The Dick Summer Connection – November 9, 2008

I’m sitting here with my bathrobe on, in my big, comfortable, black leather pappa chair in my living room… And I’m wearing my brand new Indiana Jones fedora. As soon as I put it on, the music started in my head. Dum da dum dahh…dum da dahhh ! I like Indiana Jones. He’s not a super hero…he doesn’t have mysterious powers…he’s an ordinary guy like me, only he carries a whip, and he knows stuff about archeology, and girls write “I love you” for him on their eyelids.

Ok…so he’s not… really… that much …like me. This is actually a replacement for the original Indy hat I bought. You know the expression…”So and so is leaving a pair of very big shoes to fill?” There may be a lesson in that. The original hat I bought turned out to be a half size too big for me…and my ego.

But Indiana Jones IS the perfect Louie-Louie generation guy. When that movie music isn’t playing in the background, I’m sure Indy occasionally hums “Loui-Loui…oooohh, oooohh…we gotta go.” He’s no kid, and he definitely has the Louie-Louie attitude. It’s summed up in one line out of his latest movie about the crystal skull. The bad guys are closing in…and he says…”This used to be easier.” Then he puts on his hat, grabs his whip…and starts to “do it to it.”

Indy doesn’t wear a fancy cape and leotard like Superman. Indy’s not faster than a speeding bullet. In fact he runs kinda funny. I think if he tried leaping tall buildings with a single bound he’d probably trip over the porch steps…kinda like me. And that’s a good thing. In this neighborhood, if a guy dressed like Superman showed up wearing a blue jump suit and a flowing red cape, the neighbors would grab their kids and forbid them to go out into the street.

Indy doesn’t wear a fancy spider suit like Spider Man either… slinging magic webs so he can swing from building to building. He wears an old beaten up leather jacket like mine, and a floppy fedora…like mine…or actually mine is like his I guess. Except I threw out the little plastic logo they stuck in the hatband. That made me feel more like I was putting on the Davy Crocket coon skin cap I had a long time ago.

Indy even has a regular job. He’s a teacher. All in all…he makes an ordinary Louie Louie generation guy like me feel like… with a little more exercise every day…maybe…who knows?

There’s something almost mysterious about how putting that hat on makes you feel. It gives you a kind of self confidence…like you can do anything…the kind of special strength you can’t get from other people…it wells up from within… It’s like the kind of feeling that motivational books and videos that cost only three payments of $99.95 promise you. And if you call within 5 minutes without even taking time to change your mind or your underwear, they give you free shipping worth $20. But you know what…it makes you want to have fun. And my Lady Wonder Wench says it looks sharp on me. Especially when I tilt it kind of rake-ishly to the left.

It’s actually not much of a jump for Harrison Ford to play Indiana Jones. He really is a pilot, and he owns a very nice helicopter. It’s a lot more expensive than my airplane. And he actually does hero stuff with it. A year or so ago, some kid got lost in a desert, and Ford was out flying his chopper, and found the kid…and saved him. But I always wondered what must have been going on in the kid’s mind… he’s wandering around lost in the desert for days, scared spitless and probably getting a little crazy, and he hears a chopper landing behind him…he turns around and looks…and out gets… Indiana Jones. Talk about needing to talk to your shrink for years to come.

Henry is the Indiana Jones character’s real name…Henry Jones Jr. But obviously, Henry doesn’t cut it for a mover and shaker’s name. Think about it. Movers and shakers need appropriate names. If Hitler’s name had been Skippy, how many people would have taken him seriously. Skippy Schicklegruber says burn the books and invade Poland. On the other hand if the peanut butter company had used the name Hitler…that wouldn’t have worked either. Think of the commercials. “Hitler peanut butter. For guys who want to grow a little mustache and screw up the world.” Then there was Indiana Jones’s younger brother Dow… who became a Wall Street honcho. Dow Jones. I’m sorry. I won’t do that again. This Indy hat makes me feel like I can even survive the hate emails that I’ll get for that one. Especially if I put on my Ray Ban pilot sunglasses. By the way my email address is Dick@DickSummer.com

Dick’s Details Quiz – All answers are in the current podcast at www.DickSummer.com

1- What’s in the palm of your hand that your wife or girlfriend (or both) might find objectionable ?

