Rest Easy, Old Friend

I held quite a few different titles during my radio career. One of those was “Music Director.” Part of my job was to listen to the new songs that we received every week and then discuss with the Program Director and consultant which ones we would add to the play list.

One day a week, before the meeting with the PD and consultant, I would take record calls. There was a two to four hour window where representatives from the various record labels would call to “sell” me on their records. They would pitch me recent research or airplay success stories in hopes that we would add their songs.

There were a few independent record promoters that would call working songs that might not be on a major label or to help promote major label artists. One of my favorite music calls each week was from and independent promoter named Jack Pride.

He and I began chatting when I first became a music director at B95. Our program director had known him for longer than me and we would often add songs that we felt were good enough to play (even though consultants disagreed). It felt good to be able to help him out. As time went on, it started to get harder and harder to get some of those songs on the air, as many corporate consultants stepped in and had the final say on adds.

I always enjoyed chatting with Jack. For both of us, it was never about the label or the artist – what mattered was if the song was good or not. He and I loved a good lyric and story behind the song. He was passionate about the music he promoted and there were many songs that should have been hits that never made it to radio because of consultants and corporate people.

Our chats each week lasted a bit longer than a normal call, but that is because we became good friends. We’d talk about mutual friends, our family, faith and life in general. He was such a great guy.

After years of telephone chats, I finally had the pleasure of meeting Jack in Nashville at the Country Radio Seminar. He had been talking about a steakhouse down there called Morton’s and he took me and my program director there for dinner one night. It was such a great time.

Every year, Jack would make hundreds of chocolate chip cookies for his radio contacts. The first year, I got this big box with a metal tin in it. When I opened it, there was a dozen of his famous cookies. There were the BEST cookies! I know I wasn’t the only one who waited for those cookies every year. The first couple years I was out of radio, Jack still sent me cookies at Christmas. He knew my kids loved them, too.

When I left radio all together and went into sleep medicine, our chats were less frequent. I’m not sure he ever retired, but I know he had stopped making calls to stations within the last couple years. I guess he had some health issues recently, and I was saddened to hear that he passed away this week at age 80.

I really need to be better about calling someone when I think about them. I had just thought about him a week or so ago and made a mental note to call him before the holidays. Lesson learned.

Rest easy, Jack. See you on the other side, buddy.

Friday Photo Flashback

One of the greatest things about working in radio was being in a position to help people. This is where local radio wins! Real people helping real people.

My Friday Photo Flashback this week takes me back to the very first B-95 Country Cares For St. Jude Kids Radiothon. When Brian Cleary took over as our program director, we partnered with them to raise money for kids with cancer.

I had heard of St. Jude because I was familiar with Danny Thomas. Today, there are plenty of commercials for the hospital featuring Marlo Thomas, Danny’s daughter. Back when we started doing radiothons, there was a whole lot less exposure for the hospital.

The photo below brings back a ton of memories of some of the greatest people I have ever worked with. From left to right we have Anne, Kristine, Brian (kneeling), Buzby (our mascot), Lonnie (the winner of an autographed guitar), Jim and me. What a fantastic on air staff!

Each of us was flown to Memphis to tour the hospital, meet the doctors, meet patients, meet parents of patients, and meet with many of the country stars who also supported the hospital. When I went, my ex was still pregnant with my firstborn. You can only imagine the emotions I experienced while I was there!

It was like nothing I had ever experienced. The stories, the happy endings, and the sad endings. The amazing facts and figures that were shared about how the research that they were doing was not only helping kids with cancer, but anyone with cancer. The discoveries made and the treatments that were making a difference in the lives of many were astounding. The two days I spent in Memphis were full of emotions!

We got to take the things that we saw, learned, and present them on the air, while raising money for the hospital. It was because of this radiothon that I met two very special kids (who may pop up in a future Photo Flashback), Kyle and Allyson. Both of them were St. Jude patients and I became fast friends with them and their families.

For two days, we were set up in center court of our local mall broadcasting from there. We had our volunteer phone banks set up on the floor to the front and side of us. We broadcast live from the stage, where all of the microphones and equipment was set up (which you can see in the last photo).

We weren’t a very big radio market. We weren’t sure what to expect for our first radiothon. If I remember correctly, our St. Jude rep, Amy (pictured on the left in the bottom photo) thought we might raise like $40,000. We beat those expectations by almost $20,000.

Without a doubt, it was one of the highlights of my radio career. Even though there was a ton of preparation and work that went into the event, it was one I always looked forward to. There is a lot of satisfaction knowing that you play a small part in helping save the lives of children.

National Ice Cream Day

Today is National Ice Cream Day!

I have two memories tied to National Ice Cream Day and both involve my radio days. Both were when I worked at B95 in Flint.

The first was when I was working mid-days. I wanted to do a live broadcast from a local ice cream place. I put the bug in the sales team’s ear and they were able to find a little place called Ron’s Pizza and Ice Cream. It was a place I was unfamiliar with, which is sad because I was so close to where I was living.

We did the entire shift from Ron’s. They had pizza specials and a free cone for the first 100 people who came out. They had picnic tables where folks could sit and there was a steady flow of listeners who stopped by throughout the five hours we were there.

Their pizza was delicious and the ice cream scoops were huge. I took the family there often when we lived in the neighborhood. Sadly, they closed some time ago, but that broadcast remains one of my favorites.

