BACK IN BOISE

After almost a month on the road I am back in Boise for a few days before I fly to Redding, CA for a visit with family on Christmas. Then it's back to San Diego and perhaps a few days there before we are sent off to our next project who knows where. I just hope that wherever it is it's warm. After enjoying an 80+ degree day in San Diego last Saturday I'm a tad spoiled. Lows in the upper teens here are a shock to the system. I do, however, have a fire burning and the house is warm, but it still isn't San Diego!
I've been catching up with old acquaintances since I got back. My most recent girl friend Leslie seems to have adopted a 'leave me alone you creep' attitude that she did not have before I left. Sheesh, it's just as well I'm spending most of my time out of town. In Boise it's cold, my old business is kaput, the ex-girlfriend is now definitely out of the picture (I had held out some hope, we split amicably) and I have no job here. Some local radio stations have recently filled various on-air availabilities and none of them bothered to even call me. I've been bugging the Operations Directors at each of the three groups in town, they all have my resume on file, yet I get no consideration whatsoever. To hell with them all. I've found another way to make a living and if or when I get back into broadcasting it will be in a better market than this one.
On to another topic. I get tired of all the griping about the commercialization of Christmas. I for one am glad that stores have stuff on sale at the very time I do most of my shopping. It's up to the individual consumer to make wise choices concerning the amount that is spent on presents. Don't condemn the stores that are just fascilitating the extravagence of so many. If you don't like it, cool it with the wild spending. A toned down Christmas is just as good.
By the way, I just love the H-P Picturebook commercials on television. The catchy tune is good, and the concept of the commercial is very fresh and entertaining.

MY FRIEND JACK

The most fun and rewarding work I have ever done for pay is as an on-air radio guy. Whether it was deejaying, gathering and announcing the news or calling a ball game, I thoroughly loved it. Sadly, that wacky profession now has me on the outside looking in. My attitude, enthusiasm and above-average talent served me well for quite some time. However, the changing face of the business brought about by many factors including regulatory reforms that allow one company to own many stations in the same market as well as the proliferation of nationally syndicated shows have made it a much different enterprise than it was as recently as 15 years ago.
While many of my contemporaries also find themselves out of the business, there were some who I thought to be immune to the vagaries that have befallen so many of us. At the top of that "immune" list is Jack Sunday. Jack is perhaps the most dedicated, hard-working and talented radio personality with whom I have had the pleasure to work and to know.
Jack and I are radio buddies from way back. Most recently we did a morning show together in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Jack got an offer he couldn't refuse to move to Fargo, ND and to work at that market's powerhouse station, KFGO. He has been there and brought in terrific ratings for the last 15 years. Suddenly, the corporate axe came down upon him and he is now out of work. It happened just a few days ago (Happy Holidays!) and I am certain he will find a good job in the biz quite soon, but his dismissal was quite a shock to me, to his many thousands of listeners and fans and, of course, to himself and his family.
What is the point of this entry? I'm not sure. I guess it is that we all encounter bumpy roads in life no matter how hard we try. And that if someone can find an excuse to fire Jack, then anyone is vulnerable. Certainly, anybody can be replaced and we all need to remember that.
Memo to Jack: relax and enjoy the holidays with your family, catch up on your sleep, sharpen your pinochle game and select the best opportunity that presents itself. There will be many. Your talent, hard work, good nature, passion for the issues of the day, well thought out opinions (though somewhat misguided) and common sense will serve to put you into a better situation than the one you were in. Of course I could be wrong and this might be the start of a downward spiral that will consume both yourself and your family, leave you bitter and broke and looking for a ray, any ray of hope in the bottom of a shot glass. But I doubt it.

WE ARE NOT DOOMED

Do you know any people who are so bitter about the recent election that it clouds their thinking? Certainly I understand the disappointment that comes with being on the short end of any endeavor, but when it's all over (whatever it may be), a gracious way to deal with the matter is to let it go, regroup, and try to do better the next time.
In regard to the election, we are all Americans and it is sad to see the angst, anger, outrage and name-calling that continues.
Had Kerry won the presidency, I was prepared to reluctantly accept that fact and to hope and pray that he did a good job. Many on the left have shown that same dignified, 'take the high road' attitude and their grace and good will is noted and appreciated. Others, however, are so consumed with anger that it affects their every action.
Memo to those who are so consumed: Get over it! You will get another chance in four years. Personally, I found eight years of Bill Clinton to be exceedingly distasteful. Somehow the country survived that nonsense. However, if Hillary wins in '08 we truly are doomed!

A BIG DAY

Today was quite a day for me. I experienced Hollywood Boulevard for the first time. The stars on the walk of fame were very cool. I saw many including Bob Hope, Elton John, Lowell Thomas, Edward R. Murrow and, well, I don't know why I'm listing them because I saw at least a hundred. Grummans (sp?) Chinese Theater was cool too with the handprints and footprints of so many stars such as Tom Hanks, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and many, many others. The day was already terrific when in front of the Kodak Theater, a guy asked us if we wanted to attend the taping of According To Jim. Of course we did! We took a cab to the studio at Century City and watched the taping of the show. Jim Belushi interacted with the crowd in a session before the show started and again between scenes. I even asked a question! He was extremely likeable. The audience comprised about 250 people and we were all fed a sandwich and a cookie and a bottle of water. The woman that plays Jim's wife on the show is Courtney Thorne-Smith and she is a knockout! I am not a regular viewer of the show, but when flipping through channels, I would always stop whenever I saw her. She is just as cute in person and if I were one of those stalker guys, I would select her. Of course I am not so inclined so she is safe.
Just two weeks ago I was bored as could be, sitting on my butt in Boise wondering what would happen as I embarked on my new job. I've since worked the BART in the San Francisco area, spent two afternoons at Fisherman's Wharf, ridden the cable cars, experienced the downtown area of Oakland including riding a ferry to and from San Francisco, driven from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, worked the rails in Long Beach, saw the Queen Mary (the ship, not the now dead woman) and I"m now getting set for a trip to San Diego on Monday for a week there. Oh yes, today's high was about 83 degrees!
My once boring life has turned into what has been quite the two-week adventure and I am truly grateful for all that has happened.

MY FAT FRIEND AND MORE.....

I've not had access to a computer for quite some time, but I do now. I've been in California since November 27. I spent nine days in Oakland at the Jack London Inn in the downtown area and I've been in Burbank for the last couple of days. It's my first extended stay in the L.A. area and aside from the traffic it's pretty cool. Actually, it's pretty warm with an expected high of 84 tomorrow! My adventure continues with a trip to San Diego this weekend where I will be until we take a few days off for Christmas. I'll be enjoying Christmas with family in Redding, California and then I'll probably wind up back in So Cal for a while.
One of my good friends and former co workers has his picture in Sports Illustrated this week. He told me about it a couple of weeks ago but I had my doubts. Sure enough, he's in there. It's a story about professional sports in Las Vegas and Mike Responts is pictured along with his WiseGuys radio partner and two strippers under or I guess next to a stripper pole in an article that starts on page 94 or thereabouts. I worked radio with Responts in Boise and we were both unemployed last year and watched the entire baseball post season together. A few months ago he moved back to Vegas, hooked up with an old radio friend and they do a daily sports show on KENO. Our situations were similar over the past year. We were both out of work radio guys in Boise that nobody would hire. Now he is thriving in Vegas and I have changed careers and am enjoying life on the road as a rail inspector.
Anyway, check out the photo of my fat friend in SI and tune in his show if you make it to Las Vegas. More later...