Riding Boxcars to Freedom

Blazing Reader:

On Saturday, my son Jonah and I, along with our good friend, Paul Jackson, headed off to London, Ontario to the in-home studio of Bob Metz to be a guest on the Just Right podcast. After listening to Just Right for over five years, it was an honour to finally meet Bob Metz and undreamed of to have an entire episode focused around my novel, Much Ado About Corona.

While we did discuss some deep subjects off air — such as the origins of the universe, the causeless nature of God, and the ethical conundrums around abortion — the highlight was actually Bob sharing stories of his childhood, when he used to ride boxcars and run through ponds full of vipers.

I could see how such a wild and free childhood has given him the courage to fight for freedom for most of his life. Not only has he been producing Just Right for sixteen years, but Bob Metz is also the president of the Freedom Party of Ontario, which he co-founded on January 1st in the apt year of 1984.

Here's a picture of Bob and me...


And one of Jonah and Bob holding the gift of the Science Fiction puzzle I wrote about in my last post...


Jonah actually sat in for the last segment, as this episode features the first public broadcast of Jonah's newly recorded single, "Covidian Lies" (which will be released on March 11).


And, here's a photo of Paul, who wouldn't even let me pay him for driving us there and back. He's a big fan of the show and was eager to  meet Bob and sit in on a recording of the show...


Paul's a long-time freedom fighter, having even spent a few months in prison fighting for his principles. While behind bars he told us how he read the The Gulag Archipelago to cheer himself up.

Bob Metz wrote me yesterday to say the episode we recorded will be released on Thursday at Just Right Media (or your favourite podcast feed). It'll also air on both WBCQ in Monticello, Maine via on 7490 KHz shortwave at 7pm EST, and Channel 292 via 6070 KHz at 19:00 UTC in Germany.

Until then you might want to listen to one of my favourite episodes, #740: Prescriptions for freedom. It shows how politics is a result of the cultural Zeitgeist, not the cure — offering three ways to change culture: Art, music and... literature.

Stay sane and ride a boxcar (figuratively, of course),

John C. A. Manley

---

---

---