Do You Have Ears ?

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Category: The Rear View Mirror & Nostalgia

Published on Thursday, 27 August 2015 15:26

Hits: 1961

Editor" Comments: The following quote is from Wikipedia. It gives history of a "Craze" which swept Oklahoma Region and the entire American scene in the mid Seventies. After the Wikipedia quotes are several articles which were posted in the Gazette in 1975 and 1976. The phrase "Do You Have Ears" was CB lingo for "Are you listening to your CB ?" Police and Highway Patrol were called "Bears" or "Smokies". Many other CB terms and phrases appeared, too numerous and regionally defined to detail in this article. Eventually, cell phones have reduced the CB Radio "Culture" to being a footnote in American history.

WIKIPEDIA

"After the 1973 oil crisis the U.S. government imposed a nationwide 55 mph speed limit, and fuel shortages and rationing were widespread. CB radio was used (especially by truckers) to locate service stations with better supplies of fuel, to notify other drivers of speed traps, and to organize blockades and convoys in a 1974 strike protesting the new speed limit and other trucking regulations. One leader was able to almost single-handedly coordinate an interstate highway blockade of hundreds of tractor-trailers in eastern Pennsylvania using the citizens band radio in his truck. His name was J.W. Edwards and his "handle" (or radio name) was "River Rat". The blockade began on I-80 and quickly spread throughout the country, with River Rat's messages literally being relayed from one area of trucks to the next.^[8] The radios were crucial for independent truckers; many were paid by the mile, which meant their productivity was impacted by the 55-mph speed limit.^[7] The use of CB radios in 1970s films such as Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Convoy (1978), popular novelty songs such as C.W. McCall's "Convoy" (1975) and on television series such as Movin' On (debuted 1974) and The Dukes of Hazzard (debuted 1979) established CB radio as a nationwide craze in the USA in the mid- to late 1970s.

Originally, CB required a purchased license ($20 in the early 1970s, reduced to $4 on March 1, 1975) and the use of acallsign; however, when the CB craze was at its peak many people ignored this requirement and invented their ownnicknames (known as "handles"). Rules on authorized use of CB radio (along with lax enforcement) led to widespread disregard of the regulations (notably in antenna height, distance communications, licensing, call signs and transmitter power).

Betty Ford, the former First Lady of the United States, used the CB handle "First Mama".^[9] Voice actor Mel Blanc was also an active CB operator, often using "Bugs" or "Daffy" as his handle and talking on the air in the Los Angeles area in one of his many voice characters. He appeared in an interview (with clips having fun talking to children on his home CB radio station) in the NBC Knowledge television episode about CB radio in 1978.^[10] Similar to internet chat rooms a quarter-century later, CB allowed people to get to know one another in a quasi-anonymous manner. As with the internet, CB radio usage sometimes encouraged the worst characteristics of anonymity."

Covering the November, 1976 Gazette, this OKC Police Officer represented the resentment Auto Enthusiasts had for the 55 MPH Speed Limit. The cover title was "Hung up on the 55 MPH limit ? Got a Reason? Fire it in for next month's FORUM with letters from members."

 Below are real "Handles" for Oklahoma Region members  from the April. 1976 Gazette.

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