2- How does Oprah say you can have a quick sex change, without an operation ?

3- What does Harley – Davidson have to do with ketchup ?

There’s something really nasty on my mind these nights. I spent a long time in the broadcasting business, and I really loved being on the air. I loved it. The radio business is going down and out, and standard tv isn’t far behind. And it’s taking the jobs of just about all the people I knew… for all these years. Here’s a note from Proud Podcast Participant Bob C. who is a radio and tv executive, and a friend of mine. It says in part: “I’m installing my replacement here at work. The new automation system has just put 5 of my people out of their jobs. Even Big Louie would have a hard time smiling knowing that the work I am doing today will most likely put me on the unemployment line too. We have laid off 12 people, and there are more layoffs to come. We have canceled our weekend news, and our 10 PM news ends next week.”

Been there, done that…way too many times. I put a story about how that feels in the new Night Connections 2 Personal Audio cd. It’s called “Not Again.” If it hits home to you, you can just keep the podcast. Or if you want a fresh copy, just download it from the Night Connections 2 icon on the opening page of this website. What ever works for you.

It’s tough…losing your job. Especially for Louie-Louie Generation guys. Louie-Louie Ladies are tougher than we are in some ways. And that’s good. When I got fired for the last time at WPIX in New York, my Lady Wonder Wench spent a lot of time telling me that I was quote” THE Dick Summer.” That’s when she bought me the bathrobe I’m wearing right now…the name she had embroidered on it is “The Whiz.” It still makes me stand up a little straighter when I put it on. And that’s a good idea… when you’re feeling a little beaten…just make it a point to stand up as tall as you can. It helps you feel a little better.

You know by now, that I am a seriously maturity challenged Louie-Louie generation guy. I suppose that’s one reason putting on this Indiana Jones hat makes me feel like…hey…with a little more exercise…maybe…who knows. But more importantly. When it came, and I put it on, my Lady hit me with those big shiny blues, and gave me that thousand watt Wonder Wenchy smile…and she said…hey…that looks good on you. dum da dum dum…da da daahhh.

 

 

 

3 Responses to “The Dick Summer Connection – November 9, 2008”

  1. Pastor Mike says:

    Dick- “not again.” how often I’ve said those words, too-the last time just recently. Haven’t quite got your resume’– but I’ve Got faith and that seems to work. Beeing a pastor doesn’t pay much, but the intangibles are great. I suspect that’s why you’ve stuck to radio.
    Did you know a station in the San Francisco area once played 84 staight hours of Louie Louie? 2600-odd versions. True! But I don’t think you can blame that for Willie Brown. Pastor Mike

  2. Bob says:

    Thank you Dick, simple yet from the heart.
    Thank You!

    Bob

  3. Okay, tonight you picked my favorite man of all to talk about……. Harrison Ford. I love and adore the Indy Movies, can watch them over and over and never be bored. He always reminds me of my Dad 🙂 There should be more about men like Harrison, Indy , and you! I would love to see a photo of you in the hat….*hint, hint*
    As to radio going down hill, I just read the yet another CBS station in the Bay Area has been shut down. When will the ad executive, the powers that be and the dorks in seats of inscrutable power realize that we the people are their bread and butter and we do not want to hear automated noise, we want and deserve our DJ’s?
    I hope the revolution we * the Jericho Fans called NUTS *started with Viewers With Voices will transpose itself to the radio listeners and they too will get their voices heard on this matter.
    I miss the good old days of radio.

    say hello to LWW and a big hug to you both!
    🙂