Dick Summer (re) Connection Chapter 2

The Dick Summer (re) Connection Chapter 2

The (re) Connection is working! More stations are adding the Good Night Podcast to their web pages. Old New York buddy and Cumulus Broadcasting executive Dick Stadlen added it to KDAT, Cedar Rapids’ nifty new station web page this week. KDAT became a real radio success story when Dick took over, and it’s neat to be associated with him professionally again. An anybody who listened to radio in Boston, New York or St. Louis will remember Bruce Bradley. Go check out his reply to last week’s (re) Connection posting if you missed it. I’ve worked with some of the brightest talent in radio…”Cousin” Bruce Morrow, Don Imus, William B. Williams, Teddy Brown, Wolfman Jack… the best, but Bruce is the best of the best in my book. It’s good to know that he is just as funny, and just as ornery as ever. And it was good to hear from Proud Podcast Participant Jim Doran with his unique perspective on how to take care of your voice. (Do NOT try this at home.)

I owe radio a big chunk of my life. But oh my God am I glad I’m out. With the exception of a very few guys like Dick Stadlen, most of the GRR (Guys Running Radio) are unimaginative, lazy and slightly stupid. No, that’s wrong. They’re not stupid. They’re narrow minded and terrified of losing their jobs. Same result. That’s why the FCC gets away with substituting politics for common sense. The FCC was created to assign frequencies and power limitations so radio signals wouldn’t interfere with each other. That’s it. No mention of protecting the delicate American psyche from such terrors as seeing Janet Jackson’s breast, or hearing Howard Stern’s potty mouth. But the FCC Commissioners are political appointees. Let’s put the word POLITICAL in caps. And there has never been as large a collection of hypocritical hacks as America’s politicians. If you start asking about things like why we’re still at war, or why the hurricane relief situation in New Orleans was/is so bad, or why we’re still depending on the 1970s technology of our space shuttles to get into space, or how come they keep blowing up, the answer is going to be something like, “WELL, I’m glad you asked that question. We need to keep America safe for families. And I’m going to see to it that we maintain our firm no nipples on tv policy, to protect our CHILDREN from seeing naked breasts. That’s a head scratcher to me, because my mother recently admitted to me that I was breast fed WHILE STILL A CHILD.

But WAIT ! (As they say on 2am tv commercials for sure fire ways to get rich) The FCC is going to make us even safer. They are collecting air checks from networks who broadcast live sporting events. They will go over them carefully, and fine any broadcaster who happened to have an open mike anywhere near some drunken loud mouth fan who screams something the government decides is obscene. NOW, don’t you feel ever so much safer ? You can’t make this stuff up. It’s true. A very young and very excited relative once called my lady Wonder Wench, and I could hear her breathlessly shrieking at the top of her lungs, WE WON BEST BITCH ! (Actually the kid didn’t win, her pooch did at a dog show.) But if she did that near a broadcast microphone, supposedly the FCC could now say, “Zap Mr. Broadcaster, fork over $350,000.” The far bigger problem of course is that the government gets to decide what’s off limits because it’s “obscene.” AND THEY WON’T TELL ANYBODY HOW THEY COME TO THEIR DECISIONS. Obvious question: “What’s to stop them from saying anything that’s critical of the government is also off limits?” That’s the way they do things in China, and Syria and other such freedom loving countries.

Here’s another personal head scratcher: A bitch is just a female dog. A son of a bitch is a female dog’s male offspring. What’s the big deal ? If you have a heart attack because some idiot calls you a male dog, you have a problem and it’s not a medical one. I say just growl and scratch behind your ear. And if you’re a guy, lift a leg menacingly.

I don’t care for crude language, and I don’t use it personally except occasionally as I’m filling my car or plane with gas and I’m watching the numbers on the pump blurring past. Some people like potty mouth. A very vocal few feel that Armageddon lurks at the next mention of a crotch, and I guess most people just don’t really care. To each his own. As far as its affect on kids, I taught my kids respect for the language, for other people’s sensitivities and for themselves. So none of them have come down with terminal potty mouth. In fact all the boys even survived the experience of fifth grade boys’ bathroom humor unscarred, and some of them are now even able to listen to Howard Stern without noticeable emotional or physical decay .

And don’t get me started on the nerve of many people and most politicians (I make a distinction between the two) who can’t tell the difference between pornography and eroticism. Calling a picture of a beautiful naked woman “dirty,” is blasphemous…and really stupid. Last time I looked at a catechism (which I admit has been a while) it said the Lord made us IN HIS OWN IMAGE. And last time I looked at a beautiful naked woman (a very short time ago) I said, “Yes Lord. Thank you very, very much.”

Next week’s Good Night Podcasts are about a horse by the name of Babette, a visit my lady Wonder Wench took to a dentist’s office, a message on an answering machine, and the story of a young guy who hoped he did ok taking care of his buddy’s girl.

Would love to hear from you. You can post your thoughts right here on the blog, or if you’d rather, just drop me an email at www.dicksummer.com because it’s good to know the (re) Connection is WORKING !

Dick Summer

Don Imus, William B. Williams, Teddy Brown, Wolfman Jack… the best, but Bruce is the best of the best in my book. It’s good to know that he is just as funny, and just as ornery as ever. And it was good to hear from Proud Podcast Participant Jim Doran with his unique perspective on how to take care of your voice. (Do NOT try this at home.)

