A Remarkable Man

John Waselik

John Waselik of Oakdale was described by everyone who knew him as a warm, soft spoken man who made a positive difference in many people's lives and never had a bad word to say about anybody.   John passed away unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago at 63 doing something he loved: biking as he was gearing up for a charity ride across Connecticut.   His giving spirit continued after his death as an organ donor.   I first talked to John in 1997 when his wife Betty-Clare, a high school friend, called me one day while I was on the air at WDRC.  John was a loyal listener fascinated with broadcasting.   He even dabbled in local radio later, but his career choice as a teacher had already been set in stone for some time.   For all of his roles in life - family man, teacher, mentor, church elder, local sports enthusiast and so much more - he made sure it was never about him.   He was genuinely interested in you.   I can't think of a more giving and selfless person, but he'd be the last to invite comparisons. Perhaps we can all learn to better accept each other the way John did.

What Makes Connecticut Special?

Half of us evidently want to get the Hell out of Connecticut...49%.   A Gallup poll conducted June-December 2013 shows only Illinois as the state its residents (50%) would rather be leaving.   People in Montana, Hawaii and Maine are most content to stay put.   Imagine that.   Mississippi scored more favorably than our fair state!   How can a state with so much wealth and a location in the middle of the bustling Northeast "Megalopolis" be deemed undesirable?   I know there's a general feeling that we've passed our prosperous glory days of sitting at or near the top of the heap due to the crushing cost of living.  Our outdated major roads and recent stories about railroad safety reinforce the sense that we are gradually being choked off from major markets so close to our doorstep.   While I applaud Governor Malloy for keeping us at the forefront of inevitable social change, I am concerned that his accomplishments is falling on deaf ears with an NRA-fueled level of hostility that even exceeds Governor Weicker's implementation of the state income tax over twenty years ago.   The level of income inequality is also taking its toll as the strapped middle class is less able to fuel demand.   As in Illinois, the disparity between desperately poor cities and opulent suburban wealth is tearing us apart.  There are just so many yachts to be sold to Greenwich millionaires.

While narrowing income inequality and a better managing of the message can work wonders, we as Connecticut residents are often at a loss to define what makes our little state special.   Casinos are popping up everywhere.   Reliance on giant defense contracts can be a slippery slope.   

When you think Montana, you think Big Sky Country.   Despite having one of the wackiest governors in the country, Maine evokes a unique image as a "Vacationland."   Hawaii?   I rest my case.   Connecticut does have a character.   It takes creative leaders to bring it out.   We have incredible diversity.    Oh yes, take a few cents off the stupid gas tax; the PR value alone is worth it.    This too shall pass... hopefully soon.   Did you really want to move to North Dakota anyway?        

Better Now Than Later

A hospital visit is seldom anyone's preferred destination, but I knew my last bout of lightheadedness was nothing to ignore.   My blood pressure would drop dramatically after I walked up an incline or stood up quickly, mostly in the morning.   While my two-day visit to Middlesex Hospital in Middletown didn't conclusively reveal a connection between the feeling I was about to pass out with a cardiac condition, an irregular heartbeat was detected.   There's no indication of an immediate need for any emergency procedure, so I was sent home (where I could sleep a lot better) with a heart monitor while being put on a blood thinner to reduce a risk of stroke. On one hand, there are plenty of adults who have these heart conditions and operations like pacemaker implants are very common.   By the same token, even the most minimally invasive procedure involving one's ticker can be a little scary.   We should unravel more of my cardiac mystery over the next month.   For now, I'll just keep doing what I do.   I'm no health nut, but it's better to be proactive about this than facing bigger consequences later.

By the way, Middlesex Hospital care is second to none.   Unlike the common stereotype about hospital food, I ate every morsel and enjoyed every bite!    That said, I'm not anxious for a return trip to soon.   Hey, I just got married a year ago today.   There are still some quality living I'd like to do.      

Just Plain Nuts

Another Stupid Unfounded Generalization

Liberal radio talk show hosts are nearly as extinct as the T. Rex, but I remember Boston's legendary Jerry Williams saying long ago, "By their words shall you know them."   He was talking about the fringe element callers who made for lively if crazy conversation.   Now, right wing talk hosts facing their own aging and declining audiences justify their own existence by routinely embracing the fact-check challenged ditto-heads.   From time to time, that strategy blows up in their faces the way their love of government-subsidized deadbeat rancher Cliven Bundy turned into a disaster with Mr. Bundy's publicly professed nostalgia for the good old days of African American slavery.    

We don't have to go to Nevada to get stupid comments from people with narrow political agendas.   Just yesterday, I heard a caller to a local radio station mention the fatal Milford school stabbing and reach for the ridiculous reaction of, "This may not sound nice, but now they're gonna want to ban all knives."   The host applauded her comment.   First of all, can the caller and host at least take a breath to express sadness over this tragedy before going off on interpreting the only constitutional amendment they seem to care about?    Let's be clear.   Nobody realistically expects to confiscate all guns, even in a state hit by the killing of 26 people in one school on one day.   The Milford stabbing had nothing to do with gun control.   Nothing.   It's not even about you.   Then again, what can a listener expect when another talk host often says thousands of dollars are wasted sending kids to colleges controlled by liberal professors that "brainwash" students?   That generalization is almost as crazy as denying global warming because we had a cold winter.   