The second memory was from when I was doing mornings with Steph. We hooked up with the Frosty Boy in Ortonville. If memory serves me right, we did a two hour broadcast from there after our morning show.

The Frosty Boy was known for their ice cream and their amazing broasted chicken! I remember we had this huge box truck that we took to the remote broadcast.

They had their mascot (a chicken) out waving people in at the curb. I remember Steph and I got a picture with that chicken! She probably has it somewhere.

We had such fun talking to listeners that day. I remember they gave us Frosty Boy T-shirts, which I seemed to wear a lot, as it is in a lot of old pictures.

I think they have new owners now. They building is the same, but they painted it and changed the name to Frothy Girl. I’m not sure if they still have broasted chicken.

I hope to take the kids out for ice cream later to celebrate.

Friday Photo Flashback

Time for another Friday Photo Flashback. I was going to say that I am not digging too deep for this week’s picture, but when I realized that it is probably at least 10-15 years old. Is that considered old? You decide.

This is one of my favorite photos of me with my dad and brother. This photo used to come up for both of them if they called me. With each new phone and contact transfer, the photo got more and more pixilated. I wasn’t even sure I still had a copy of the original until I found it saved on a hard drive.

My brother, as you may recall, lives in Ohio. He usually gets up to Michigan a couple times a year. This was taken during one of those visits.

We had obviously gone to lunch or breakfast at Leo’s Coney Island, because we are in the parking lot there. My dad and brother must have drove up to see us. If I had to guess this may be around 2009 because I am wearing my B95 coat (and I still have some hair). I’m guessing that this was springtime as the trees in the background are still green.

What I love about this picture (and many subsequent ones of the three of us) is that there is no doubt we are all related. The older my brother and I have gotten, the more we started looking alike. The older we get, I also feel like we look more like my dad.

What I hate about this picture is knowing when it was taken. I was still with my ex and I’m sure that any time I was allotted to see my brother and father was based loosely around whatever she had to do or wanted me to do. My time with them was never as much as it should have been. To this day, I look back and wish I knew then what I know now. I lost out on a LOT of time with my family.

On the bright side, I feel like my relationship with both my father and brother are stronger now than they have ever been. For that, I am glad. I love this picture and love them both.

Friday Photo Flashback

I’m just under the wire for another Friday Photo Flashback. For this edition, we go back to Y2K!

The above photo was taken outside the Country Music Hall of Fame on either December 31, 1999 OR January 1, 2000. I was working at B95 in Flint, MI at the time. We had a huge promotion where we took a couple buses of listeners to Nashville to ring in the year 2000 with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. I believe Kenny Chesney and some other singer all were with them that night.

Kristine Turner, our morning show co-host, and I were the station chaperones. I don’t recall if the listeners bought tickets to go or if they won them, but the trip was quite a whirlwind and awesome time. I remember we left Flint at the crack of dawn and drove all the way to Nashville nonstop. I believe when we arrived at the hotel, we had time to check in, change and we left for the show.

The atmosphere in the arena was electric! For weeks, all the news could talk about was Y2K and all the potential issues and uncertainty that may or may not happen at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Y2K was the furthest thing from everyone’s mind at the show! It was a big party.

The year 2000 rang in to loud cheers, Auld Lang Syne, and couples kissing. Afterwards, the concert continued. We knew the buses were heading back to the hotel until much later, so we ventured out into downtown Nashville. All along Broadway, EVERY bar was hopping with activity. We stopped at almost all of them. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, where singers like Terri Clark were discovered, was packed and we enjoyed some great music.

As we walked the streets of Nashville, people were coming up to us. I had worn my Detroit Tigers jersey to the show and people from Michigan kept stopping us asking us where we were from and then telling us what Michigan town they were from. There were many hugs and handshakes throughout that walk. I don’t think things closed down until like 4am that night. It was unreal how busy the town was that night.

The following morning, New Year’s Day, we had a few hours to walk around and take in some sights before the buses left to go home. We opted to go to the Opryland Hotel and walk through there. I won’t lie, I had no idea how big it was and just how much was in there. I remember thinking, “Wait. You are leaving our hotel … to go see another one?”

I was floored when I walked in. I remember seeing the boat that floated through the hotel. I couldn’t believe it. The hotel was obviously more than a hotel. I enjoyed walking through it and checking out the attractions. I may have gotten a caricature done while I was there. Years later, after we were married, Sam and I took a trip down to see her aunt in Kentucky. On the way home, we made a stop in Nashville and took that boat ride together.

On that trip, time was very limited, but it still was a lot of fun. We did have one “incident” on that trip. We stopped at one point, I can’t remember if it was to eat or maybe at a rest stop to just get out and walk for five minutes. One of the bus drivers actually locked the keys in the bus! This is the same bus driver who had taken us on a “tour” of Nashville at some point during the trip and got lost! I had to laugh, because I could see us stuck there for a while. Luckily, someone was able to reach in and get ahold of the arm that opened the door. It was no easy task, but we finally were able to get back on the bus and head home. That was a story I enjoyed telling on the air!!!

I have yet to actually walk through the Country Music Hall of Fame, so I think another trip to Nashville is in order.

Friday Photo Flashback

This is a “feature” I started a couple weeks ago with a Daily Writing Prompt. It’s been fun to find a photo to write about each week. I stumbled on a picture this week I didn’t know I had. It was one that I hadn’t scanned yet and it features one of the bravest and strongest young men I have ever met.

