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My love of radio began in Decatur, Illinois...
Just a youngster in the ‘60s...
In the morning we listened to Downey Hewey on WSOY...
He kept playing this wacky song by Roger Miller...
At night, it was Harry Caray with the Cardinals...
It maybe...
It could be...
It is...
A home run...
Holy cow...
Then the move...
To California...
And as my teen years arrived I discovered Top 40 radio....
Then in the evening...
I quickly became a Dodger fan...
Because of one man...
You may have heard of him...
Vin Scully...
And if you asked me back then...
I wanted to be a pro athlete...
Until the eighth grade...
When at a mere 85 pounds...
I played junior high football...
And then Pony League baseball...
Unsuccessful at both...
Reality hit...
Too small...
Not athletic enough...
Well, then I’ll go for the next best thing...
Sportscaster...
Just like my favorite Rams/Angels announcer...
Dick Enberg...
And that Laker guy...
Chickie Baby...
I was blessed listening to those guys...
And well on my way to being a sportscaster...
Until I discovered the radio booth at Fullerton College...
Complete with turntables...
Reel-to-reel tape machines...
And the microphone...
They say I never met a microphone I didn’t like...
And it proved true as I moved on to San Diego State...
And rubbing shoulders with a future sports mascot legend...
We knew him as Ted Giannoulas...
You may know him as...
The Famous Chicken...
Then finally...
My big break as a professional...
The Sound of the Valley...
AM 1310...
K-L-I-X Radio...
Twin Falls, Idaho...
---
And this is where our story begins...
My Day with a Radio Icon...
Actually...
After a short stint at KLIX...
I was selling commercials at K-96...
It was 1979...
And I had an idea...
You see...
We had this syndicated disco music program at night....
Hosted by Robert Weston Smith...
But the world knew him as Wolfman Jack...
And my idea???
Wouldn’t it be cool to bring the Wolfman to Twin Falls???
I decided to give it a try...
I called and got the price...
Then I shared my idea with some local businesses...
They loved it...
And agreed to foot the bill...
We made the arrangements...
And Wolfman was on his way to Idaho...
Pretty cool...
The plan???
Pick him up late in the morning...
Take him to the Blue Lakes Mall....
And then in the evening...
The local disco hangout...
The Disco Dock...
Where he would DJ for a couple hours or so...
But I needed a car...
No limos in Twin Falls...
So we borrowed a nice Mercury from a local dealership...
Thiessen Motors...
But I had to make a promise...
You see...
A southern gentleman from Louisiana...
Named Emmett Harrison...
Owned Thiessen Motors....
And he was very emphatic when he agreed to lend me the car...
In his classic southern drawl...
He warned me...
“Ahhhh don’t want him smokin’ no dope in mahhh cahhh!!!”
No problem, Mr. Harrison...
No smokin’ no dope in your car...
Got it...
So...
My manager and I headed to the airport that Saturday morning...
And there he was with his manager...
Wolfman Jack...
Pretty cool...
We headed for town...
Through the countryside...
And ordered us to stop the car...
Because he wanted to “moo” at a herd of cows...
So we did...
And as we continued our trek...
He did the unthinkable...
He broke out the weed...
I was scared to death...
I just knew we’d get pulled over...
Arrested...
And what have you...
Here I was...
A born again Christian...
Who had never smoked anything my entire life...
An assistant Sunday School Superintendent....
About ready to get booked for transporting drugs...
Yikes...
Well...
We never got caught...
And we made it to the mall safe and sound...
Whew...
That mall was so packed...
The air conditioning couldn’t hold the crowd...
We got out of there soaking wet...
And let him get some rest at the motel...
A couple hours later...
We picked him up and took him to dinner...
At the swankiest place in town...
Wolfman and the other guys headed for the bar...
I declined and stayed in the lobby...
Once we were seated...
Wolfman was very direct with me....
“Why didn’t you go into the bar with us?” he asked.
I responded that I didn’t feel comfortable in the bar...
And when he didn’t understand...
I was blessed to share the Gospel with him...
I couldn’t believe it...
I was sharing my faith with Wolfman Jack...
Pretty cool...
We finished dinner and headed for the disco...
He was terrific...
The guy could put on a show...
I was in the presence of an icon...
A radio icon...
I was blessed...
Fast forward about sixteen years to 1995...
I was listening to the radio on a Saturday afternoon in Southern California...
And the news broke...
Wolfman Jack passed away at age 57...
It made me sad...
I was blessed to know him for a day...
But hoped that somehow...
The message the Gospel that evening at dinner...
Got through to his soul...
If it did...
Then there’s only one thing I would do...
Clap for the Wolfman...
dvt
http://img3.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.97849423.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skFWsc_-i14
http://www.mohistory.org/files/imagecache/display/files/images/caray,%20harry.JPG
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4701881264_5065b34fc1.jpg
http://bioproj.sabr.org/bp_ftp/images5/ScullyVin.jpg
http://www.baseballsblackheritage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Dick-Enberg.jpg
http://spotlightauthentics.com/chick-hearn-autograph-sign-print-photo-picture.jpg
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/419165_10150824681030828_156790015827_12517099_998948762_n.jpg
http://www.balancedimmunehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Famous-chicken.jpg
http://www.chicagonow.com/booth-reviews/files/2011/06/wolfman_jack1.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99z-H_NEccU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdaiukjvzmA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=terpnecyjA8
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