Six For Six

I can now truly say I've done shows on all six Hall Communications radio stations here in eastern Connecticut.  That totally mind-blowing feat (to me, anyway) was accomplished last week when I subbed doing news on the Pete Nichols Breakfast Club on WILI-FM Willimantic, better known as i98.3.   I was told ahead of time that Pete might just interrupt me in the middle of what's more of an information update for something totally silly or edgy.   That really wasn't the case.   Pete's sense of timing and knowing how far he can push the envelope are better than that.    If you're looking for hard hitting, in-depth coverage of the weighty issues of the day, this station may not be your ultimate destination.    If you expect to hear talk about whether my wife thinks I've got "enough junk in the trunk" or phony phone calls to a place called "Transitions" revealing his regular newsman's sex change operation, then you've come to the right place.   It all may sound like he's flying by the seat of his pants, but Pete knows exactly what he's doing.  He's a seasoned entertainer who understands his target audience.   The more time I spend at WILI, the more impressed I get with the talent pool inside that building. 

A Blow To A Brand

Former CT Gov. John Rowland

Former Connecticut Governor John Rowland abruptly stepped down last week from his afternoon radio show on WTIC News/Talk 1080.   Now we are learning of his indictment on federal charges in a campaign financing scandal.    This is the second time the once popular three-term Republican governor has faced the prospect of a prison sentence.   As a follower of political news, I think another conviction should take Rowland off the comeback trail for good.   As a broadcaster, I feel this is a serious problem for a once mighty radio station owned by a company that should know better.    Who will replace Rowland?   How much damage has been done to WTIC's image?

CBS isn't the only company to own a powerful heritage AM station that has transitioned to primarily conservative talk, but as a group they have kept things relatively classy.   Their WCBS/New York, WBZ/Boston, KYW/Philadelphia and other information outlets have stayed above the fray of bombastic right wing talking points.   Why can't WTIC do some variation closer to what these other CBS stations do so well?   It is the only 50,000 watt AM signal in Connecticut and used to get some of the highest shares of audience in any market.   Those exceptional days are long gone as moderate and liberal voices are excluded from all programs except newscasts.   Right wing ranters who champion Tea Party extremism are falling out of favor with younger adults and advertisers.   Does WTIC have no alternative other than Rush Limbaugh and Connecticut versions of him who fail to speak to the fastest growing groups in our society?    Now that Rowland's gone, maybe he can take Limbaugh with him.   Good riddance.      

This Is CNN?

Since the 1991 Gulf War, CNN has been my "go to" cable network for breaking news.   There is no lack of major news gripping the globe these days, yet lately CNN has been almost entirely devoted to wall to wall coverage of the disappearance and search for Malaysia Air Flight 370.   Every major issue surrounding this story is certainly worthy of exploring, but when did endless hypothetical opinions based on very limited information become the basis of "breaking news" while so many other stories get left off the air?   The Ukraine crisis continues unabated and the Washington state landslide claims dozens of lives while the overwhelming majority of news time goes to Flight 370.    CNN has some great anchors, and I can't imagine they seriously think they can fill time with questions about whether Flight 370 was swallowed by a black hole without pressure from above to do so.   If this is a way to recoup lost ratings, it's a flawed strategy.

To be "fair and balanced", Fox News has not set the bar high on this story either.   Although other stories get more equally in the mix, they can't even air what little is known about the Malaysia Air disappearance without attacking President Obama.   One anchor's understandable call for patience on getting to the facts on this story was totally shattered by some red meat for their fundamentalist Christian viewers that "it took thousands of years to find Noah's Ark."   No, Fox, they never found it.   MSNBC has been pretty good at perspective, but I can't consistently look to them for breaking news when they spend half their weekends running prison documentaries and their 6:00pm slot has the most polarizing host on TV: Reverend Al Sharpton.   I find his yelling at the camera hard to take, even for my liberal views. 

More Than Luck

I've had a lifetime to contemplate my Irish ancestry.   Yes, my father's parents came over from County Sligo and County Leitrim over 100 years ago while my mother's side can be traced to both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  Glenn is my mother's maiden name.    I'm about as Irish as you can get.   While I'm proud of what my ancestors had to go through to allow me to live a better life, I find the Irish experience to be a lesson in humility too.   From the Vikings of the Middle Ages to the horrible British administration during the 1850s Potato Famine, conquest and occupation have taken their toll on the Emerald Isle.   As with many people repeatedly conquered by bigger neighbors, the Irish have coped in positive ways such as their special sense of humor and through darker means exemplified by alcohol abuse and religious strife.   Beyond all its varying degrees of ethnic stereotypes and debates over who should be allowed to march in a St. Patrick's Day parade, this day should represent hope and triumph over historic adversity for any nationality. 

Connecticut's First AM & FM Stations Sold

At WDRC-FM in 2000 

The Buckley family has owned all or part of WDRC radio in Hartford for the past 57 years.   It is also remarkable in this notoriously changeable business that WDRC has only had two owners since radio pioneer Franklin Doolittle first set up shop in New Haven in 1922.   This heritage itself is a good enough reason why the sale of WDRC AM & FM along with three other Connecticut AM outlets is a big deal.  A relatively new company, Connoisseur Media, will be purchasing Buckley's Connecticut stations in the next few months.   

While some radio folks may bemoan the loss of another independently owned cluster of stations to a larger and growing company, I see it as a good fit.   Buckley had already made significant cutbacks as it competed with a standalone FM against two of the biggest corporate players in the industry.  CBS and Clear Channel have dominated the Hartford market as owners of multiple FM stations.   Connoisseur seems to have a good reputation already in Connecticut operating WPLR, WEZN and more in the New Haven/Bridgeport market(s).    That should bode well for the staff at WDRC.   Yes, we've heard the "no big changes" falsehoods in the instances of other radio station sales, but I think WDRC has been largely on track for some time now.   They've had to make some tough decisions. That should make them positioned for a better transition now.   As a former employee, I hope I'm correct.   Some of the people I worked with from 1993-2002 are still there.   WDRC, a station so many of us grew up with, was a highlight of my years in radio.     

