Trippin' Over Dishes...

["Bill O'Neill" <billo@erols.com>]

Well, no surprise, but now that we've returned from the 830 mi. trip to OH,
I can honestly say Scott Fybush's sentiment (1/3 NERW) clearly applies in
the piece of the midwest I listened in on.

The drive out on the 23rd would have been a very different one if not for
"The Truckin' Bozo" on WLW (700 kHz Cincinnati) midnight to 5 a.m.   (BTW,
when did the show go 'network'?  Anyone know who Bozo is?  And, no Frank
Averush jokes <g>)  That was the night that most of the south and midwest
was a skating rink.  Fortunately, we traveled west on 68 through PA, MD, WV
which was north of the junk.  The listen was a refreshing one, even for a
radio junkie.  Due to the wx, there was very little music (country oldies -
very well selected and presented) and heavy phones.  Now that truckers have
wireless phones, the calls were great to listen to.  It was a very local
sounding service while attracting callers hundreds of miles apart, sort of
like what Glick had going on when he was nights at WBZ Boston.

As for the FM side of things, I could count on one hand the number of
stations which were not part of a broadcast combo, and even those were
mostly bird fed or ones-and-zeros with big-boy liners that you have heard
many times...many times.  If I hear ONE more station tell me that they play
"today's <anything>" or "hot" "new" or "FINALLY, a station that...."  <Ack!>

I'll take "(Johnny Aorta and the Heartbeats)" followed by mic springs, a
chair squeak, and "Um, this is West Virginia's smallest station, but we try
(cough) harder, y'all.  Just YOU try this after a hard day in the mines."
(Actual audio)  How refreshing.

Bill O'Neill

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