Art Bell From 1996 to 1998, I listened to Art Bell while driving between Barstow and Needles (California) on the weekends. My family lived in Phoenix while I was stationed in Barstow. The trip was more than 350 miles one-way. I don't remember which show it was, Coast To Coast AM or Dreamland, but I was entertained for most of the distance — the AM signal would fade in and out. I remember changing radio stations to get better signals. Most of the time I would take that I-40 route, but sometimes I would take the other route using I-10, just to be able to listen to his show uninterrupted. That didn't happen too often because I didn't like driving in the Los Angeles area.

Just in case you've been hiding under a rock, Art Bell is a popular radio talk show host. His shows draw in listeners from around the world, not counting the millions in the US. In fact, I heard about Art Bell long before I ever listened to one of his shows.

Today, out of curiosity and nostalgia (well, it has been more than 8 years), I did a Google search for Art Bell. I found his biography and recent news. Art Bell now lives in the Philippines! It's a pure coincidence that he moved to the metro Manila, Philippines area in April around the same time that I moved to the Olongapo City area. I do not know Art Bell — I have never met him. He's not in the age group I would normally associate with. I'm 46 and he's 61. But that's beside the point. I would really like to meet him and his wife.

Just before I started composing this entry, I sent an e-mail message to Art introducing myself. I didn't expect an answer at all since e-mail addresses are known to be discarded when people move from place to place and use different ISP's. I received a reply within two hours! In fact, I've been invited to visit or call him. I can't do either right now, and I let him know, but I can talk via instant messaging. Regardless, I look forward to talking to him or meeting him in person as soon as possible.

Update:

After I woke up, I told my wife about what transpired. Her first response was, "So when are we going to Manila?" or something like that. I had to quietly mention that we're basically broke until January and even then we'll be too short of cash to take any special trips. It will probably be March or April before we can get out of the city again.