The photo above was taken during our first St. Jude Radiothon at B95. The young man on the right is Kyle. If I had to guess he is about 10 years old here. We are in center court of our local mall raising money for kids with cancer.

The St. Jude Radiothon was one of the most emotional and satisfying things I have ever done. I loved having the station out in public broadcasting live. Today, they do this all from the studio, but back then it was something really special.

The hardest thing for me was listening to the various pre-recorded stories of families who had both happy and sad outcomes connected to their visit to St. Jude. Not crying in public was quite difficult at times, but the radiothon was a rollercoaster of smiles and tears.

Our St. Jude reps would connect us to families in the area that had been to St. Jude to share their stories of hope. Knowing that local people were helped by St. Jude helped us raise money for our cause. I was happy to interview Kyle and his mother Vicky during my shift during that first radiothon all those years ago.

We’d meet other children, too, from year to year, but Kyle was the first one I met and holds a special place in my heart. His mother shared the story of how they discovered Kyle was sick as an infant. His first surgery was at 6 months old. He has since had at least 15 surgeries. She shared their story and stories of the people that helped them at St. Jude.

As I look at this picture it seems that I am listening to Vicky, who is obviously not in the picture. She is probably right across from me. Looking at the photo, it is easy to get distracted by the equipment in it. The microphones and microphone stands were obviously lifted right out of the on air studios. One thing I noticed that I am wearing glasses. I had Lasik surgery around 2000, so I’m guessing the photo is from 1999 or early 2000.

I see the three ring binder which played a very important part of the radiothon. Each day had a folder. In the folder were all of the cue sheets for the recorded pieces we’d be playing on air. The basket the folder is sitting on is what our reps would put notes in. Those notes could be pledges (Bill from Flint is a Partner in Hope, Bob from Burton gave $500, and Flint Police have raised $3000), challenges (Steve from Saginaw will match all donations for the next 20 minutes, Nick has challenged all parents with baseball players to make a pledge), and notes about things that needed to be promoted or upcoming guests, or hourly tallies.

This photo brings back so many memories of a time when radio was fun to do. This was an event that made a difference and I was proud to be a part of it. I don’t recall how much money we raised that year, but knowing that it would help with research to find a cure for childhood cancer, it meant a lot to all of us.

Over the years, I have been lucky enough to still be in contact with Vicky and Kyle. As I have already stated, Kyle is one of the bravest and strongest young men I know. He’s had chemo, radiation and more! He’s had so many surgeries – as a matter of fact, he is currently recovering from another recent surgery and doing well. He’ll have another one coming up in a few months.

Knowing that the picture above is over 20 years old, it shouldn’t surprise me that Kyle will be turning 33 this year, he’s not the young boy in the photo anymore. This is really amazing, especially since they didn’t expect him to live long as a baby. He is a hero to me – a true hero. Knowing Kyle and his family has been a blessing for me.

A lot of time has passed since that radiothon. A lot of money has been raised, and many breakthroughs and treatments have been discovered and created to help kids with cancer. Somewhere in my pile of photos, I have a picture with our entire radio staff and Kyle holding a guitar from our final tally that day. I will have to find it and add it to this post in the future, or maybe I should just do another Friday Photo Flashback.

Friday Fodder

Hello readers. I hope this finds you safe and healthy. This is, yet again, another blog that is full of random thoughts in no particular order.

Baseball

My home team, The Detroit Tigers, have not been much to watch in the past. I guess I was spoiled in that I got to watch the magical year of 1984 and a World Series Crown. Since then, they have struggled. “We are rebuilding” has been what us fans have been told for years! In 2006 we went to the World Series and lost. So, in 30+ years, we really haven’t had much to cheer about.

Despite that fact, I really miss baseball. Today in my Facebook memories, a picture popped up that I posted two years ago. The picture is the view of the baseball diamond that is literally behind our house. “One of the things I love about our house is that I can walk out on the porch and catch a good ball game all spring and summer long,” is the caption. Sigh. Not this year. Even the neighbor kids aren’t out playing ball.

I have mentioned in the past that my favorite Tiger from the 1984 team was Aurelio Lopez. Senor Smoke, they called him. There was something about his pitching style that I liked. As a 14 year old kid, I used to pretend I was him. When I was with my dad, or my buddies from school. We’d pitch to each other calling balls and strikes. When I was alone, I had a square I drew on the side of my house that represented the “strike zone,” I used to throw the ball at. There used to be a square spray painted on the wall of our elementary school, and you could stand in the parking lot and throw tennis balls at it – calling your own strikes.

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I miss hearing baseball on the radio. I miss watching it on TV. There is some talk about teams being allowed to play without people in the stands. While it would certainly be weird to just hear the sound of a ball coming off the bat, I would miss the sound of the crowd cheering for a home run. At this point, however, I would welcome baseball in any form.

The Boys

After my self quarantine of over two weeks, I was able to pick up my sons. They will be staying with me for a little over a week. Despite having seeing them briefly when I took my oldest’s birthday gift to him, and their short visit in my driveway, I felt like I hadn’t seen them at all! Sure, video chats helped, but to actually be with them and give them a hug means so much.

My youngest still has school work that he is doing online and will continue to do through the end of the school year. Because he is a senior, my oldest had the choice of continuing with the final marking period or taking the grades he had when all this Covid stuff came down. He had excellent grades, so he chose the latter and is officially done with school. We’re still waiting to see about graduation and stuff. We haven’t booked a place for his graduation party yet, because we just don’t know when we’ll be able to hold it!

