Sunday, February 01, 2009

Road Trip

With me having a bit of free time on my hands this week, my friend Jay Philpott suggested a road trip to clear the air between our ears. Our excuse was to go see a sick friend in Omaha, so, why not? The sick friend is a cat named Steve Brill, who has been in the business about as long as I have. One of my first contacts with Steve was when he and Smash did the afternoon show at KSD in 1998 and took me on one day. Word crept out of the Emmis building that I had packed my bags and was headed across the street to go to work at The Rock! Steve pounced on it and yapped at me all afternoon. It was glorious to hear my name all day on a competing station. All is fair in radio, and we made peace many years ago. I thought it was extremely entertaining and fun radio. You know, the way it used to be. Steve just had his chest opened up and his ticker repaired. Jay picked me up at 7:30 on Thursday and bypassing Kansas City, we made it to Omaha about 2:30. I saw Michelle Matthews who was the night gal at the Rock, she is now the Operations Manager for Clear Channel Omaha. She is doing much better than I am and I am proud of her. I also met Lester St. James who is her PD and someone I have admired for years. Out to dinner on Thursday night at a restaurant in Omaha that featured St. Louis style pizza (what the hell is that?) and Toasted Ravioli. I guess we weren't as far away as we thought. We left Omaha on Friday morning and stopped at a Runza restaurant in Nebraska City because Jay had never had one before. Jay, being a big fan of food like me, was thoughly impressed. Friday afternoon was spent at Hooter's, meeting my old friend Skid Roadie and stopping at Ponak's to have dinner with two of my best friends in the world; my buddy Corky and Van McClain of Shooting Star. While there, an old girlfriend bought me a round and it was great to see her, she looked fantastic. Heading out of town, we went by Minsky's to get a couple of half baked pizzas to bring home. While ordering, the woman behind the counter asked my last name and when I gave it, the gentleman next to me remebered who I was and we chatted for a bit. Funny, isn't it, how after all these years, people still remember? It was very nice. Thanks, Jay, for a great two days. You are a very good friend and it was just what I needed.

7 comments:

karlene's mom said...

A good road trip is good for the soul. Took one in August with a friend of mine... saw a lot of places and stuff from my 'past' - good way to come full circle and appreciate things / see them differently.

karlene's mom said...

A good road trip is good for the soul. Took one in August with a friend of mine... saw a lot of places and stuff from my 'past' - good way to come full circle and appreciate things / see them differently.

Ken Dillon said...

Woulda been nice to have seen you while you were in town. I keep on e-mailing you, too...

RR said...

Ken,
I have not recieved your emails.
Please email me at phineas1956@yahoo.com.
I had about twenty extra minutes in KC. Please comment again and include your phone number. I won't post it.
Dude, I am sorry.

RR

Max said...

Good to hear that Michelle is doing good. Truly miss that girl from her days at the Point.

Max...

Brian Holland said...

Next time you pass through, let's you me and Ken hook up. I'd very much enjoy meeting both of you in person for the first time.

Anonymous said...

Randy and I swapped tales of our careers and all the people we've met and performers we've interviewed along with other war stories. We probably wrote two or three books between us during that trip. We concluded that even in these current harsh times for radio, we are two lucky guys to have had the experiences we've had in our lives. By the way, I downloaded that picture of the Runza; it didn't taste quite the same.

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