After reading the Kerns essay “Reading on the Air,” the one topic that I didn’t understand was the idea of reading something and imagining it while speaking. I understand when he says “if your news report includes a description of a place – say, the ruins of a church that had been burned down over night- you need to remember what the scene looked like as you read what you’ve written about it (4),” but rather, it is that I didn’t know what that would sound like. How would  a listener would know the difference? After listening to Wheeler’s “ugly Pew,”  I understand what Kerns means but also, why it is important.

In Wheeler’s audio essay, he describes the experience of going to church after his sister tried to commit suicide. This is a hard topic to talk about and you can tell he is reliving this moment when he  describes how he stormed out of the prayer hall when the church goers bowed their heads and prayed for his sister. He pauses, and then says “and I got mad (5:54),” and continues that if his sister had died, he would know it was because he had left that prayer room and had given up on praying to save her (6:00). His pacing gives the impression that his reliving that moment caused frustration for him, years later. He had relived that terrible moment while speaking about it, and the listener can hear, and perhaps even share his sorrow.

Also, this moment was important to me as a listener because there is a departure from his tone, here. Throughout his essay, he maintains a calm, melodic tone. But when he says “and I got mad,” his voice gets louder in pitch, showing his excitement from this statement and the emotion from that moment.