For a number of years, my friends knew that they shouldn't try to reach me between 6 and 8 p.m. on Saturday nights, because whatever I was doing--working in the yard, taking a walk in the neighborhood, or just sitting quietly in the house--I would be listening intently to a radio show called "A Prairie Home Companion."

    Featuring a mix of comedy sketches, musical numbers, and mock-ads, the show was (and is) anchored by its host, a man who sometimes billed himself as "The World's Tallest Radio Comedian." Garrison Keillor (1942-) is 1.9 meters, which would certainly make him ONE of, if not THE, tallest.

    But the hyperbole is part of the fun. Keillor's signature bit is the mid-show monologue, "The News from Lake Wobegon," his mythical hometown, "where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average." He describes the place as "the little town that time forgot, and the decades cannot improve," but also admits that the word "woebegone" can mean "shabby, derelict or run down."

    As with any good humor, Keillor's contains important social truths. For example, the idea that "all the children are above average" has been called "the Lake Wobegon Effect." This "illusory superiority" can mean that no parent wants to think of his or her child as being "below average," although statistically 50 percent of all children must be.

    The saga has gone on for the better part of four decades, and fresh segments are still being broadcast--at least until Keillor's announced retirement next summer.

    In fact, Keillor was born in Anoka, Minnesota, which, though a suburb of the "Twin Cities" (Minneapolis and Saint Paul), still has just over 17,000 people today. He has capitalized on his youthful experiences in Anoka and other small Minnesota towns not only in the monologue, but in around 10 books about his town, and nearly 30 books altogether.

    He has also written magazine articles, poetry, and social and political commentary. His distinctive baritone voice is heard in commercials, cartoons, and a radio spot (available online) called "The Writer's Almanac."

    Vocabulary: Which word above means

    1. advertised

    2. performance where just one person speaks

    3. short performances

    4. deep in tone

    5. fake, made-up

    6. long story

    7. centered (on)

    8. flat land, as in the American Midwest

    9. took advantage of

    10. exaggeration

    ANSWERS: 1. billed 2. monologue 3. sketches 4. baritone 5. mock 6. saga 7. anchored (by) 8. prairie 9. capitalized 10. hyperbole