Public Radio Rocks KCUR

~ Kels.

"The year I graduated from college with an Art History degree, I headed out into the world armed with my art knowledge and ready to dive into a fabulous curatorial career. Little did I know this was fairly unrealistic. That same year, I began my six-year stint as a professional cook. In the restaurant business, job-hopping is encouraged. It's common to work one or two years and learn as much as you can from every chef you work for, then move on to the next kitchen. Although all of the kitchens were very different, there were always three things in professional cooking you could count on being the same: it will be hot as hell, there will be adrenaline-inducing stress and National Public Radio.

But really, what does KCUR have to do with cooking? Nothing at all. Cooking, however, provided me with my first introduction to public radio ... one that I am grateful for.

Starting a new job every other year was not exactly fun for me. I am a person who likes stability and to know what I am doing at all times. Restaurant kitchens are chaotic in general, on top of that there are new people, new names, new menus, a strange oven to familiarize yourself with and when you don't know where anything is, a normal task can take twice as long.

Not only that, but I'm a girl ... a short girl. I have learned to utilize anything I can around me to stand on before I ask for help. But it can be a burden. I can always expect my chef jackets to be so huge that I would have to ask the chef to order me the smallest jackets that exist. So, every first day on a new job I am the only girl who is very short, swimming in my clothes, doesn't know where anything is and can't reach anything. To most people that might be a sign of being a tad high-maintenance. I'm not, really. But it usually appears that way. Needless to say, it's not a joyous experience. If I can have a little bit of familiarity in my day, just a touchstone of reality, it rights me in a way that reminds me who I am, what my skills are and the strength I already have inside myself to complete my job. My relationship with KCUR begins.

No matter where I worked or what state I was in public radio was always present, like a theme song for cooks. When working in an environment that is based upon stress and being in a hurry, there is something extremely calming about the methodically smooth voices on public radio. Although I don't necessarily know the faces or names of mostly all the radio announcers I hear on a daily basis, they serve as the support I have come to rely upon to lead me through my day. Reliable, familiar and full of information.

At 6 a.m. on a Saturday, in the basement kitchen of a catering company, it can seem like you are the last person alive on Earth. On mornings like these I would practically sleepwalk into the kitchen and mindlessly go through the same motions every day: turn on the lights, turn on the oven and turn on the radio. It's comforting and familiar, like an old friend that you can take with you everywhere you go. In this basement I started listening to KCUR like a religion. It served as a barometer for measuring life outside the basement.

KCUR introduced me to David Sedaris. I have read every one of his books and laugh at him at every chance I get. "This American Life" is always different, but it's basically an hour of story telling. You can zone out, wash dishes, and laugh, cry, or feel a little disturbed. But how often is washing dishes that emotional? I consider David to be a great friend of mine now. In my mind at least. He does guest spots on the show; each one is different but they are always interesting and pretty entertaining.

Then there are my friends from Car Talk. These guys are seriously hilarious. I am not interested in cars at all. I don't even like to drive that much. I don't care how they work. The only time my car concerns me is when I have to put gas in it or I have to fix it. But every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. I find myself drawn to these two guys with thick Boston accents talking about cars.

From 8 p.m. to Midnight every Friday and Saturday, you can tune into "The Fish Fry". You won't hear the Top American 40 hits here. For the last 23 years, Chuck Haddix has been at home at KCUR interviewing musicians and playing music you won't hear on any other station. He plays a mix of blues, R&B, soul, jazz and zydeco.

These are just some of my favorites ... tune in and discover yours."

• "Car Talk"
• "This American Life"
• "The Fish Fry"

~ Kels.