We were able to celebrate my son’s 18th birthday here. We made a cake and sang Happy Birthday. Choices were limited, but we told him he could chose what he wanted for his birthday dinner. He chose pizza (no surprise). It was nice to be able to do that.

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They are always on their devices. They have an Xbox, a Wii U, a Nintendo Switch, and countless games on their cell phones. I am trying to get them away from that stuff, but with the cold weather, it hasn’t been easy. At least today it is supposed to be in the 50’s and we can get outside to play catch or take a walk.

Recently, I taught my youngest how to play chess. It is not my favorite game to play, mainly because I suck at it. I decided that I was going to teach him cribbage. My grandpa taught me how to play when I was about 9 years old. We played the game open handed (where you could see each other’s cards) and I walked him through things. He beat me, and I am hoping to play a few more games while he is here. I am also hoping to get my oldest to play, too. It is ALWAYS nice to have something to do when there is a power outage, or when you are bored.

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In preparation for the boys, I made sure to put clean sheets on their beds, and straightened up their room. While I was in there, I raised the blind on the window to let the natural light in. We have a huge tree that is outside their window. The birds were driving Maizey crazy flying back and forth. She sat like this meowing and jumping at the window for about 5 hours!

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I remember a time when parents put their kids to bed and then stayed up and watched TV before going to bed themselves. However, it’s been the opposite here. Sam and I are ready for bed by 10 and last night they were still up at 3:30am!!! What is up with that?!?

Layoffs

As stated in previous blogs, I am off work on doctor’s orders. While I am here recovering, I have been lucky enough to spend it with family. I have been praying for my co-workers and others who are still working at the hospital. The labor pools at hospital continued to grow because of ambulatory sites being closed, and those workers being put in the pool. This meant less hours for those working. To make matters worse, this week hospitals in the state announced massive layoffs and cuts. Some positions were completely eliminated!

Many of the layoffs are temporary and employees can take advantage of unemployment benefits (while keeping their health care benefits). If I am being honest, I wish that this had been an option from the beginning for many of us. It would have been much less stressful (and safer) for people. I know I would have opted to just be home with family, instead of having to go through a the mental breakdown I had to be home.

I continue to pray for my friends who are still right there in the thick of things. I continue to pray for the many healthcare workers across the state, and throughout the country, who are doing what they can to save lives – while trying to stay safe themselves. I just want life to be back to normal. I want to go and do the job I was trained to do. I’m just not sure when that will happen and if I can even do that!

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Skinny Me

I was out in the garage this week looking through a few boxes. I was looking for some notes from some classes I took years ago (more on that in an upcoming blog). I stumbled on something that I had totally forgotten about – an old magazine I was in.

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Mobile Beat Magazine is still around and it is mainly for mobile DJs. I used to get it when I was DJing more. It had great ideas regarding set ups, equipment, contracts, etc… It also put out a top 200 list every year of the most requested songs from that past year. I still look at it when I do get out to DJ (which is rarely ever now). This particular issue did a story about mobile DJ’s who were also radio DJ’s. I was interviewed and I was one of those featured in the article. My ugly mug even made it in the magazine!

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It is funny to see this picture.

I am about 100 pounds heavier now.
The glasses are gone thanks to Lasik surgery.
The hair is gone because of …. natural causes.
The station is gone, because of typical radio politics.

The shirt I am wearing was given to me by my buddy Tim, who is now working in major market radio on a morning show. He and some buddies (Doug and Phil) used to have this set up in their basement where they “played radio.” In all honesty, the stuff they did was better than the stuff you hear on many radio stations today. They would make tapes and I loved them. They called it “Fake Radio” and had me voice some liners for it. Making those up were a blast. I loved that shirt and was sad when it finally was so tattered that I couldn’t wear it anymore!

Ella

My baby girl continues to be a source of happiness. It is amazing how much she has grown in just 10 weeks. She is “talking” so much! I could listen to “baby babble” all day! I love how she smiles at me when I talk to her. There is NO better feeling. While putting clothes away this week, my wife slipped on the tutu and bow my friend Margaret had sent. She slipped it on over her PJs and it looked great. Looking at her, I can totally see her wearing something like this for dance classes.

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I am so guilty of taking a million pictures of her. I will totally be “THAT” dad who will drive her crazy with my camera! “Dad! Enough with the pictures!” I will sit and go through the pictures and claim a “favorite,” only to go through them another day and claim another as “my favorite!” My latest “favorite” is this one:

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I love this little girl SO much.

I love my children SO much. Blessings – each and every one of them!

Until Next Time …

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Tune Tuesday – What This Country Needs

It has been some time since I posted a song for Tune Tuesday. Part of the reason for this is that I have been spending most of my drive to and from work listening to Old Radio Shows. This week, I plugged the old iPod in and hit shuffle. I used to keep my “To Blog” Journal next to me in the car and when I heard a song that I felt might work for Tune Tuesday, I’d jot it down. During my drive, I heard today’s song and I figured it would be a good one to write about.

Most of my radio career, I worked in Country radio. I have had the chance to meet and interview many Country singers. One of my favorites, is Aaron Tippin. He broke on the seen with a great song called “You’ve Got To Stand for Something” in 1991. Follow up songs included “Kiss This,” “There Ain’t Nothing Wrong With the Radio,” “Working Man’s Ph. D.,” “I Got It Honest,” and the post 9/11 patriotic song “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Flies.”

