RADIO Family Stories Pt 3

"I'm the leader of the show, keeping you on the go.
But I couldn't survive, without my radio!!" - L.L. Cool J

1987 San Diego Job Corp Center, Imperial Beach, Calif.  A talent show is being held, and this goofy white kid is taking the stage with two of his black friends. He's had a steady diet of Beat Street, Krush Groove, Breakin, Breakin 2 Electric Boogaloo, and rap music since it's inception, memorizing every lyric on every album, the song order on each album, the names and  backgrounds of every member of every group he idolized, and even the liner notes and album credits.  It's for this reason that while others know the name UTFO, this kid knows they were produced by Full Force, managed by Full Force and Easy Steve Salem (RIP), and the music was engineered by Questar "Quick" Welsh.  He is obsessed with rap and has told his parents that he is, one day, going to hitch hike to NYC and get discovered by Full Force or Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin! But tonight, he is in a talent show, in front of all of Job Corp, wearing FAR too tight parachute pants, bandanas, a white sweater that zipped up at the neck (stylish back then), and a black fedora.  He paraphrases LL's lines from Krush Groove, and then breaks into "Radio", rapping over the original recording. At the end of his song, he does JUST what Rakim said to "I used to let the mic smoke, now I slam it when i'm done and make SURE it's broke!".  No kidding. I slammed that mic down on the stage and walked off like I owned the place!

My Radio.

But let me tell you a bit of a deeper story of how radio played such a huge part in my life.  I will take you back to the end of the 70s.  From a very young age, I heard music different than most.  I listened to songs deeper. I obsessed over the ones I liked, memorizing every keyboard, every bass-line, every guitar, every melody, every harmony....the song that most made up my memories from that era, is "The Twilight Zone" by Manhattan Transfer.  I had a small am/fm transistor radio that my mom had given me, and I would sleep with it playing music, under my pillow. That song was very popular in it's day, and played a lot.  There were other songs, but that one stays in my mind with very solid memories surrounding it. 

We lived at 1411 W. 12th street, Santa Ana, CA. right around the corner from Santa Ana College, where I would roller skate on their tennis courts.  It was on that campus that I first saw the marquee for "The Rocky Horror Show, Saturdays 12am". It was a live performance by the college theater group, and it was at the beginnings of the RHPS hayday, and it would be 20 some years before I took my first "jump to the left, and then a step to the right".  I went to Wilson Elementary School, and my sister went to Willard Jr. High.  My favorite teacher was Miss Lear. Up until that year (4th grade), I had been known as "Petey".  That was a nickname given to my by my parents.  But I had decided that Petey was a kid and I was a big boy now, and I was to be called "Wade". (Side note, UNLESS  I have given you direct permission, do not call me any other name than the one I have introduced myself to you as.  Few get away with calling me Wade anymore, and the "Petey" list is even smaller. If you know me, then you should know that i'm not playing, and if you test me, you're not going to like the end result. Be advised). 

At any rate, among those who are allowed to address me as "Wade", is Miss Lear.  It turned out, that not only did she have an impact on me, but I did on her as well.  In 2008, I returned to Wilson Elementary to look around the old school and relive some memories.  I went into the office and spoke with the secretary.  "I don't suppose Miss Lear still teaches here..." "Actually, this was her last year. She is retiring.  Her classroom is 13a, and she should be in there packing up her room".  My heart went into my throat.  I went to 13a, and opened the door.  There, at the chalkboard, erasing what was the last bit of writing from the school year, was a little old lady. "Miss Lear?" I asked. She turned around and in spite of the hair, age, and wrinkles, I recognized the face of my favorite teacher of my entire school career. More importantly, was that before I could say another word, her face lit up in the biggest, brightest smile, as she said "Oh my goodness....you're Wade!!!"  She came over and hugged me, and it was the most amazing experience I have had in years.  Why she remembered me I don't know.  When I asked she simply laughed and said "How could I NOT remember you?".

Back to the Radio.

From early childhood, we would listen as a family, every night, to "Unshackled", a christian radio broadcast from The Pacific Garden Mission, in Chicago Illinois, 60605.  Their number was "Wabash 2, 9462" I'll never forget the announcer for the show repeating the address every night. This was mostly something that mom and us kids listened to, as I stated in an earlier entry, dad drove long haul over the road, and was gone quite a bit.  Some of those memories bleed into our home at 11651 Wasco Rd in Garden Grove.  It's there where the story behind my fb posting earlier in the week came from.  At that time, I was going to Bethel Baptist Christian School, and had to ride the OCTD bus there EARLY every day.  My mom instilled in me at a young age, that my "ironing" was MY job.  She ironed her clothes and daddy's clothes, but MINE were MY responsibility.  So, I had to get up early to iron my clothes, because there was a strict dress code at Bethel.  The christian radio station that we listened to Unshackled on, in the early morning, would play the "Good Morning" song from "Bullfrogs and Butterflies" and my mother would BLAST that song when it came on, as our wake up call.

As we got older, at some point, my parents (actually I believe there is a deeper story about an argument of sorts between them, but i'm not sure) decided that we weren't going to have a TV anymore.  I can honestly say, in retrospect, that was one of the best things to ever happen to us kids.  Hell, even when we HAD a TV, I don't think us kids were allowed to watch it until like after the 6pm news. My horrible terrible parents made us actually go outside and play! Why, we had to use our imaginations and stuff! Can you BELIEVE IT!?  I wonder how far the statute of limitations goes on that one. I might be able to sue them. Well, mom anyhow. Once again, as usual, dad's not around for this....I mean, he's dead, but he's probably just using that for an excuse.  I digress. 

Where was I? Child abuse, neglect....oh yes! I remember now! No TV.  Well, we didn't have one.  What we DID have was the radio.  And still every night, we would listen to Unshackled.  Only now, dad was home more often and didn't care for Unshackled as much.  So, he brought home some cassettes of old time radio shows.  While other kids were watching Dukes of Hazzard, we were gathered together as a family, and listening to "The Whistler", "Inner Sanctum Mysteries, starring Boris Karloff", "The Lone Ranger Rides Again", "Charlie McCarthy and WC Fields", and "The War of The Worlds".  My parents had a card game called Mille Bournes that they taught me how to play, and we would play that together at the dinner table in the evening, while listening to radio shows sponsored by "LSMFT, Lucky Strikes means fine tobacco! So round, so firm, so fully packed! So free and easy on the draw! LUCKY STRIKES!" and Chase and Sandborn coffee!

Years went by, and we wound up with a TV again. But no memories are quite as fond for me, as those nights gathered around the radio, playing cards together.

Oh, that white kid from Job Corps?  He spent 12 years in the army, and now that same obsessing he did over rap groups and music, payed off.  He works with all of those artists, whose posters once resided on his walls, and whose album credits he memorized.  Even some of the producers and engineers.  Funny how life works, ain't it?