Jerry’s Kidders got together for a reunion lunch today and we all realized how much we missed each other. With Jerry living in Toronto and me on the road constantly, that pretty much put an end to any continuity we had between meetings. Not to mention, Tim Slagle and Ken Sevara both live as far to the south of Chicagoland as Jerry and I do to the north.
Even when we were on the air every week, the only chance we had to exchange ideas in person was the lunches we had after our air segment. Those were as much or more fun for us than the actual radio show, which also was a blast. It was our weekly tree house club.
We hadn’t seen each other in months, and that’s a shame. Jerry is now out at WGN and WLS, so there really isn’t another option to get back on the air any time soon. Joining us also was Kipper McGee, our former WLS program director and Vicki Quade who helped us develop our play “You’re On The Air”. Other than Jerry himself, we had a full house.
There was a lot of talent sitting at that table, and we all know it. It’s too bad we haven’t been able to get some kind of syndication deal, only because we really do enjoy a chance to hang out every week. By the end of lunch, we all realized we miss it a lot more than we thought. It had everything going for it as far as a radio bit could go, and now it’s all gone.
That’s radio, that’s show business and that‘s life. All three can suck major rectal fumes, and this is a prime example. It’s never going to be fair, and none of us could find a reason why we’re not on the air somewhere. We never got paid a penny. We all did it for the fun.
The group itself though is now to the point of being set for life. We could meet up years from now and still go right back to where we were as far as busting chops and teasing one another in a fun way. I love groups like that, and can never get enough of being a member of one. The guys of the Loop morning show of Spike, Max and myself are that way too.
We’ve been apart for years now, but we still see each other on occasion and it’s like we never left. I love those guys, and can feel it in return just as I feel the same way about the Kidders team. Kipper, Vicki, Dale Irvin, Jim McHugh and even the group I assembled to help write jokes for our shows have all been wonderful to work with. That makes it fun.
Life is always supposed to be fun, and I’m finding that more important by the day. If it isn’t fun, I don’t want any part of it. We had more laughs at our lunch today than most of the people in corporate America have in a month. It was a group of good friends making each other laugh, and there’s nothing better than that. The vibe was genuine and positive.
I’d love to get a chance to not only get back on the air with the Kidders, but work more on the play as well. It really is a funny idea, and loads of fun to change characters and be a thespian for a couple of hours. None of us claim to be actors, but the play should be on stage somewhere, and we talked about how we could make that happen. It will take time, energy and commitment from us all. It was hard enough to get a lunch meeting organized.
On my way from lunch to pay my storage unit rent for next month, I passed an old blue Cadillac at a gas station parking lot with a ‘For Sale’ sign. I spun back around to see how much it cost. I’ve always loved Cadillacs, but haven’t had one in a while. I’m about due.
This particular one was a 1983 Fleetwood Brougham, the big long four door sled model that screams of pimp mobile and/or Mafia kingpin. This one seemed in extra clean shape, and I called the number on the sign to arrange a viewing. It felt right, even though I hadn’t planned on getting a Cadillac. I need a car, but was going to stay with a Toyota or Honda.
I love Toyotas, but my last three haven’t had friendly endings. I wrecked them all in the month of December, and am damn lucky to have survived any one of them much less all three. I figured going with another brand for a while might hopefully improve my luck.
I talked to the owner and he said he could come out and show me the car. He brought a stack of receipts showing me all the work he had done on the car, and it added up to quite a chunk of cash - several thousand to be exact. It has a new engine, brakes, exhaust and it looks extremely clean. There are some rust spots on the back bumper, but that’s about it.
He marked the price of $2000 on the original sign down to $1500 and that’s what I paid for it after about five minutes. I could tell the guy spent a lot on the car, and when I asked why he was selling it he said “Sometimes you just have to move on.” I know exactly what he meant. I’m doing the same thing with a lot of my own stuff right now. It just that time.
The last Caddy I had was a 1990 Fleetwood Brougham that got stolen in the parking lot of Speed Queen Barbecue in Milwaukee when I stopped to buy my grandmother lunch for her 90th birthday. That would have been 2001, so it’s been a while. I miss the Caddy style.
I love the big long body design and the cloud smooth ride. I love the leather interior and the smell that goes with it. I love cranking up Parliament/Funkadelic music really loud in the ghetto and watching people gawk at me with quizzical bewilderment wondering what some goofy looking white boy is doing behind the wheel. Now, I’ll be able to do it again.
This time it will be even better. The car is blue, which matches perfectly with the actual color of the planet Uranus. I just may have myself the world’s first ‘Uranusmobile’. I will let it stew in my head for a bit, but this could be a great source of publicity and visibility.
One thing for sure, if I end up painting ‘King of Uranus’ or ‘Uranusmobile’ or anything like it on the fenders, it’s going to make stealing it a second thought to most of the thugs who might want to take it for a joy ride. The more outlandish I make it, the safer it might be, but who wants to be safe? I want to go all out and make this car a unique work of art.
Tonight I had dinner with my friend and former student Karl Newyear who’s attempting to breathe life into the gimmick of being “The World’s Funniest Lutheran”. I tossed it out to him a while back, and he loved it. Now he’s trying to sell himself as that to churches or wherever he can get booked. I love gimmicks, and today planted the seeds for quite a few.
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