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I’ve had the chance to interview him a couple of times, the first when I worked at B95 in Flint and then when I worked at 94-5 The Moose. The first time we chatted, we chatted about his upcoming show at the Genesee County Fair that summer. It would have been 1998, because he opened his show with today’s song, more on that in a minute. His show at the fair was the first time I had ever seen him perform. During one song, he puts together a children’s bike while singing and donates the bike to a local charity. That’s the kind of guy he is – he has a heart of gold. Later in the show, he donned a fedora and sang a Frank Sinatra song, which just blew me away!

The second time I interviewed him was in the studios at the Moose. We chatted about his love for flying, his patriotism, support of the armed services and so much more. I had to ask him about the Sinatra song! He told me what a big Rat Pack fan he was and we chatted about some very cool Dean Martin Box Sets I had. He was so gracious with his time when he was there. Before he left, I asked if I could get an autographed picture for my dad, who was also a big fan of his music. He asked me about my dad. I told him how he was a Vietnam Vet and how it was my dad who introduced me to his music. He wrote on the picture for my dad, “To Sam. I KNOW you got it honest! Thank you for your service! Aaron Tippin.” Classy guy!

On to today’s song. As I listened to the words in the car, I got to thinking about all the politics and such going on today. The country is so divided. We are hearing trash talk from each party about each candidate and so on and so forth. I remembered Aaron doing this song as his opening song at the fair. I remember introducing him and there was a podium set up in front of the microphone. It had one of those red, white, and blue, flowery banners on it. When I introduced him, he comes walking out with a suit jacket on and shirt and tie. He goes to the podium and starts singing the song like it’s his campaign speech! I loved every damn minute of it! If he ever DID decide to run for office, he’d have my vote!

The opening lyric of the song says so much “keep what’s good, pile up what’s bad and then I’d strike a match”. Going “back to the basics” would really be a good idea! And let’s face it, Washington DC could use a cool statue of Hank Sr.! Wouldn’t it be great if all the country really needed was some “steel guitar” to bring us all together? I love the USA and yes, I am “proud of it” and I will “always love it”.

This song is one of my top 10 most played songs on my iPod. Thanks, Aaron, for your friendship and your music!

What This Country Needs

If I was runnin’ this country

I’d start it over from scratch

Keep what’s good, pile up what’s bad

And then I’d strike a match

Yeah, we’d go back to the basics

Of how things ought to be

Yeah, there’d be a lot of changes

If it was left up to me

[Chorus]

Cause what this country needs

Is a little more steel guitar

And put a little fiddle right in the middle

Straight out of a Texas bar

And give us a song, we can all sing along

From sea to shining sea

Be proud of it and always love it

That’s what this country needs

(Verse 2)

Now if you want to hear about livin’

Just twist that radio dial

Til you come to a singer singin’

What life is all about

Cause you can’t deny that people still cry

They laugh and they smile and they hurt

And that’s my humble opinion y’all

You can take it for what it’s worth

[Chorus]

Yeah, turn it on up and let it ring out

Across the land of the free

They ought to build a statue of Hank Williams, Sr.

In Washington, D.C.

[Chorus]

You just be proud of it and always love it

And that’s what this country needs.

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You can stop by his website and see what he is up to and try his wine here:

https://www.aarontippin.com/

Voices of the Past

This weekend, I DJ’d homecoming dance. For high schools, all my new music is on a hard drive and I play it from the computer. When I do weddings or parties, I still bring some CDs. Recently, I have been going through boxes of CDs in hopes of putting what I don’t have on my hard drive, on the drive.

While most of my CDs are professional ones containing albums and music, I have some homemade CDs of things that I have burned to CD from various places I have worked. I found 2 CDs marked “B95 Stuff” and “More B95 Stuff” in a box and took them with me to listen to in the car. I was unsure if these CDs were data or audio CDs. When I popped them in the CD player, I was happy to find they contained audio clips.

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Most of the audio was phone calls from listeners. I used to do an “impossible question” every day for prizes and there were many phoners of listeners guessing the answer. One of my favorite calls was on the first disc. A woman caller simply asked, “Yes, is the answer poop? Going poop!?” Like the word poop wasn’t enough … she had to explain “going poop”! There were also many requests, as I did a request lunch show.

I also found some interviews with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tim Rushlow from Little Texas, and Terri Clark. Some of the phoners were just silly things, I used to have listeners say things like “Keith Allen? They let him out on parole?” or “I love every thing about this station, but Keith Allen!” or “Keith Allen? Turn that radio off!” There were a couple calls that took me by surprise.

Call #1

The first one was hearing a call with my friend, Marie. If you read my previous blog, Marie was my friend who just passed away last week.

That blog is here: https://nostalgicitalian.com/2019/09/21/time-life-death-ripples/

There were actually 2 calls from her on that disc. One of them she wins a contest I was doing, and another she called to talk about watching Trace Adkins rear end when he was in concert. (There were other females who called to talk about his butt, as well.)

She was one of those friends who would do anything for you. When my oldest son was born, she had this beautiful blanket made with his name on it and also had a small photo album made with an engraved nameplate. When my youngest was born, she bought him one of my favorite outfits. I spoke with her just a few days before she passed and she was asking what we needed for the baby. She was always doing things for her friends. While it was nice to hear us joking around about Trace’s butt on the CD, it was sad to remember that she has just passed away. Her funeral is Wednesday.

