Ron the Yarnspinner

  Rock-ola  Rock-ola – a   brand name, but kids tossed it around like slang and “Shake, Rattle and Roll” (Bill Haley & His Comets, 1954)   was the sound of the rowdy, wicked “juke joint” spirit that gave the machine its name.   If you watched Happy Days (1974–1984), you probably remember the jukebox at Arnold’s Drive-In. It was more than a prop—it was part of the show’s DNA. And of course, who could forget Fonzie (Henry Winkler) giving it a good smack to make the music start instantly? The gag became a running trademark, cementing the jukebox as a symbol of effortless cool.  But in real life, no jukebox owner would dare treat one of these electro-mechanical marvels so roughly. Vintage machines—especially the chrome-and-glass beauties of the 1940s and ’50s—demand care, parts are scarce, and skilled repairmen even scarcer. They weren’t just music machines; they were finely tuned cultural icons, glowing testaments to an era when music was a shared, c...

  Left to Our Own Devices: A Modern Christmas Story   O ur Christmas holidays are increasingly interrupted by our devices—phones checked between conversations, tablets balanced on laps, televisions murmuring in the background. We sit together, but mentally we are miles apart. Silence feels as uncomfortable as an itchy wool sweater, and sitting still feels unproductive. Some salivate like Pavlov’s dogs, waiting impatiently for the next text or email. They cradle their devices—not because they need them, but because they no longer know what to do without them. We’ve lost the ability to be bored without panic. The ability to sit in a room without filling it with noise. The patience to follow one story without interruption. We’ve traded depth for stimulation—and called it connection. Perhaps it’s time to ask Santa for something else: a new Christmas tradition, like in Iceland.   In Iceland, Christmas Eve revolves around books. Not as novelty gi...