Understand Russian Nationalism to Understand Ukraine

While our short attention span news cycle focuses for now on events unfolding in the former Soviet republic of the Ukraine, it is easy to want to compare the Russian incursion to the Cold War years and put Vladimir Putin in the same category as Stalin, Khrushchev or Brezhnev.    Since nobody of any authority in the US or EU is calling on NATO military action, we in the West really need to understand the mind of Russia's authoritarian president and the challenges Russia faces from ethnic separatist and Islamic fundamentalism movements that resort to terror.   In Putin's view, he has one trump card that has historically been effective at rallying his supporters: Russian nationalism.   That seemed to work in Russia's war with neighboring Georgia... another region with a big Russian ethnic or Russian-speaking  population.   Regional insurrections within Russia itself have even seen spillover into the United States.   How many Americans had heard of Dagestan a year ago before last year's Boston Marathon bombing?   Terror, whether through Syrian chemical weapons or al-Qaeda, must be a concern of every civilized nation.

 

For all the differences between Russia and the West, there are strong economic ties that bind beyond the ongoing threat of terror.   Look at how the Russian markets have already been negatively impacted by Russia's aggression while worldwide stocks take a hit.   Business hates instability.   Europe needs natural gas to travel from Russia through the Ukraine while Russia disparately needs the revenue.   The Ukraine is also a breadbasket for much of Europe.

 

Meanwhile, Republicans take cheap shots at the Obama administration's "weak" response.   Do they really think sabre rattling between two nuclear powers should be option number one?   President Obama never got credit for standing steadfast against Russian-backed Syria's use of chemical weapons.   During a major international crisis, we owe it to ourselves to be united at home.    We don't have to approve of what "Mother Russia" is doing, but we have to have some understanding of it.

Practicality Over Extreme Ideology

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer made the only realistic decision when she vetoed a broad resolution that would have allowed businesses in her state to use their religious beliefs as a pretext to discriminate against potential customers.  This shameful and reactionary bill had already been approved by Republican majorities in both legislative branches.   As a law, SB 1062 would definitely have impacted the LGBT community, and it wasn't clear how far it would have reached beyond that.   A leading gubernatorial candidate to succeed Brewer was pressed by CNN's Anderson Cooper about whether or not businesses could use the law also deny service to, for example, divorced people.   All he could say was that he didn't know of any businesses in Arizona that discriminate!    

As word got around and light began to shine on this right wing abomination, many Republican state legislators who originally backed the bill began running for cover, dodging media and even changing their position.    Pressure from business concerned about the law's impact on Arizona's economy proved to be the bill's undoing.   Don't think Arizona has been alone in attempting to send civil rights back to the 1950's.   Other states with similar bills in the works reacted to the negative publicity by pulling back their own discriminatory initiatives.   Labeling this a "religious freedom" bill is just a smokescreen, akin to calling Southern opposition to civil rights fifty years ago a "states rights" issue.   The right wing has proven themselves to be the more extreme side of America's political equation.   Some have even made Russian president Putin a hero and even praised Uganda for trampling on gay rights.   What in desperation will they pull next?   

No Thanks To Putin

The Sochi Winter Olympics are officially over.   NBC had great ratings of its coverage, but I didn't watch any of the events.   Social media and news "spoiler alerts" kept many, including me, sufficiently in the loop.   Russia under President Putin proved itself to be inadequate for many hosting tasks which are now legend.   International tensions have escalated after Putin moved against so-called "gay propaganda" and made that already persecuted group a scapegoat to deflect from Russia's massive corruption, support of Syria's Assad and jailing of political opponents.     All the trouble in the nearby Caucasus region and in several former Soviet republics did cast a shadow over this outrageously expensive yet hastily constructed resort on the Black Sea.   Thankfully no terror threats materialized.   

 

There were positives.   The USA scored impressively in total metal count.   Athletes from here in Connecticut made us all proud.   Even in this stressed environment, inspiring stories of individual achievement and teamwork managed to shine through.    Somehow they always do.

A Troubling Pattern

Griswold Dog Pound - from The Bulletin

We've been down this road before.   What's changed?    It seems like only yesterday, but it must have been over five years ago when folks were calling in to our morning radio show with reaction to the reports of poor conditions at the Griswold Dog Pound.   I don't know about you, but stories about poor treatment of animals really disgusts me.   News stories depicting neglect or abuse or even that Animal Planet channel show Animal Cops are especially hard to watch.   It reflects on how we treat the most helpless creatures and in this case the image of a community.  

 

Griswold's Animal Control Officer has not been getting rich with what the town has budgeted for his salary.   Meanwhile, the physical plant at the pound is clearly in need of updating.   On comes a TV news story showing neighbors who want to help out, only to be confronted by an overly defensive sister of the longtime Animal Control Officer.   She was tending to the four dogs there while he was away, and it was clear she was acting way above her pay grade in any public relations capacity.   These willing volunteers are rightly upset over conditions there while their offers to assist have been stymied by town officials.   There should be a proper screening process for prospective helpers, but is there any doubt that their hearts are basically in the right place?   The problems here are nothing new.   Pay the ACO more, replace him, get community help, get the facilities past the standards of the seventies, publicize adoptable pets more, bring strays to a regional shelter or do all of the above.   Beyond the disturbing details, the most outrageous part of this sad story is the fact that the town has known about this for years and still waited for it all the news (and the fan) yet again.  

It Was Fifty Years Ago Today

Were you around half a century ago?   America was steeped in the throes of Beatlemania and the first wave of the British Invasion on this day in 1964.   The Fab Four had just arrived in New York City February 7, 1964 and were preparing for their February 9th performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  There was no doubt at the time we were witnesses to the greatest moments in rock n' roll history that week.   I remember thinking their sound was the most exciting music to hit the airwaves in my childhood memory.   Sure, rock n' roll had already been popularized, but the original impact of Elvis and other early pioneers of the genre happened when I was only a toddler.    Although I wasn't initially a fan of the Beatles' mop-top hair, I was an enthusiastic convert to their music right from the start.   

