Walk-A-Mile

For the fifth year our radio station has been a part of an annual event to help the local rescue mission. You might have the same type thing in your community. It is called the "Walk-A-Mile in My Shoes" for homeless awareness and fund raiser. It has been a very successful event.

Now you might be thinking, "Why in the world do you do a fund raising walk in the winter?"

I have a perfect answer. Do those who lose their home have a choice when they are homeless. People are put out when it is sunny and 70, or when it is snowing and 5 above. So this is a great chance for us that have a home to realize, for a little while, what it is like to have to be a victim to the elements.

Like I said, this is the 5th year for this great event. I have been to all five. It looks like they went into my closet for the display of shirts from each walk...

When we started 5 years ago, we had about 85-100 people show up. This year I am happy to announce that we broke our attendance record. This past Saturday over 640 people showed up at the Grant County YMCA for the walk.




It started with a small presentation with from the Director of the Mission, and his wife who organizes the walk.

The Mayor declared it Walk-A-Mile in My Shoes day, and thanks Tom and Debbie Ballard for all the work the mission does over the years. Then we make the mile walk.





The Crowd stretched almost the entire walking route. Here are some shots of the crowd ready for the walk, and then on the walk through downtown Marion.

I would love to tell you that we made more money than last year, but with the tough economic times, even our donations were down a little. But still the Walk-A-Mile raised over $17,000 to help the less fortunate right here in our community. Every penny stays here. So if you have come in the past. Thank you. If you haven't, you are officially invited for next year.

A night away from the family...

Being a morning show host actually has a lot of responsibilities. I know, I will give you a second to stop laughing. This time of year we are vital when it comes to school delays and closings. So I HAVE TO be at work. So Tuesday afternoon I am keeping an eye on the weather. They are calling for another couple of inches of snow, blowing and drifting. Pretty bad forecast. I head home for a little while to see the wife and kid. Every hour or so I look out at the highway half a block from my house. As the afternoon turned to evening I see the cars in town going slower and slower. So I know the 19 miles of "country" driving I have to do must be getting pretty bad. I make a tough call to drive back to Marion to sleep in a hotel that the station hooked us up with.

I pack a bag with a couple days worth of cloths. Kiss the wife, hug the baby and head out for the first night away from the wife in almost two years. The drive back to Marion was not too bad. There were spots where the snow had drifted pretty good. So far I think I could have stayed home. But better safe than sorry. I get to the Hotel Marion, and they set me up with a room. I go check it out. It will suit me just fine. Nothing special.

So I do what I always do when I go into a hotel room. I look through all the drawers. The reason, when I was a kid, we were on vacation in Niagara Falls, and I found 40 dollars in one of the hotel drawers. Now, in over 20 years, I have not found a dime since, but you never know.

After that I kick on the TV and find Fox so I can watch American Idol. Call the wife, and give her all the info about room and phone number. We watch Idol together talkin' about who we like. After that I decided to go see if there is any one I know at the bar downstairs. After about 20 minutes of the smoke, I go back to the room and sit back watch some TV and play around on my laptop.

Finally bedtime. Of course I knew I was not going to sleep as good as I would at home. But let me just tell you...the heater in the room rattled like an earthquake every time it shut off. Which woke me up about every 45 minutes. Ugghhhh! Then at around 12:30 or 1:00am....some brainiac from the bar decided to do laps around the parking lot on his snowmobile. Double Uggghhh...Alarm goes off at 4:15 and I am up for the day.

Ends up the roads were fine for me to drive in that morning, and I could have slept in my own bed. But this is the price you pay to have a "Life in Headphones."

Plumbing Woes at Big John's house...

So we moved into our house about a year and a half ago. A week in our new home, we get things unpacked, and we have all the fun of deciding where everything is suppose to go. One morning in the new home, I go to get in the shower. No Hot Water. Long story short, we needed a new water heater. Well, lucky for us, when we bought the house it included a home warranty. So for a hundred bucks we get a brand spankin' new water heater installed. Great deal right! Nothing to worry about for a while in that department....WRONG!!!!