Call #2

The second call was one from my friend Pat. I always called her Pat, but I think most people called her Trish. I also met Pat while at B95. She was forever trying to win prizes. She always came up to our remote broadcasts and talked with us. She was a HUGE fan of the band Alabama. She used to call up and say that she was lead singer, Randy Owen’s wife. I used to kid her and ask is his wife knew about that! She and I had a lot in common, and became good friends. She was a huge Elvis fan and we often talked about him and his music. I remember how excited she was when she told me she was going to Graceland. I had been there while in Memphis for a St. Jude visit, and I told her how much she was going to love it.

The first time Pat won a prize from me she was SO excited. “I won?! OH MY GOD!! WE DID IT! WE WON!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!! (Laughter) I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!” It was such a great response that I used to use that call as my “stunt winner”. If we ever had someone win a prize who was not excited about it, I’d say “Bring in the stunt winner” and play Pat’s call! The call on the CD was when she won some hockey tickets and she kept saying how much her boys were going to love it. She passed away suddenly in 2014, leaving behind her four boys and a granddaughter who she spoke of so often. She was such a wonderful person and we shared many laughs together.

Call #3

The third call that got me was a call I made to my grandma. Phone calls from my grandma were a staple on the show. I used to call her every Christmas Eve (if I worked on the holiday) or the day before. Christmas Eve was ALWAYS at her house – I wrote a blog about it here:

https://nostalgicitalian.com/2018/12/24/the-ghost-of-christmas-eve-past-and-yet-to-come/

The phone call would consist of me asking grandma what was for dinner. She would go on to talk about homemade ravioli, breaded steak and ammoglio (pronounced moy-gyoo) sauce, the many varieties of cookies, cakes, and cannoli, and the other items featured in the Christmas Eve Feast. This call, however, was NOT about Christmas Eve, which is what made it even more special.

This call actually helps me date the CDs. This call was made July 24, 2001. How do I know this? I was calling grandma to wish her Happy Birthday. During the call she offers up without hesitation that she is 77. She goes on to talk about how my dad was razzing her about something and then asks when I am coming over. She then went on to tell me how I needed to come see her “while my eyes are still open” because “I’m not going to be around much longer” as she often said.

It was emotional to hear her voice. She was sharp as a tack for so long. She was your stereotypical strong willed Italian woman. Knowing that shortly after that call, she would develop dementia was sad. She passed away in 2007, at age 83. Hearing her say “I love you” one more time on the phone – was priceless.

A Recovered Memory

I must have been doing a phone topic about teddy bears. There was probably a story about people sleeping with Teddy Bears or something, which led me to ask “Who still sleeps with a Teddy Bear?” or “Who still has their Teddy Bear from their childhood?”. The calls were about bears and toys that they had growing up. I don’t remember what the caller is talking about, but I respond about something I had growing up that I had totally forgotten about. This has a tie-in to my grandma, who I just mentioned.

It is funny how you can forget about things. I will forever remember a Teddy Bear that I had when I was little. I had it with me in the hospital when I had my tonsils out at 3 years old. The thing I had forgotten about is something I probably had around 5-7 years old. It was a hand puppet of Ernie from Sesame Street. Today, PBS has tons of kid shows. As I remember, Sesame Street, The Electric Company and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood were pretty much it on PBS. On CBC there was Mr. Dress-up and The Friendly Giant, but that was it. Sesame Street was my “go to” show. I think somewhere there is a picture of me with Ernie and Bert slippers!

What do I remember most about this Ernie puppet? First, the head was not felt like the real Muppet. It was a hard rubber/plastic. This helped when you went to make him talk. I guess I took him everywhere. I remember I’d bring him over to my grandma’s house and she would tease me. She’d put a lit cigarette in Ernie’s mouth and make him smoke. I hated that! “Ernie doesn’t smoke, grandma! That’s bad for you!” Grandma never said his name right. She always called him “Arnie”. I remember her telling me when I was older that when my brother and I stayed overnight there I used to make her kiss Ernie goodnight! “I had to kiss that dirty old Arnie!” I literally just chuckled out loud as I wrote that because I can hear her saying it!

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In Conclusion

I have CDs of my Honey Radio shows with my partner, Rob (https://nostalgicitalian.com/2018/04/26/get-a-load-of-this-guy/), which I listen to often. I still laugh along with them. He always made me laugh. While I am sad that he has passed away, I think he’d be happy to know that I still listen to those shows and they are still funny 25 years later!

I’m glad that I decided to pop those CDs in and give them a listen. Much like the CDs of Rob and me, these also made me chuckle, but also made me sad. At the same time, they are a reminder of good friends and family, who continue to make ripples (see previous blog) long after they have gone.

Expanding on an earlier Facebook post.

I am on vacation. I have the next week off and will have my sons all week. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to have them over. I am hoping that the weather will cooperate and we’ll get to do some fun things this week. This vacation could not have come at a better time. I’m not sure why, but I just need the break. I have so much that has been on my mind.

For example, Thursday was typical for me. I slept for about 3-4 hours. It is my day to switch from “midnight” mode to “days.” Normally on Thursday, my head hits the pillow and I am asleep quickly. That was not the case. I actually broke my own rule (and what I tell all my patients about electronics before bed) and was surfing the web and reading stuff hoping to make myself tired – it didn’t work.