I owe radio a big chunk of my life. But oh my God am I glad I’m out. With the exception of a very few guys like Dick Stadlen, most of the GRR (Guys Running Radio) are unimaginative, lazy and slightly stupid. No, that’s wrong. They’re not stupid. They’re narrow minded and terrified of losing their jobs. Same result. That’s why the FCC gets away with substituting politics for common sense. The FCC was created to assign frequencies and power limitations so radio signals wouldn’t interfere with each other. That’s it. No mention of protecting the delicate American psyche from such terrors as seeing Janet Jackson’s breast, or hearing Howard Stern’s potty mouth. But the FCC Commissioners are political appointees. Let’s put the word POLITICAL in caps. And there has never been as large a collection of hypocritical hacks as America’s politicians. If you start asking about things like why we’re still at war, or why the hurricane relief situation in New Orleans was/is so bad, or why we’re still depending on the 1970s technology of our space shuttles to get into space, or how come they keep blowing up, the answer is going to be something like, “WELL, I’m glad you asked that question. We need to keep America safe for families. And I’m going to see to it that we maintain our firm no nipples on tv policy, to protect our CHILDREN from seeing naked breasts. That’s a head scratcher to me, because my mother recently admitted to me that I was breast fed WHILE STILL A CHILD.

But WAIT ! (As they say on 2am tv commercials for sure fire ways to get rich) The FCC is going to make us even safer. They are collecting air checks from networks who broadcast live sporting events. They will go over them carefully, and fine any broadcaster who happened to have an open mike anywhere near some drunken loud mouth fan who screams something the government decides is obscene. NOW, don’t you feel ever so much safer ? You can’t make this stuff up. It’s true. A very young and very excited relative once called my lady Wonder Wench, and I could hear her breathlessly shrieking at the top of her lungs, WE WON BEST BITCH ! (Actually the kid didn’t win, her pooch did at a dog show.) But if she did that near a broadcast microphone, supposedly the FCC could now say, “Zap Mr. Broadcaster, fork over $350,000.” The far bigger problem of course is that the government gets to decide what’s off limits because it’s “obscene.” AND THEY WON’T TELL ANYBODY HOW THEY COME TO THEIR DECISIONS. Obvious question: “What’s to stop them from saying anything that’s critical of the government is also off limits?” That’s the way they do things in China, and Syria and other such freedom loving countries.

Here’s another personal head scratcher: A bitch is just a female dog. A son of a bitch is a female dog’s male offspring. What’s the big deal ? If you have a heart attack because some idiot calls you a male dog, you have a problem and it’s not a medical one. I say just growl and scratch behind your ear. And if you’re a guy, lift a leg menacingly.

I don’t care for crude language, and I don’t use it personally except occasionally as I’m filling my car or plane with gas and I’m watching the numbers on the pump blurring past. Some people like potty mouth. A very vocal few feel that Armageddon lurks at the next mention of a crotch, and I guess most people just don’t really care. To each his own. As far as its affect on kids, I taught my kids respect for the language, for other people’s sensitivities and for themselves. So none of them have come down with terminal potty mouth. In fact all the boys even survived the experience of fifth grade boys’ bathroom humor unscarred, and some of them are now even able to listen to Howard Stern without noticeable emotional or physical decay .

And don’t get me started on the nerve of many people and most politicians (I make a distinction between the two) who can’t tell the difference between pornography and eroticism. Calling a picture of a beautiful naked woman “dirty,” is blasphemous…and really stupid. Last time I looked at a catechism (which I admit has been a while) it said the Lord made us IN HIS OWN IMAGE. And last time I looked at a beautiful naked woman (a very short time ago) I said, “Yes Lord. Thank you very, very much.”

Next week’s Good Night Podcasts are about a horse by the name of Babette, a visit my lady Wonder Wench took to a dentist’s office, a message on an answering machine, and the story of a young guy who hoped he did ok taking care of his buddy’s girl.

Would love to hear from you. You can post your thoughts right here on the blog, or if you’d rather, just drop me an email at www.dicksummer.com because it’s good to know the (re) Connection is WORKING !

Dick Summer

3 Responses to “Dick Summer (re) Connection Chapter 2”

  1. Jim Doran says:

    Holy Mackeral!!
    I have just read the comment posted by “Dorado el marriage online therapy” at the end of Journal Chapter One. I immediately noticed the ads for:”COLON CLEANSING”,and “CONSTIPATION GONE FOREVER” I expected the Journal to be insightful, but never knew it would be that far “IN”.
    I read the comments written by James Stockdale at the bottom of the ad section. I am reminded of my state of mind after drinking the Kool-Aid being passed around at Harvard Stadium during a Janis Joplin concert. I believe he has repeated my remarks exactly.
    Wow Dick, you are correct, the Connection is working, and now, thanks to you, So is my colon (loosely speaking of course). Now I understand what the phrase “Even this shall pass” really means.

    Jim Doran

  2. Susan says:

    Just trying to remember a radio show I listened to on WBZ when I was a kid (10-13 or so?) that was on in the evening or at night. The host had a stint going where he encouraged everyone to carry a dime on them — in case they needed it in an emergency. I can’t quite put my finger on the voice, but I know that I ALWAYS carried a dime on me “just in case”! Any information you could provide on this would greatly enhance my memories. Thank you

  3. Jim says:

    It’s good to see others with memories as deep as mine. Bruce Bradley and Dick Summer may have been the perfect left brain-right brain that radio has ever seen. Never again will such hilarity and playful humour be balanced by such sensitivty and depth. I miss them both.