About two weeks ago, I get up on a Monday morning really stinkin' early for work. Hope in the shower, just about done when the water turns ICE COLD! Now that is not a good way to start the day. Rinsing off with freezing water. I get out of the shower, get dressed, and head for the breaker box. That has to be it! Turns out it was, so I kick on the breaker, and head back to my closet to get dressed. I hear the water heater kick on. (it is in the closet) No worries.

After my wife gets up with the boy, she asked if I had trouble with the hot water. I told her what happened. Since I drained all the hot water from the lines, so we had a little air in the lines popping. After a couple of days I figured it would be fine!

After a couple of days we started realizing that we didn't have as much hot water as we should. I open up the hole in the closet were the water heater is, and start looking over the paper work. Ahhhh, under warranty, call the company that installed. They let us know that it is probably the heating element. After a YEAR??? OK, so parts are covered, labor is not. Ouch. $135 dollars, and they tell us that we need a water softener or this will happen again in about a year and a half.

What really bothers me is that we are on CITY WATER. And it has that much lime in it. So there goes our tax check when we get it. Fun fun!

So we think all our plumbing problems are done. Not the case...

So Thursday night is one of Eli's bath nights. So in our "guest bath" we have him in the tub, which he loves to play in the tub! We never use this tub. This is just for Eli, or guests. We get him all washed and go to let the water out of the tub. As it starts to go down, we hear the toilet gurgling. What is that. Flush the toilet. No water going down. Now the gurgling is back in the tub. I grab the plunger. Maybe it is just a little stopped up. Plunge the toilet. Water goes down. Plunge the tub, and gurgling back in the toilet. Hmmm, what to do know. Go back into our bathroom for the other plunger, and oh, the smell of sewage could knock you down. Water had come up in our garden tub, and around the base of the toilet. This is a major problem. I am no plumber, so I have my wife call her dad. Steve is a handyman, and really helps us out in these situations. Well, I know our pipes are stopped up, but is there anything I can do tonight to fix the problem.

We have a plan. In our master bath he tells me to plug up the tub, and the sinks and start plunging really hard in the toilet. No problem, I can do that. So stop up the tub and sinks and go to town plunging the toilet. I can hear the water in the pipes sloshing around. Once or twice I pop the plug in the tub. So Sarah, my lovely wife, comes in to hold it in. We hear a gurgle, and then....sewer water comes up in the shower behind me. Yuck. It is about 10:30pm, and I need to get to bed.

No shower in the morning as I head to work. While I am at work, Steve and my brother-in-law Shad comes over, after renting a sewer auger, and cleans out the blocked pipe. Everything is working fine, and instead of calling a plumber and it costing around $200, it cost me about $35 thanks to Steve and Shad.

Sarah fixed her dad and brother lunch after they got done. She was very thankful for the two of them fixing our problem. Her dad says, "Wait 'til you get my bill!"

Sarah shoots back, "Well, I bet your lunch bill is way more than your plumbing bill."
I talked to my father-in-law after he got it fixed, I asked what do I owe ya, he tells me nothing...I say good, because I ain't got much

This is actually good for us in one way. We were planning on re-doing our master bath, and now that the carpet smells a little funky (why do people put carpet in bathrooms to begin with?) I have some motivation to get working on that project.

I sure there will be more fun blogs about that to come, in my Life in Headphones.

Big John Vs. Wal-Mart

I recently recalled a tragic moment from my college days. The memory was sparked when I recently read an article about returning items to the store after you realize that you don't need it.

Let me give you a little background about this story. When I was in college, my senior year at IWU I hosted a show on the campus station. Now being a Christian college that was what they "prefered" you play. Now, me being the country fan that I am, I talked it over with my professors and we came to an agreement. If I stuck with country music that didn't mention cheatin, or drink they said it would be ok. Now, I know what you are thinking. It must have been difficult to compile a playlist that would fit the critiria. But with the massive knowledge of country I possessed even at point in my radio career, I made it work.

This being said, the campus station only had Christian music. So all the music I played during my 3 hour shift once a week had to be provided by myself. Needless to say I spent a lot of money buying music as to not repeat the same music every week. This led to my tragic experiance at the local Wal-Mart.