I read once that if you can’t shut your mind off, just jot all the thoughts down. The thought process is that it can help free your mind of them. I hoped that this would work and posted the following on Facebook. In posting it here and re-reading it, I may or may not comment on these thoughts. Some of them are repeat thoughts, some are not. Here goes:

“Been here in bed since 10:30. Sam is already sleeping. The cats are both on the bed, too. Mind won’t shut off. Trying not to think about something that happened earlier that really just made me angry. Random thoughts/wishes:

* As much as I love to sit and write, I wish I could find a gig that paid me to do it.

Comment: The more I think on this, the more I wish I could do this! I believe that you are always your own worst critic. I have often wondered why anyone would even want to read what I write, yet, here you are. I’m sure many authors have wondered if people would want to read their stuff too. Writing is therapeutic for me. Much like radio, I can take my observations and share them. You won’t always agree with my thoughts or opinions, and that is OK with me.

* In talking to an old radio buddy, it makes me miss doing it full time (even though it has changed dramatically)

Comment: While I am not doing this full time, I need to acknowledge that I am very lucky to still be doing it part time. Even if it is once a week, whether it is live or recorded, I still have my foot in the door and I get to “create” and “perform.” I still love it and radio will probably always be in my blood.

* I wish I could review music, bands, or movies and get paid for it. Neat to see some friends of mine doing it and having success with that!

Comment: I follow some blogs that write movie reviews. I know they don’t get paid for that. However, I have a friend who writes a lot of political stuff for websites and gets paid for that. I also have a buddy who always seems to be out and about interviewing celebrities about their films for various news stations, TV and radio. What a cool gig that has to be. When I interviewed people on the radio I was always told I was a “good interviewer.” Maybe I am. Pardon me while I digress and share two instances come to mind:

When I was at B95, Craig Morgan was scheduled to come by the studio. At the time he had a minor hit, and some tunes that weren’t being played on the radio. I was told by my boss to put him on the air for a few minutes, ask him about his new song, play it and move on. I did my research, and there were a lot of things about Craig that I found interesting. Yes, I was going to ask about his song, but there were other things I wanted to as about. I asked about his military career, his family, and such. Craig is a very funny guy. He and I hit it off instantly. We laughed a lot and had a bunch of fun. About 5 or 8 minutes into the interview, my boss went into the studio in the next room and stood in front of the window. I thought he was gonna give me the “Wrap it up” signal because we were going longer than anticipated. Instead, he gave me the “keep going – stretch it out” signal.

I don’t recall how long the interview went, but it was FUN. My boss said, “You just took a guy who no one was really familiar with, and made the listeners love him, because you related to him. You asked questions that made him so real. It was entertaining, and enjoyable. That’s the best damn interview I have heard in a long time!” The kudos I received were unexpected.

Also at B-95, Jewel came by the studio and I interviewed her on the air. She had recorded a country album and was promoting it. I did my research and prepped for her interview. I found a lot of stuff that I could ask about. Jewel was homeless for a time. She lived in a van. I wasn’t sure if that was a topic she would want to talk about. When she arrived I asked her off air if there was anything that she didn’t want to talk about, she said to ask whatever I wanted to. Naturally, I asked about her album. I also asked about her family life and pop hits. I also asked about her being homeless, in which she shared some great stories about writing songs.

One of the things I asked about was some Wizard of Oz TV special she did in the mid ’90’s. She started chuckling and joked about it. She asked “How did you find out about that?!” This led her to talk about some plays she was in in school and some other childhood memories. She was so moved and excited to be talking about those things. It was so cool for me to see how moved she was to remember those stories and it was great radio!

After Jewel left the station, about a half hour later, I got a call on my cell phone from the record rep who brought her to the station. He said, “I wanted you to know that Jewel just told me that you were by far the best interview she has done on this radio tour! She was blown away that you asked her about that Wizard of Oz thing! She said she felt so comfortable talking to you and she really enjoyed herself. She said you made her remember some great stories that she has never shared with anyone before. Nice work, cowboy!”

Again, a high point in my radio career!

back to my original thought – I think it would be very cool to get the chance to hear an album before it hit stores, see a movie before it hits theaters, or read a book before it hits the shelves and then offer a review.

* It’s a shame when an entire team has to be punished because of a few others.

On my hour drive to work each night, it is often the time I catch up with friends on the phone. We talk about family, friends, and work. In discussing work, there was this common theme. Rather than dealing with employees individually and holding them accountable for whatever the issue was, bosses made a knee-jerk reaction and punished the entire staff for the issues of a few people.

I am not in a position of authority at my job. I was a boss on more than one occasion. Observations that I made as an employee, helped me to manage. Managers motivate! When employees are motivated, they will go above and beyond for you. Many managers tend to demotivate. Jay Trachman, one of my radio mentors, wrote an article geared toward radio managers, and it holds true for any manager, really. It included things that managers do to demotivate, with or without knowledge of doing it. They included:

Ignoring employee ideas
Setting unattainable goals and holding employees responsible for them
Treating employees like children
Ignoring that employees have lives outside of work
Making rules for the entire staff because of the behavior of a few members
Focusing on errors or mistakes, no matter how trivial (Incidentally, the facts show that when you dwell only on problem areas destroys the employee’s confidence and self-esteem makes the employee more error-prone!)

