Comment: I'll never quit you, NPR

Confession time: I have crushes on many of the voices at NPR . And apparently, I’m not alone. Recently at a party, a new friend of mine mentioned that she loves the soothing voice of none other than Kai Risdal. She says it calms her down and makes her day. I too enjoy his dulcet tones and mellow yet confident voice as he explains the world’s shattered economy to me in terms I can understand. It’s like he’s just sitting at the kitchen table talking to me while I make yet another version of noodles with cheese.

I should go on the record as saying that I am NPR geek. I get most of my news and mental stimulation during my days raising two small children from the good folks at NPR. They are my friends, or at the very least, my companions throughout the daily ups and downs of caregiving and sweeping the floor three thousand times a day to rid it of Cheerios detritus. I love the faithful voices I listen to. No matter where we have moved over the years (and moved we have) I can always count on my voice-mates at NPR to talk me through whatever is going on in the world in terms that are left of center enough for me, a Canadian living in California.

Even when I don’t know a soul, as long as I know where my NPR station and the nearest Target are, I’m good.

Earlier in my career as an NPR voice crush groupie, I was all over Ray Suarez. His voice is just right. I could have listened to him reading the telephone book and I would have been riveted. But he left for TV ventures, and we don’t have TV, so Ray is an ex now. (We’re on good terms.)

I’m a big fan of Shea Stevens. She has that smoky, autumnal, maybe-I-smoke-or-just- have-vocal nodules-kind of voice that's just gorgeous. She makes me feel safe and informed simultaneously. I keep thinking she’ll get laryngitis but somehow she just keeps rocking the hoarseness at just the right level. Shiver me timbres, seriously.

And now that I think about it, I have a friend who says that Ira Glass always sounds like he’s filing his nails; his manner is so casual, you are sure that he’s doing something else while he talks. He’s relaxing and entertaining, too.

And Karl Castle. Well, he feels more like a grandfatherly or great uncle-ish personality to me; what I really love is when he’s on the humor show “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me” and is taking the piss out of anyone and everyone. You just know this guy is fun at parties and family dinners. I would do a LOT to get his voice on my answering machine.

Which brings me to Peter Segal. Oh how I love his voice, his wit, his phrasing, his tempo. I actually went to a taping of his show and you know what? I don’t even remember what he looked like. It was unimportant to me. All that matters is his voice.

Please do not misunderstand. These are not tawdry crushes of the erotic variety. No, no, no! Do not sully my wonderful pals at NPR in this way! I just love to listen to them. They are the one consistent thing in my life. When Leanne Hansen goes away for a week I feel a little untethered. I totally want to be her best friend. Have you ever heard such a friendly, lovable and intelligent voice in your life?

But I am going on now, aren’t I? I’m just sort of relieved to realize that other people in the world derive the same unsullied, simple pleasure of turning on the dial around 89.3 or so anywhere in the country and breathing a sigh of familiarity and relief.