I would most identify the Quakers. Though I’m also influenced by Buddhism, Paganism, and Humanism. I don’t want to preach, because while I rejoice in hearing about people making moves towards this lifestyle, trying to force your beliefs on someone is just another form of violence. I prefer to act as an example of how things can be done differently.

music break Tender Comrade, Bridge Over Troubled Water

I would like to sign off with a word of wisdom from our town's mechanic, Mike. We were having a conversation while he was fixing the suspension on my truck and he was saying things that were resonating with me so much I just had to get them down on paper. Mike has a wonderfully lyrical Texan accent, so try and imagine that as I read his words. Don’t worry I have his permission to share this:

Let me tell you, Lemuel, what I’ve been thinking about recently. I think you’ll appreciate it. So I’m worrying away about this and that, and suddenly I think to myself, Mike, you’ve got to simply stop looking for what you want. Not cynically stop looking for what you want, because there is a way of stopping looking in cynicism, and just closing down. But innocently stop looking for what you want in this moment. Tomorrow you might have it, but in this moment, whatever it is you want, however mundane or profound, stop looking for it. Once you do this you will find more than you could ever want. Because more than you could ever want is already there, in you and around you. In this moment, you have everything that you need.

Do you get me? It’s almost too simple to grasp, but absolutely, completely realizable. Anyone can do it, if, and this is a huge ‘if’, they are willing to give up the idea that what they want will be found in the next thought, or the next activity, or the next day, or the next man, or the next woman, or the next teaching, or the next experience. That’s huge. That’s the challenge.

music break Fast Car, Wild World