Thursday, September 18, 2003

 

Another entry on the loss of Cynthia Doyon
I'm sorry if I seem to be dwelling on this, but I feel a tremendous sense of loss at another Saturday night listening to the radio and not hearing her voice. "The Swing Years and Beyond" is being carried on, for the time being at least, by Amanda Wild (or is it Wilde?), another announcer from another local PBS radio station. Amanda is good, but not Cynthia. That's OK, as it is something that they have decided to continue the program. Amanda Wild will get better I think, if she is the one to continue over time. Amanda will get better at this over time, I'm sure! It will take some time for me to get used to her voice coming out of my radio instead of Cynthia's, but as with everything in life, I will one day accept the change and things will be better once again, as they were before. I was one of those supporters who have written in suggesting they continue the tradition and legacy of this program, to not change it, to let it live on. Amanda read a letter from the Doyon family on the air at the beginning of the program a couple of weeks ago, which thanked everyone who wrote or contacted them about Cynthia. It was a touching letter and brought a lump to my throat as I listened to it being read. I could hear a catch in Amanda's voice as she read the letter. I think Amanda misses Cynthia as much as I do. Last week, Amanda said she knew Cynthia for many years and helped Cynthia do research from time to time on the music. The nice part about listening to the music on the radio is that I can do that AND type an entry for my blog page at the same time and not miss a single beat or anything, unlike with the boob tube! As I listen to Amanda, I am finding out she is quite knowledgeable about this era of music as Cynthia was, and this is a good thing. Amanda is putting in bits and pieces between the music selections in the same manner as Cynthia which gives her voice a familiar ring. I do not expect Amanda Wilde to BE Cynthia Doyon, as there was and only can be, one Cynthia Doyon, however it sure is nice to find out Amanda cares about this era of music as Cynthia did. Amanda has her own style of announcing and that is a good thing, and to me, it obvious from listening to her for the past couple of weeks that she cares as much and she is doing an excellent job as the new host of the program as far as I am concerned. She has a lot to live up to with the memory of Cynthia and this must be hard for Amanda. I wonder if there is anything I can to to help Amanda to know she is accepted and will in time be as much loved on the radio as Cynthia. I only ask Amanda that she do the show her way, whatever that way is in her opinion, that I would not ask her to change anything, but to carry the show on in her way, whatever way that is. I do not know if Amanda Wilde will be permanent or simply a filler until someone permanent can be found. I like her, even though it has been only been a few programs I have heard with her voice, and I am hoping she will be permanent. Only time will tell, of course, provided the program continues as it has for almost 40 years in total. Yes, "The Swing Years" program started that long ago, and when Cynthia Doyon took over 24 years ago, it became "The Swing Years and Beyond" as she expanded the era of music to include more of a time span. The email address for the program is swingyears@kuow.org.

Posted by: Rowlfe - at: 9/18/2003 10:28:00 AM

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