Their timing was perfect.   We had just gone through the Kennedy assassination and the loss of the chief symbol of youthful energy and idealism.   The Fab Four filled a void in so many ways.   Flash back to the music charts right before the Beatles' arrival and you get an idea of how stagnant rock n' roll had become.   Bobby Vinton had spent weeks at number one with an easy listening standard that failed to speak to kids raised on Elvis, Buddy Holly or Bill Haley & His Comets.   For every Four Seasons, Beach Boys or "Louie Louie" there was the Singing Nun or Pat Boone.   The Beatles provided a rock n' roll infusion we hadn't seen since 1956. 

America Deserves A Raise

$7.25 an hour was considered good money while the minimum hourly wage was $1.85 forty years ago.   $7.25 was already considered low income by 1994.    $7.25 will not come close to lifting anyone out of poverty as the national minimum wage today.   These are not just kids getting their first taste of the workplace getting this hourly rate.   Many of these low income workers are adults over 30 with families to support.   The government subsidizes many service industry and other employers because their underpaid employees have to make up the shortfall with a variety of government assistance.   That amounts to corporate welfare while conservatives espouse the unfounded idea that paying a living wage will discourage employers from hiring.   Does anyone really believe President Obama's proposed minimum of $10.10 an hour will break Walmart or McDonalds?

 

They are the same ideologues who say keeping extended unemployment benefits will allow job seekers to get lazy.   Where's the evidence of this?   While they're mounting a lobbying campaign against the first minimum wage increase in years and blocking emergency unemployment compensation, they have no problem cutting food stamps while buying into the right wing talk radio propaganda that accuses America's neediest of bleeding this country dry.   The Pope, our President and noted economists like Robert Reich and others warn how income disparity has approached alarming levels.   We can't afford to assume they're wrong.   History is full of what happens when a tiny percentage of society controls an outrageous chunk of its wealth.     

"Lazy" Business Decisions?

Lazy Burrito, Mystic (The Day)

When Lazy Burrito came here to Colchester a few years ago, I thought the name was lame and based on negative stereotypes of Mexicans.   In spite of a restaurant name that needed more thought, I gave them a try.    It was not worth the money and I was hit with a hefty surcharge for adding guacamole.    When I left information there several times about direct mail advertising, nobody responded.   In fact, I never saw or heard advertising anywhere for this new business.    I was hopeful this new arrival would succeed, but my less than impressive firsthand experience coupled with their "lazy" attitude toward marketing made the news of their closing unsurprising. Lazy Burrito reopened in East Lyme in a store that had no atmosphere whatsoever and again no advertising.   The Mystic location didn't look too impressive, either.   Now all Lazy Burrito stores have been suddenly shut down as news breaks from The Day about how the owner received a $49,502 grant and a $100,398 loan under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's Small Business Express Program in June 2012.    This state aid yielded a net gain of three temporary jobs, and none of the loan has been paid back.   Why did State Representative Linda Orange of Colchester recommend this aid?   The owner had only been in business since 2009 with the now-defunct Gilbertie's Restaurant in Colchester.   The Colchester Lazy Burrito was opened next door in 2011.    The track record was - and is - questionable.   I hope this is not typical state management of this program.   There are other local entrepreneurs who have better business plans and deserve some help.    As taxpayers, we should get this loan money back.

Life After a Heart Transplant

Beth Bradley

I had an opportunity to get an update on the story of a one-time radio colleague of mine who suddenly had to give up her career about ten years ago when she had a minor heart attack at age 48.   Beth Bradley went to the hospital, and during an angiogram they destroyed her heart. She was then put in a medically induced coma and had an artificial heart machine attached to her body for close to two years before getting a donor heart.    It wasn't so long ago that a heart transplant was a pioneering operation with little chance of recovery.   Her story of life after a heart transplant is such a testament to Beth's strength and outlook on life.   While she may not know the exact identity of her donor, she does know he was young.   Beth feels that her donor lives on in some way because she has his heart.   I've followed her impressive progress over the past few years thanks in part to her Facebook page.   It was great to hear from Beth as a call-in guest when I filled in Friday for Wayne Norman on 1400 WILI Willimantic.   You can find out more about the importance of organ donation by going to www.donatelifenewengland.org.    

"Bridgegate"

Have you ever had the pleasure of driving from the New Jersey Turnpike over the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan?   This trip is crazy enough on a "normal"  travel day without New Jersey officials blocking off local access roads on the Fort Lee side of the world's busiest bridge for a political retaliation disguised as a traffic study.   New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's response in his press conference today was a compelling performance, but too many questions remain about his choice of direct subordinates, the ruthless and petty culture of too many members of his team and the unresolved question of how many people were in on it.    This was not a case of one staffer gone rogue.   It suggests something deeply planned to have one high placed Christie appointee say it's "time for traffic problems in Fort Lee" and the recipient of that email answer with "Got it."    Planning massive gridlock in Fort Lee simply because its mayor wouldn't endorse Christie's reelection bid is more than shameful.   It's dangerous and criminal.    I've given Governor Christie credit for being more bipartisan than most Republicans these days, but what we know about "Bridgegate" so far doesn't pass the smell test... yet. 