I wondered into the music section, trying to see what was worth the money a college student could afford to spend. Alas, I compilation album containing 12 current hits that were not in my collection. "Drew's Famous Country Radio's Most Requested." A goldmine to a poor college radio jock that had to provide his own music. I snatched it up so quick and raced to the registers. The purchase was quick and simple. I hopped into my car and sped back to my dorm room to listen to this piece of country music gold.

Upon returning home I poped the new CD into my CD player. Savoring the taste of sweet shopping success. As track one starts I listen to the musical intro...

Something is wrong.

That doesn't sound like the original. I continue to listening.

The singer starts. That is not Faith Hill. I am truly puzzled. Maybe it is bad recording. I skip to track 2. Again the music is slightly different. Hmmmm. What has gone wrong with my musical senses? Could it be my CD player? No, it couldn't be. Well to make a long story a little shorter, the CD was not the original artists. My blood boiled. I promptly ejected the cd, wanting to throw it against the wall. But I knew that good ol' Sam Walton would not let me down. I gently put the CD back in the case, not to scatch it so I can return it and get my money back.

Geting back in the car I make the return trip the Mecca of good deals. Walkin' into Wal-Mart, I am welcomed by the greeter who puts that stupid little sticker that goes on all returns on the case of this disgrace to country music. Walkin to customer service I am pondering in my mind which of the other CD I would get in return for this recent mishap. No line, wonderful. Right to the return process. This is how the conversation went. Now, it was over 7 years ago, so I will try to remember to the best of my ability.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, I need to return this CD. It is not the original artists, and I need to use it at a radio station. It is no good to me!"

"Sir, once a CD has been opened, we can not take it as a return."

"But you don't understand. No where on the CD does it say 'Not the Original Artists.' How can I play this on the air?"

"Sir, there is nothing I can do. Our policy is once a cd has been unwrapped we can not give you a money return. You could have copied it.We can replace it with the same CD, but that is all we can do."

"I didn't have time to copy it!" I pull out the my receipt and my drivers license. "This show what time I bought this piece of junk, and where I live. Look at your watch. I didn't have time to copy it!" (This was before the age of really fast CD burners)

"Sir this is our store policy. There is nothing I can do."

"THAT IS RIDICULOUS!!!! Let me talk to your manager"

Yes, I pulled out the let me talk to your manager. Hoping my volume would get the attention of others. Some people did turn and look, and with the time I was taking a small line had formed at Customer "Dis-Service". The Manager arrives and asks what the problem is. The Associate behind the counter begins to tell the story, saying how I am being disrespectful. I jump in giving my side of the story calmly as I had before. The Manager starts to quote company policy. Saying how they can not refund my money, can not exchange it for a different Cd. The only thing they can do is give me another copy of the same CD.

"I DON'T WANT THIS COPY. WHY WOULD I WANT ANOTHER COPY OF THIS PIECE OF JUNK!!!"

"Sir, please keep the volume down. There is nothing we can do."

"THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO. YOU CAN GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK"

"Sir calm down or we will ask you to leave." I notice the original associate on the phone now.

"I AM NOT GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL I GET MY MONEY OR A DIFFERENT CD. ALL THESE PEOPLE BEHIND ME WILL JUST HAVE TO WAIT. AND YOU CAN EXPLAIN TO THEM WHY $8.49 IS SO IMPORTANT TO YOU AND THIS COMPANY AND IS KEEPING THEM FROM THE SERVICES THEY DESIRE!!!"

At this point I see an off duty police officer approaching behind me. Considering the options I knew there was nothing I can do. I make one more attempt.

"All I want is my Money, or a different CD. Why is that so hard to understand? I can't use this!"

"SIR PLEASE LEAVE NOW"

Well, the battle was over. I could walk out now on my own, or be escorted out with a new pair of shiny silver braclets. I choose not to get arrested for a meager $8.49. I was defeated. I scooped up my worthless CD and made my way to the door. But I did get my one parting shot that I am still proud of to this day. Before leaving the Customer Service Dept( with the cop right on my heels) I turn to the manager, and look him straight in the eye and yell at the top of my lungs,

"IF SAM WAS STILL ALIVE THIS S%&T WOULDN'T BE HAPPENING!!!"

