Well, either
way... Bob Conners, The Morning Monarch of radio is
turning off the mic for the last time and amazingly
it's not because of a scandal or an illness or some
form of downsizing. For radio? That's a rarity of epic
proportions. He's retiring because he's simply kicked
ass for so long he can't stand to kick any more ass.
For the last 40 years Columbus Ohio has woken up to
Bob Conners and 15 years ago I was on right before
him. For a 19 year old kid it was pants shitting
fright each morning... and he knew it.
A tall man,
booming voice, and an entire radio station behind
him... so you can imagine my surprise when less than a
year into my job he came in and said he liked what I
did and asked me to write a few jingly openers for
him. Honor of all honors and a funny thing? Those
three openers became the sound of The Egos on CBS
because they just had a certain quality doo-wop about
them that worked. So, yeah, thanks for that Bob.
The biggest thrill
is when he made a promo for his show to run during my
show that let me know I had officially made it. I
made it part of this entry's video...
An absolute
lifetime ago. I think what surprises me most about
hearing the old bits and looking at those pictures? I
look like a 40 year old man... then. You know? Nothing
about that show seemed like a "kid" to me. Because of
the "oldness" of the station, even the comedy
seems... older. You know? Near the end I pushed
the envelope because, hell I was 21 - what the
hell was I doing making 40 year old jokes. I was
certainly out of place... but now that I'm pushing 40?
I listen back and cannot believe I was a teenager
or 20 years old during some of those times. I was very
good at hiding that.
Bob was, and
surely still is, just bigger than life. Seriously 6
foot 6 and the golden pipes... and he had almost a
football players' joy in seeing you wiggle out of the
way when he came down the hall. I'm surprised he's
stopping to tell you the truth. At his stature it's a
pretty easy gig... I wonder if there's more to
the story. Hmmm.
Anyway, it's yet
another piece of Columbus that is gone from when
I lived there and that's too bad. WTVN is now
nearly completely syndicated (and a Rush & Hannity
loving station to boot) and everything that made it
unique is now gone. Thank you Clear Channel.
I never had a chance. ;-)
So enjoy not
getting up at 3AM anymore Bob... it'll probably
take you a year to change that, but once you do you'll
probably enjoy a lot more of your day. And thanks for
the memories. You were a hero and you treated me
incredibly well. Seems you treated everyone like that.
Well, except Cannon.
HA. That desk.
That smell. Sorry Cannon, you don't get a free ride on
Bob Conners farewell entry. We have to maintain the
rivalry even two decades later.
