I Know It's You Diana

                                                   I Know It's You Diana

                                                                   by

                                                                      Jay Agan

      Back in my shortwave listening heyday in the 70s, I'd often tune in to several commie stations (No, I'm not referring to NPR.) for my "nightly hate". Cold war radio at its finest. Radio Moscow, R. Berlin Int., R. Peking, etc. Broadcasters from Commieland, enlightening us as to the "truth" about what was wrong/right in the world & how everything could be made oh so hunky dory. If only we in the decadent west would just put everything into their hot little hands all would be well. Maybe I am writing about NPR.

      One of my "favorite" stations was Radio Havana Cuba.Transmitting from the island of Castrovania, 90 miles off Florida!

      It was from the "Land of Darkness" I would listen to Diana Strong, Arnie Coro, & others regale the world with programs such as "Viet Nam Fights Back", etc. A broadcaster I dearly loved to hate back then.

      Diana Strong, especially. Maybe it was that tone of voice or the manner in which she spoke. Whatever it was, I did NOT like her. As irritating as she was, I also found her compelling. Wierd. (Sorry Arnie, you don't do a thing for me.)

      Another facet of my radio hobby was "numbers stations". "Mysterious" transmissions on odd "off band" frequencies, straight AM, in the clear, consisting of male or female voices reading off 4 or 5 digit strings of numbers. I've heard them in English, Spanish, & German.

      There's been much speculation as to what these stations/transmissions were about. Some have thought them to be messages for covert operatives using code good only for their particular respective broadcasts. My guess is they're nothing more than transmitter/reception tests. Other speculation was as to where these signals were coming from. No doubt in my mind though. Mordor of course! That or NPR.

      One late night/early morning, I did know for certain where one transmission was coming from. I was stooging around between 9 & 10 Mhz when I heard the familiar "cadence" of a numbers station. Seemingly random number strings of 5 digits each in Spanish. A womans' voice. Not just any womans voice. It was the dulcet tones of Diana Strong!

      Was their "numbers lady" off for the night & Diana filling in? Who knows? In my years in the shortwave listening hobby, I hadn't heard her do that before or scince.

      But that night, I knew where & who it was coming from. It was you, Diana.

                                       Article copyright © 1-30-2011 Jay Agan

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