You can get anything you want

As I drive down 684 frustrated with my lack of music due to a dead phone and two broken ipods I find myself resorting to the radio. So I put my radio scan on to find anything decent to listen to for the next 40 minutes. After a few minutes, about to give up and drive in silence, I hear a guitar and some catchy folk music playing on the channel 90.7. What is this I wonder? Because it sounds great. A live performance. I even like this music enough to look it up later. Finally they announce that it's WFUV, Fordham University's public radio. I get home and continue to listen on the radio inside and look more into the radio. I don't really understand if this has any students on air, because clearly these shows are older, well known people hosting the shows. But the fact that they get 350,000 listeners per week in the tri-state area, and the signal reaches as far as Northern Westchester is pretty impressive. And this is a non-commercial radio station too. Once again here comes that word '501C3 non-profit organization'. And links to more of them from their site. I hear them mention something called "Outpost in the Burbs" and ask listeners to please find out more, so I do. And what are they? "A nonprofit outreach organization dedicated to building community through music, community service, and cultural programs"...based in Northern Jersey. All volunteer run, they started as a coffeehouse and put on shows and events with folk singers and other artists. This is the type of thing that I want to spend my life being apart of, but the problem is this is all the way in Montclair, New Jersey. I mean technically that isnt too far, maybe 25 miles....plus a $12 toll across the Hudson River, gas money, and traffic. I just don't understand why New York City, Long Island, and New Jersey are so culturally rich with these organizations but Westchester, no. What do we have? Yeah, we have the Westchester County Center, Neuberger Art Museum right at Purchase... but where are our local arts organizations building a community through music. I just don't understand. Westchester supports all this fancy smancy art and concerts, but nothing local. Honestly, I think about this every single day. What do I want to do in life? How do I do it? I take classes on this. I mean I have a textbook and a class teaching me to write grants, and create special events....maybe I should start paying attention. Because that, is what I want to do. Start a community here in Westchester. For young musicians and artists, a place where they can be themselves, have people support them, feel like they belong. This is all I want. I will do it. As much as I want to move to San Francisco, to Toronto, or to Manhattan.... Westchester County is my home and I've got pride for this place.