Chapter II
During the spring of 1970, Colette and her friends were hanging out on our front stoop. Her closest friends were Roxanne, Lori, Pat, and Porscha. Like colette, all four of her friends were about ten years old and extremely bright. They were some of the top students at Ps 107. As they sat on the stoop with nothing to do, her friend Pat said, “I’m so bored. I wish we could listen to some music.”
“Colette, can you run upstairs and get your radio?” Roxanne asked.
Colette opened the screen door, ran up the ten stairs that led to her bedroom, and got her transistor radio off the top of her dresser. It was a white transistor radio shaped like—and about the size of—a softball. It had two aluminum dials to control the volume and tuning. On the other side of the ball-shaped radio was an open window that contained the dial information. It was also equipped with a small chain for easy carrying. She ran downstairs to rejoin her friends.
She turned on the transistor radio with one of the dials and raised the volume. She used the other dial to tune into the station. The static could be unbearable at times, so she repositioned herself on the stoop for better reception. She searched for WWRL and WBLS, two popular radio stations that regularly played the top hits in soul, urban contemporary, and R&B music.