Staying On This Road

The other day, I made a routine visit to my doctor.   One of the women working in the office remarked on how bad 2013 was in a way that assumed everyone felt that way.   Maybe she dreads Obamacare or had a personal experience that colored her perception of the whole year.   While 2013 had its bumps along the way, I consider myself fortunate.   After all, in May I married someone who continues to amaze me.   While my family is not very extended, everyone is healthy and I even had a chance to reconnect with a cousin I hadn't seen in 45 years.   When I left one radio company in February to free up my weekends, I had no idea I'd get a call from the competition five months later and getting a ton of fill-in slots on five stations.    Meanwhile, my direct mail advertising venture marks twelve years and counting.   Even my old dog remains happy and healthy!

 

While I'm not exactly on the road to riches, arthritis seems to affect me in more ways than I'd like and one person really let me down, 2013 is not worthy of being swept  under the rug.   I've never been one to forget the past because it's still a part of me.   As long as I don't obsess over the negative things, most of my baggage takes the trip with me into 2014.   Happy New Year!     

Artificial Indignation

Phil Robertson (SI.com)

In this season where we hope for "peace on earth, good will toward men" there are enough actual problems that we face without manufacturing more.   The media deserve their fair share of the blame with the crises and controversies that would never gain any momentum without them.   

 

Phil Robertson, the patriarch of TV's "Duck Dynasty" Louisiana family that manufactures duck calls got in hot water with the reality show's cable channel (A&E) over some anti-gay comments.   Cracker Barrel restaurants briefly stopped selling some Duck Dynasty merchandise, much to the chagrin of the popular show's fans.   This is a rare case in which I agree with one suggestion by Mike Huckabee that A&E and Cracker Barrel should have merely issued statements saying the comments were his own opinions and not necessarily their own, but don't get me wrong.  The high profile suspension was something A&E had every right to do.   If I went on one of the radio stations I work on and made these comments, my employer could suspend or fire me.  However, A&E's action only served to unleash a torrent of conservative protest over an alleged violation of his free speech rights.    To my friends on the left, I say we need to cool our jets over how offended we are with something a duck call maker says.   He's not the President or the Pope, and it wasn't so long ago when that was more of a majority opinion.   There has been real progress against homophobia.   To the right of the spectrum, the Duck Dynasty guy is no poster boy for free speech.   He doesn't merit this mentality of being a victim of political correctness.   This non-issue needs to go away quickly.   Chill out and have a Happy Holiday OR Merry Christmas... whatever you prefer.    

Memorable Radio Interviews

Peter Noone

I saw a radio blog post asking folks in the business, "Who was your favorite interview?"   The bulk of respondents really raved about how nice and down to earth country artists have been.   That was certainly the case when I talked with Ronnie Milsap in the eighties.   Rockers got mixed reviews.    I never thought of myself as primarily an interviewer.   That is partly because I've always had more of a passion for programming music (a dying art) and reporting news.   I also have a secret terror of sounding like a discussion went way longer than it needed to go, but over the years a lot of interviews come to mind.    My very first interview was folk rocker David Bromberg at my college station.   As with anything I do for the first time, I was very uncomfortable.   Through the years, I had many chats with politicians and civic leaders and learned a lot at a station I programmed - WLAD/Danbury, CT - from the midday talk show host Rhoda Daum whose show I produced.   I also got to see firsthand how Brad Davis at WDRC/Hartford handled some big name personalities back in the day like Johnny Cash, Andy Williams and Bobby Vinton.   Listen and learn.

 

My favorite interview was from my WDRC-FM days.   Peter Noone - Herman of Herman's Hermits - stopped by our studio before his headlining performance at out daylong Big D Oldies Fest in 1996.   He rolled so well through whatever I and the crowd of fans threw at him.   It was the fastest and most fun twelve minutes of my radio career.   Some recorded interviews can take a strange twist.   Rebecca Morse Whitten and I once talked with singer Andrea Boccelli at WBMW.   His English was very rough, so I edited it so thoroughly that he sounded fluent!     The worst interview?   Let's just say I never want to deal with a certain WNBA team again.    

Fitting Tributes, Little Policy Change

It is right to let the Newtown community mark the one year anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre by staying away from private memorial observances in a town that has seen so much tragedy.    It is proper to respect the wishes of the victims' families by lighting a candle and performing random acts of kindness.   While access to that day's 911 tapes is part of our freedom of the press, it is also fitting that most media outlets responsibly kept these disturbing recordings off the air or greatly restricted them from public exposure.  

 

Yes, we have had many comforting words, wonderful gestures and good deeds in the wake of the Newtown shooting, but the disturbing issue remains.   Gun related violence remains as American as apple pie and is still a taboo subject among too many policymakers thanks to well funded gun manufacturer lobbies refusing to include access to assault rifles in the public debate.   Nationally this year, there have been many more initiatives to loosen gun laws than to tighten or enforce them while another 31,000 people died in gun violence.   The NRA and others shift all the blame on violent video games or access to mental health care while supporting the same politicians who cut mental health funding.   Connecticut politicians could no longer ignore this.   Do we have to wait for a bigger incident to rekindle even a discussion to include guns?   

Greatness

Former South African President Nelson Mandela passed away last week at 95.    This iconic figure personified hope in a society once legally defined by racial divisions under the brutally repressive system of apartheid, reconciliation under his presidency and a peaceful transition of power when he stepped down after one term.   All this happened on a continent where democracy and the rule of law have been more the exception than the rule.   That being said, the extreme right wingers have been very critical of the man as a "terrorist", working with radical organizations advocating the violent overthrow of the white-dominated South African regime fifty years ago.  

 

Wait a minute.   Didn't George Washington lead us in a bloody revolution against colonial rule and then preside over the founding of our country?   Didn't Abraham Lincoln oversee a bitter civil war to free the slaves and then call for malice toward none and charity for all?   Don't forget many members of the Jewish underground in Palestine who resorted to violence before establishing the democratic state of Israel.   In what way was Nelson Mandela different?    Examine the totality of his life and even when you factor in that he was not exactly always like Gandhi, he is undeniably deserving being called a great man.           