* I hate when an opportunity seems right, but no matter how many ways you try to make it work, you can’t.

Comment: Without going into detail, an opportunity presented itself. It was one of those opportunities that doesn’t come around too often. I took it all in. Asked questions. Weighed options. Re-weighed options with different scenarios. Crunched numbers. Re-visited scenarios. Made a pros and cons list (my wife swears by these!). It was an opportunity that just was not something I could jump at. I am ok with that, though, because, it doesn’t change anything I am already doing. No big deal.

* I am hoping the scale shows a loss tomorrow at weigh in.

Comment: It did. My total weight loss now is at 24 pounds!! I couldn’t be happier! I was a bit worried because last Saturday I DJ’d a wedding and the dinner didn’t necessarily have the most healthy choices. Oh, and they had a doughnut bar! LOL. I am determined to get back down to 199 (where I was about 20 years ago, and the last time I was on Weight Watchers). The journey continues!

* I am not looking forward to a visit to the dentist tomorrow.

Comment: Uneventful cleaning. No cavities, so I was happy with that!

* I wish I could do more voice over work.

Comment: I looked into a few voice over services, but most cost money to be a part of. They also require you to do many auditions daily. I could probably do this on my days off, but it is hard to do working midnights, and without a home studio (or the money to build a home studio)!

I am lucky to have the relationships I have with The American Way, Whitetail Journey, Modern Craft Wines, Fox 66, and RPM Auto Sales. I would love to add a few more clients to that list. If you know anyone looking, I can certainly send a voice sample to them.

* I probably could have wrote a blog instead of this. Maybe I will just copy and paste it….lol.

Comment: That’s what I am doing!

* There is so much sadness in the Facebook feed this week. My heart goes out to my friends who have lost loved ones or have loved ones in the hospital.

Comment: Scrolling the Facebook news feed this week, I was saddened to read of some friends coping with the loss of someone special to them. I also read of a dear friend who is now home with hospice care. Some friends have been Facebook silent, but I am aware of some health struggles that are dealing with.

Many people state that they hate Facebook. They say there are too many political arguments, opinions, etc. I would agree, but I also utilize the “mute” button. There are ways that you can unfollow those who post stuff you don’t want to see. You remain friends, but you don’t see their stuff. You can also post things while making sure that certain people can’t see it.

I happen to like Facebook. It is a great way to keep up with friends. I almost never forget a friend’s birthday! I always love the pictures of weddings, first and last days of school, band concerts, dance recitals, and the addition of new babies or grandbabies. There are sad things, too. The passing away of parents, prayer chains for those who are sick or suffering, or the loss of a pet. Without Facebook, I’d never know these things. It can be a place to offer words of support, encouragement, or better yet, prompt you to reach out to your friend on the phone.

While I love social media, I also feel that it is important to reach out and actually talk to friends. I have decided that I am going to try to do that more. Yes, texting and messaging is easy, but you know what? I want to hear your voice!

* I hate change. I am a man of routine. Sometimes, change is inevitable. Sometimes change is exciting.

Comment: I take the same way to work every day. I am a creature of habit. One of the things that helps me stay focused on Weight Watchers is that I know the point values of meals. I tend to find something I like, and will stick with that meal. I have been eating a lot of veggies and fruits. I am also eating a lot of salads. However, to change things up we had turkey tacos last night. Not going to lie, changing it up was exciting! That’s right – I was excited for Tacos!!

* Guy on TV said to his gal, “I couldn’t be happier.” I think you can always be happier. Happiness can grow, much like love can grow. Each day I think I can’t love Sam any more than I do, but that love grows deeper. Happiness can grow too – that’s cool to me.

Comment: Just re-reading that made me smile. Think about this – “Happiness is a habit – cultivate it” (Quite attributed to Elbert Hubbard)

* The wrong motivation can kill morale and desire to give their all for you.

Comment: See above comments about punishing the entire team because of a few others.

* I wish I was an expert on something. With the recent talks I have done for conferences and small groups, I would totally love to do that for a living.

Someone commented on the original Facebook post and said I should be a motivational speaker. I don’t know that I’d go that far. I have many obstacles of my own that I have yet to conquer. I am not sure how motivating I can be.

I have always enjoyed doing career days at schools. I think it would be cool to host classic movies at a theater. I have no problem public speaking. I thought about teaching a public speaking class at one of those community education night class type programs. I don’t know, it’s a pipe dream perhaps. I just think it could be a very fun thing to do and would be great to get out and meet people.

* Was hoping that by jotting this stuff here, I’d get sleepy … Maybe I should at least try to go to sleep.

Comment: I didn’t.

* Even with all of these random thoughts, one still remains true. I am one lucky man! I am blessed beyond measure.

Comment: The Bible says in I Thessalonians 5:18, “In EVERYTHING give thanks.” What powerful instruction, and a very difficult thing to do! I have always tried to make this one of my “life mantras,” but some days are harder than others. At one point in my life, nothing could make me feel better. I was deep in that depression and suffering with so many feelings. I was struggling bad.

Today, however, I am a new man. Those quotes that I always had in my mind are back and help keep me focused. This one still remains difficult, because “everything” means “everything!” In good times and bad times – give thanks! What a challenge! Despite the fact that I had a variety of things (both good and bad) running through my head Thursday night, I remind myself of just how thankful I am to be alive! I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my job. I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for YOU. Thanks for reading!

Now, I am off to enjoy my time off!