I cannot believe what I learned today. A very talented, funny, sweetheart of a friend has had what might be his last brush with the law.
He ran from the cops while being apprehended using heroin. This would be his NINTH FELONY. He lost control of the car and flipped it, and is in hospital under police supervision. The last time he got in trouble they were going to give him three years, but his attorney talked them into probation. Now it looks like he might go away for a long time.
If you know somebody with a drug or alcohol problem, don't just sit there, DO something!
It doesn't matter how functional they are with whatever talent or skill God blessed them with, the bottom line is that the monster will eventually WIN.
Don't play dumb like you wouldn't know how to help. Watch the show "Intervention" on A&E and get some ideas. Call the local, state, or national drug prevention hotline and ask how to go about helping someone with a problem. Go to a meeting and ask a counselor what steps you can take to help.
I have lost friends. I have lost years of relationships with friends and family.
I have failed friends and family by not helping. Not anymore.
For my 20th birthday I was able to secure tickets for a future rock and roll hall of fame act, and one of my favorite bands, the Police. The show was just three days after my birthday at Reunion Arena in Dallas. I would be accompanied by my very hot girlfriend of the time. Then things fell apart.
When I was 19 I was on the road with a band travelling the hotel and showroom circuit making good money and meeting lots of girls. The week after my birthday would be a band break for a week, meaning we would all go our seperate ways and meet up for the next five-or-six month stretch on the road.
Saturday night after the gig the band would pack up the vehicles and hit the road. I would stay in Dallas an extra night to celebrate my birthday with a nicely racked blonde and she would get me home for the break.
While loading out that night I got a call from my girlfriend who through the tears and lack of sobriety told me she wasn't coming for the show and that I should fuck off, etc. I had to find a way to sell the tickets and get home for my newest birthday gift. Months later she would discover a huge misunderstanding on her part led to the call, the breakup, and me missing what would be my last real chance to see the Police.
Fast forward to 2007. My friend and I both logged on when the Police tickets for Wrigley Field went on sale. He got a pair, I didn't...and even in the aftermarket of Ebay I couldn't spend the kind of money being asked. Missed again.
2008: The Police announce the last lap through the US would include another stop in Chicago. I was in an important meeting the morning the tickets went on sale, but my work-at-home-mom-friend played the game well and snagged a pair of tickets for the show. A pair. For him and his wife. Until she decided to forgo the show to allow a guy's night on the town for the big show. She had no idea what I had gone through prior to this.
May 10, 2008 my twenty-five year journey to see one of my favorite bands of all time will finally arrive at its destination. I am excited about hearing various songs from three of the best players of my lifetime, but more than that I am appreciative that a simple gesture by a friend has made this possible.
Thanks, Molly!
Ch Ch Ch Changes
I posted the blog below a while back and now the rest of the story can be told. The cat’s been out of the bag most of the week for most of you, but I want to fill in the blanks for the rest.
The guy we hired to do mornings for our radio station a couple years back has decided to move on. We were lucky enough to have a PhD in Communication apply for the morning show job, not to mention a guy with a good sense of humor and an appreciation for what we are doing with our "think-outside-the-box" format. Many thanks to Blaney and good luck.
Monday we will move forward by putting in place what I think is a pretty good lineup. I will take over the morning show, and my friend Lori Thompson will slide into afternoon drive.
First Lori. "LJ" has tons of radio experience and it doesn’t take long to tell. She has worked in St.Louis, San Diego, San Francisco, and has been syndicated on about every rock radio network there is. She was also on the CocaCola network for the Barcelona Olympic games. Do I sound like a fan? That’s because I am. She will make a great companion every afternoon as the day winds down and the evening adventures begin.
Our job is to work alongside the music without getting in its way, and I think LJ and I will do a good job of that.
I haven’t done morning radio in years, but I am really excited about this. This isn’t your typical morning show. I will play alot of music, give you the basic info nuggets you need to begin your day, and do what BOB has always said is rule number one: play the widest variety of music possible. I love "punking" listeners by playing something completely out of the ordinary and getting the feedback.
Like the beginning of a new baseball season, we are very excited by this new beginning. Hope you like it.
On the personal side: Spring has not helped to warm an estranged relationship, but I will not give up. When I get my daughter back I will let you know.
I don’t know about you, but this Winter seems different somehow. Not necessarily longer but somehow colder and greyer. It could be considered metaphor for some things in my life over the last few months. One relationship may have grown colder and more distant, while others have given warmth and the comfort of "home".
Like the season to follow, hope Springs eternal (someone said). The change of season has me looking forward to a rebirth (more on that later). I am reminded though that those changes don’t always happen by a calendar date, or as suddenly as we might hope. I can remember the opening day of baseball season getting postponed due to snow a few years ago.
Hopefully the chill of Winter has not distanced you from the promise of better days ahead. Get ready to make lemonade, figuratively and literally.
As for my own personal rebirth and transformation in Spring, I will keep you posted.
Peace
I got an unexpected e-mail from my Godson a few days back. For one reason or another we haven't been in touch much the last few years. College, divorces, and relocating halfway across the country can do that sometimes.
He recently graduated college and along with some
friends decided to see the world and have some fun. Destination:
Australia and New Zealand! I am so proud of him for furthering his
education and happy for him taking life for a spin. He looks good...
He
tells me, "Australia is kickin' ass...surfin', checkin' out the girls,
I go to work every once in a while and then head out again..." I know a
few parents whose assholes pucker when they read this, but I for one
say
"fuckin' A dude"!
If you could travel back in time, which era would you visit and why?
I think I would like to be about ten years older. My eldest brother is ten years older, and I think I would like to have experienced life in the U.S. as a person too young to be drafted into the Vietnam war, but old enough to see the exciting culture changes that were happening at that time.
I'm not foolish enough to believe that it was all fun and games for young people at that time. I know there were significant challenges, and alot of excitement generated by pop culture.
This is my "starter blog" and as a result I used the question of the day to get me started. I am sure I will have much more to say in the days ahead.
Thanks
