A year or so ago, Nick Spitzer, host of the folk music/roots music program that NPR offers, "American Routes," was in Seattle (and yes, even though the program is about roots music, Spitzer uses the word "routes" in the program's title—following various "routes" to finding "roots" music). He dropped into KUOW, our local NPR affiliate, where he was interviewed for about an hour by Marcy Silman, one of KUOW's regular newscaster/interviewers.

Now, Marcy Silman is normally a very sharp, intelligent woman, but I have heard her on the air long enough and often enough to be aware that she is not omniscient. Although the breadth of her knowledge is really admirable, there are some definite gaps. And folk music seems to be one of these gaps.

When she introduced Nick Spitzer, reading from his CV, she encountered the fact that he had a degree in folklore. "Folklore!??" she asked incredulously. "You can get a degree in folklore?" As if a degree in folklore was like a degree in tiddly-winks*.   It had never occurred to her that folklore could be a subject of serious study.

Some people just don't have a clue.

Don Firth

*Now, of course, the Olympic Tiddly-Winks Champion is going to get on my case. . . .