The Decision

Put on a smile.   Grow a thick skin.   Think only positive thoughts.   Get on with your life.   A lot of people have it worse off than you.   

 

People prone to depression hear these bits of advice from others who may mean well but aren't geared the same and don't understand the depths of this affliction.    From time to time, I get to feeling depressed.   It could happen during the holidays or the middle of summer when we're told to make the most of a joyous time and I'm just not feeling it.   It doesn't mean the same garden variety sadness that everyone gets.    It can affect someone's energy level and overall health.    It can be an isolating feeling that is not diminished with a few words of admonition, pep talk or pop psychology from friends.    I admit to some bouts of mild to moderate depression, most notably in my late teens when it felt like I was missing out on life.   If I knew how to snap out of it at will then I would have done it, but I did experience a moment of clarity almost 40 years ago to the day when the word "decision" really hit me.   It may have been subconscious thinking, but on some level I had made the decision to let this dark force rule my life.   Then I made a reverse decision to take control of what I could and not let depression rule over me.   Depression would return from time to time, but only when I temporarily forgot the lesson of 40 years ago.   

 

To friends and loved ones of people who suffer depression, please remember that a few simple supportive actions or words can be the best remedy you can offer.    Lincoln and Churchill suffered from depression, so don't assume their feelings are from some shameful character weakness.    Check this video equating depression with a "black dog".   Hopefully the depressed person will realize how much of their destiny is under their power when they take a step in the right direction.   

JFK Plus 50

This Friday, we arrive at the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.   What hasn't already been said about it?   Despite the Warren Commission report, many still believe Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.   We'll never absolutely know, one thing is certain.    Anyone old enough to remember another Friday - November 22, 1963 - will recall where they were when they heard the news.   Admittedly, I wasn't really sick that day when I decided to skip a day in fifth grade at Jerome Harrison Elementary School in North Branford, CT.   We had a new black couch delivered to our house that day and I was in the living room watching a rerun of the Gale Storm sitcom "Oh, Susannah!" on WNHC-TV Channel 8 when they interrupted for an ABC News bulletin.   I relayed the news to my mother in the other room while everyone waited to hear about the President's condition.   We didn't have to wait long.   Even at that young age, I found myself glued to the TV for days.   

 

Our political beliefs are often imprinted on us early in life, and I have no doubt that the result of the groundbreaking election of 1960 had a profound effect on how I thought about Vietnam, civil rights and so many other issues of the turbulent sixties.   Kennedy's shortened Presidency is hugely significant for his handling of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis alone.   To me, his legacy is an idealism that still refuses to let go.   This Friday morning, I get to discuss JFK when I fill in for local radio veteran Wayne Norman on Willimantic's WILI (1400 AM).

War On Christmas? Not In Retail... Or Radio

Sarah Palin is the latest attention getter who claims in her new book that there's a "war on Christmas".   Has she been in a Walmart lately?   She obviously hasn't driven through Rhode Island this week.   On November 6th, WWBB (B-101) in Providence went to an all-Christmas music format.   That's seven weeks before Christmas!    This station is owned by broadcasting giant Clear Channel, so they must have some audience research showing the wisdom of such an early and drastic switch.   That apparently meant Cumulus Media, another force in that market with WWLI (Lite Rock 105), felt the need to jump into the holiday fray early so as not to be outdone.    Obviously they're out there, but who are these people who can't wait until Thanksgiving to hear wall to wall holiday hits?    

 

I'm not the most nostalgic broadcaster for the way everything used to be before big conglomerates gobbled everything up, but this level of saturation makes the seasonal music seem less special than it was back in the day when most stations would gradually ramp things up after Thanksgiving.   This all or nothing strategy caters to the increased polarization we find in media today.   They may be a distinct minority, but the early holiday music listeners make up enough of an audience to justify the trend.   Once you get into December it becomes less of an issue anyway, but right about now it's a love it or hate it thing.   Sarah Palin is taking Bill O'Reilly's cue by aiming at the crowd who mistakenly feel our traditional attention to the holiday is under attack.   She'll make lots of money propagating that idea when she finds her audience.   I won't be buying her book, and I don't plan on tuning in Christmas music until December.   On both issues, neither the nonstop Christmas station operators nor Governor Palin will care.   They've already pinpointed their niche.

It Could Have Been Much Worse

Does this CCSU student look suspicious? (NBC CT)

How do you prevent stupidity?   Monday's unfortunate incident at Central Connecticut State University could have been totally avoided if one student - a son of a geography professor - had the common sense to not wear a camouflage costume with a ski mask and plastic weapons days after Halloween.   We're told if we "see something, say something", and people on campus certainly did.   The system worked well, but thousands of lives were disrupted.   Somehow $1000 bail and a breach of peace charge seem like light punishment.   Then the guy gets arrested a second time the next day for violating an order not to return to the campus!    Some of the stupidest acts I've ever witnessed were the work of college students, but they don't represent everyone trying to actually learn something.   Student or not, this kid is stupid for not realizing you can't do what he did.

 

In other news, it was revealed that the deranged shooter at LAX airport had enough ammo to take out the whole terminal in what should have been one of the most secure public areas in the country.   If he didn't limit himself to hunting down TSA officers, this could have been even more tragic.   Likewise at the huge shopping mall in Paramus, New Jersey, where a gunman there could have taken many lives.   He instead limited his mission to one of suicide.   Less than a year after the Sandy Hook massacre, we seem to look upon these increasing incidents as part of the American way.   That's unacceptable as we passively await the next Sandy Hook.    

Boston Strong

Even for a Yankees fan, the Red Sox clinching this World Series feels right in so many ways.   While MVP "Big Papi" David Ortiz dominated the season, this has been a true all-star team lineup.   The 2004 win ended their World Series drought with an away game, but this 2013 victory at Fenway for the first time since 1918 serves a certain poetic justice in a season that began around the time of the Boston Marathon tragedy.   The whole Boston story this year serves as a quintessential American one.   I don't think we're done, either.   Will the Patriots be the next big story after Tom Brady's incredible pass a couple of Sundays ago?     

Pizza Pie Everywhere!

Being originally from the New Haven area, this survey should come as no surprise to me.   The website The Daily Meal put together a list of the top 101 pizzas in the USA.   Frank Pepe’s in New Haven came in at number one with its white clam pizza, made with clams, grated parmesan, olive oil, garlic and oregano.    The tomato pie from Pepe's Wooster Square neighbor Sally’s Apizza placed seventh.   The Italian Bomb pizza from Modern Apizza on State Street in the Elm City came in at number eleven.     While these pizza places were within ten miles of where I grew up, I have more vivid childhood memories of going to Tolli's Apizza in the center of East Haven.    That's where we washed it all down with Foxon Park soda as Connie Francis sang "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" on the jukebox.    Going out for pizza was a rarer treat back then, making the memories even more special. 

 

Here in New London County we benefit from Frank Pepe's expansion into the Mohegan Sun casino.    Most of my visits to pizza restaurants in southeastern Connecticut have been very positive.    The few that didn't measure up are no longer around.    Although chains don't always get the highest acclaim, I admit to a fondness for Papa Gino's and was sorry to see their Norwich and Waterford locations shut down.    Last weekend we had a great pie with "everything" at Papa Gino's Willimantic/Mansfield store, but I am usually fine with a simple cheese pizza.    Here in Colchester, the crosstown drive to Papa Z's is always worth the trip.    Only the most difficult to please can complain of a "pizza deficit" locally or regionally.   What's your favorite?

A False Equivalency

Texas Senator Ted Cruz

Once again we have found ourselves at the midnight hour on Capitol Hill, this time over raising the Debt Ceiling.   Thanks in large measure to its Tea Party faction, Republicans are taking more blame for the impasse than President Obama or other Democrats, but Congress and Washington as a whole have not been spared from bad press.    When I hear people say there's plenty of blame on both sides, I can't help but think the Republican party's meltdown is by far the prime culprit.   The American public feels a genuine disgust with politicians in general, but it only takes 50 representatives of extreme right wing constituencies to thrust the American political system into gridlock over legislative procedures like raising the debt ceiling.   Spurred on by Senator Ted Cruz, these self-styled Tea Party "patriots" are totally ready to take down the full faith and credit of the U.S. government just to block the President's signature healthcare law.   Does anybody in their right mind really believe Obamacare is going to destroy our economy more than a default on debts we've already rung up?    The Tea Partiers say it will.   Beyond every other extreme position the right has taken, the fact that they are willing to risk our modest economic recovery to block a law that has been validated by the voters and the Supreme Court should tell you something about their other positions.   Too many Americans think blame can be equally assigned to both sides.   The mountain of myths perpetuated by the Tea Party types proves something else.   Obamacare can be tweaked, but the damage from not paying our debts can be disastrous.   Hang on, it could be an even bumpier ride!

He Cared

Connecticut is known as the Land of Steady Habits, and mornings have been radio prime time for decades.   That may help explain why many Connecticut morning radio hosts have occupied their air chairs for decent amounts of time in a business where longevity is rare.    Jerry Kristafer had been the wakeup guy and best known personality at Hartford's WDRC-FM 102.9 for over twenty of the past thirty years.   Last Friday was Jerry's last day at the "Big D", where he was the station's most familiar personality from 1982 to 1997.   He returned to 'DRC-FM in 2007 after a  ten-year morning stint at WELI/New Haven.     I remember hearing his debut on the old WCDQ/Hamden in 1977 as "Crazy Jerry" with his time-telling pig!

 

WDRC turned out to be my radio home longer than anyplace else.  I spent four months back in 1995 as morning newsman for and Brad Davis on WDRC-AM and Jerry on the FM.   Brad, Jerry and the powers that be were very positive about my performance in the morning, so the FM program director Frank Holler decided to put me in with Jerry as a sidekick or perhaps a co-host (I'm still not sure).   That move was not welcomed by Jerry, who'd been made to feel that he was "training his replacement" given the strained relationship he had with Frank.   I can still understand why Jerry felt that way, but if the plan was to make yours truly the new morning guy then it was news to me.    After six months of less than stellar on air chemistry I jumped at management's offer to take the evening shift.   I do know Jerry was appreciative of the job I did as music director; not everyone shared that appreciation.    Jerry could be rough around the edges to people, but he was toughest on himself and one of the more honest and hardworking people I've known in radio.   He cared a lot about the community, using his stage to promote the Connecticut Children's Medical Center and other good causes.    I know his dedication to those causes will continue whether or not he has a morning radio show.   His name will also be the one most associated with WDRC-FM for years to come.

Disgraceful

Welcome to October!   The idiots did it.   They managed to shut down the U.S. government.   Radical right wing Tea Party Republicans - and mainstream GOP leaders lacking the courage to stand up to these political newcomers - have failed to do their job of keeping government running.     Tying these shutdown threats to the repeal of President Obama's signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, was a foolish move that will come back to haunt them.    Tea Party grandstander Senator Ted Cruz of Texas hails from a state that has the most citizens lacking health insurance, yet he spent 21 hours on a fake filibuster devoid of real facts about what's wrong with the new health insurance laws.   Several GOP Representatives were asked on CNN if they would join thousands of government workers and forego being paid if they shut down the government.    Do you think they had a yes or no to that?    Of course not.    The American people may not know exactly how Obamacare will play out in the coming months, but they do know that shutting down many government services and then threatening to default on our existing debts later this month is unacceptable.    Obamacare is the law of the land, ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court and validated by last year's Presidential election.   Radical Republicans fail to face that fact, blinded by their ideological hatred of President Obama.    We're in dangerous territory now.    The end game is unknown.

The Big E - Just One Difference

At Big E Radio Booth - But Nobody's Here

The Eastern States Exposition - The Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts - is the sixth largest fair in the USA and the biggest on the Eastern Seaboard.    Its bigness isn't the only thing that doesn't change much over time, so it's not a destination I feel the need to visit every year.    That consistency provides something comforting about making the hour journey up there.   I know that was especially true right after 9/11/01.  That was when I did some remote broadcasts on WDRC from the Connecticut Building on the Avenue of the States, my favorite section.   It was such a relief getting out of the solitary studio and being among thousands of other people trying to deal with one of the most shocking chapters in American history.   Maybe I missed it at an unmanned "Big E Radio Booth", but I didn't see any radio stations live on location during my visit.    Perhaps it says a lot about how broadcasting has changed.   Maybe the listeners don't miss it, but this was one opportunity for broadcasters to get out of their isolated studios in a big and interactive way you don't get at a car dealer or furniture store remote.    The rest of the Big E continues to offer unusual and high ticket products, livestock galore and food that is all certifiably unhealthy.   I didn't try something called Fried Kool-Aid, sticking with your basic hot dog and soft serve cone.   My wallet still managed to feel a lot lighter afterwards.   See you later in a few years, Big E!     

Who Doesn't Get It?

"It's a Southern thang and y'all don't get it!"    I saw that quote around a picture of  a Confederate flag.    For months now, everyone traveling along a stretch of Route 16 in Colchester has also been treated to a "stars n' bars" flag prominently displayed in front of one of the trashiest properties in town.     You can't look away from this symbol of Dixieland - it's sticking way out onto this state highway.    I know that some images of the Confederacy are often included as symbols of a self-proclaimed redneck America, but anyone who thinks it is perfectly cool to shove a Confederate flag in my face is displaying an outrageous level of ignorance.    In this age of a return to far right wing politics not seen since the fifties, many extremist hate groups, politicians and broadcasters are even pushing reactionary agendas that make 1955 or even the pre-1860s era seem like the good old days.   Over 620,000 people died in this bitter dispute over slavery and preservation of our union.    Despite a devastated postwar South and continued suppression of civil rights for another century, we have made great strides in breaking down these barriers.   There's no going back.   Confederate battle flags belong in museums or historical reenactments.    They are not acceptable in telling our first black President that you won't let him take your guns.    When I visited Alabama in the 1990s, I saw a compelling exhibit at Birmingham's Civil Rights Museum, advances in American rocketry at Huntsville and a proudly charged up football crowd at the University of Alabama's opening game.   Those images should represent the South.    The Confederate flag should represent a bygone and no so nostalgic chapter in American history.   

Destinations Past

Yours truly (front) in 1968 at Frank Davis Resort, Moodus

When Linda and I took our dog Oreo to the Moodus section of East Haddam for a walk in one of Connecticut's newer state parks, little did I know that a wrong turn would take us into one of the creepier properties next door.   As we entered what looked like the remains of one of many resorts that used to dot the Moodus landscape, it dawned on me that I'd been here before in the sixties on a day trip with grandparents and cousins.   A quick Google search confirmed that the former Sunrise Resort had gone out of business in 2008 and was sold to the State of Connecticut.   It was known as the Frank Davis Resort when I was originally there.   I remember the day rowing down the nearby Salmon River, diving into a huge pool and eating in a big hall.    These days, only a couple of buildings at the entrance, cracking pavement and a few old basketball hoops remain after vandals and demolition crews moved through.   Check out this commercial and video taken after it closed and before most buildings were demolished.     Being there this year brought me back to a time 45 summers ago that seemed so different.    The decline of these resorts - a smaller scale version of New York's Catskills - shows how more sophisticated types of recreation have replaced these venues more likely to be owned by a family than a conglomerate.   There was a time when working class families only had an opportunity to escape the heat of the city by coming to these resorts.   Now that supersized theme parks, cruise liners and tropical beaches have become must-see destinations for the masses, I wonder which generation is actually missing out. 

 

A Dangerous Gamble For The World

President Obama is absolutely right.   Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has crossed a red line by the use of chemical weapons on over 1,000 of their own citizens.   This flaunting of what has been an accepted norm in warfare since the end of World War I is totally unacceptable.   It's not about deposing Assad at this point.   It's about punishing someone for using these weapons and letting them know that the consequences would prove devastating.    Teaching a tyrant this lesson is worth the effort, except for one thing.   Nobody's on board... not the American public, not the British Parliament, not the UN Security Council.    Russia and China are up to their necks in financial interests in Assad's Syria.   Sunni-dominated Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would like nothing more than hitting Assad hard, but they refuse to join the US out in the open.   Iran, Iraq and their Hezbollah puppets out of Lebanon have helped shore up the Assad regime.   Many refuse to believe the evidence because they don't want to believe the United States.   Secretary of State Kerry has made a compelling case for a military strike, but what is the point of teaching a bad guy a lesson if most of the world refuses to listen?    The world gives a pass on chemical weapons at its own peril.    I'm afraid all the Obama administration can really do is provide a bully pulpit to the world about the folly of looking the other way.    Our own moral imperative has diminished as we failed to punish Saddam Hussein for gassing Iranians and Kurds, hurriedly went into and out of Somalia, ignored the Rwanda disaster and failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.   Sadly, it's going to take a more spectacular chemical attack to get the world to get past the politics.   President Obama has become a voice in the wilderness.    It's sad.