So what ever happend to this CD? It is still in my collection. Do I ever play it? NO. But it always sparks great memories as I took on Corperate America....and lost.

Trompin' through the woods

I grew up in the country. And when I say country, we were so far out, we had to head towards town to hunt. OK, not really that far, but that is one of my favorite sayings. Anyway, being from the country, I feel right at home in the woods. Behind my parents house is a 10 acre woods. It is connected to three other woods. This past Sunday, it warmed up a bit. So I told my wife that after church, I was going to take my Muck Boots and go back in the woods.

So after church we head to my mom and dad's....which we do at least every other Sunday. We have lunch, and just like when I was a kid, I rushed out the door, and headed for the woods. I crossed the bridge over the creek, headed up the hill and went up and down the trails I remembered so well.

I saw the tree I use to lay in and read when I was a kid...

I had a ladder (that has since rotted away) propped up against it, and it was my quiet place to just hang out.

From their I headed farther into the woods. Found the swamp...




This area of the woods is constantly wet. So there were nice patches of ice for me to slide all around on. My trek through the woods also let me to find all kinds of fun pictures. Here are a few more for you!




But I also found two really cool things while back in the woods. First I tree that had a complete wind block still had its leaves, and they were almost white!



And then on the way back to the house, after I was tired from all the walking, I came across an old garbage dump. After all these years of playing in this woods, I don't remember ever seeing this. When I say old, these bottles had to be at least 40 years old. Really cool.

I found a few that hadn't been broken. An old Ball jar, a blue glass jar (they don't make blue glass that much any more) and even an old turpentine bottle. A really cool find.

Anyway, this is how I like to relax from my life in headphones.

Meeting Larry Gatlin, and a nice surprise.

So a couple of months ago I got a call from the Honeywell Center to do an interview with Larry Gatlin. He was set to do a show. Now let me start by saying I grew up hearing my mom sing Gatlin Brother songs. All the Gold in California, Broken Lady, Midnight Choir...So many great songs. Needless to say I was a little nervous.

So I am in the studio will all my prep, and questions set for his call into the studio. Now I pre-record these things so I can go back and put the songs in afterwards. It makes it go a little faster and makes it better for the artist.

Right on time the phone rings...
Me: WCJC, this is John, can I help you.
Larry: Big John...Big John, Big Bad John (singing the Jimmy Dean Song)
Me: I have to admit, I am a little nervous to talk to ya...
Larry: Well ya should be, I'm pretty famous. Then he started laughing!

So we talk about how I want to do the interview. And we get started.

Let me just say he was a joy to interview. We talked about some his biggest hits. We talked about new music. We talked about the upcoming concert. But what happened near the end of the interview really surprised me.

We were in the break between interview segments, where I was going to later insert the song. He then asked me about the song he was singing to start the interview. Big Bad John by Jimmy Dean. What I didn't know was that Larry got his start working with Jimmy in Las Vegas. He was telling me all this, and then he tells me how he goes and sees Jimmy a couple times a year. He asked me if we could talk about that a little bit and play the song.

Now this came as a shock to me. The reason being, this interview was suppose to be about Larry and his concert, but he goes on to tell me that Jimmy lives up in his cabin in West Virgina, and Larry said that he feels like everyone forgot him. So I go along, and Larry and I start talking about Jimmy and that great song that I grew up listening to. So we play the song, and Larry is so excited. He tells me that he needs a copy of the interview so he can take it to Jimmy this spring. It was amazing how he wasn't thinking of himself, but instead of an old friend. He told me that I just made an old man's day!

He then asked me if I was coming to the show. I thought wow that would be great! He wanted to meet me and get the CD of the interview. So I tell him that I could use a pair of tickets, with meet and greet passes. I am so excited. I get home and my wife, with not a lot of enthusiasm says..."ohhh, great." I can tell she really didn't want to go. So I call my mom, if will remember from the beginning use to sing the Gatlin's all the time when I was a kid. So I invite her for the show. We had a wonderful time, and as you can see, we got to meet the Gatlins, which my mom thought was really cool. But for me, it was just another day of my "Life in Headphones."

Butting Heads with my One Year Old

Let me first say, sorry it has been so long for a post. Who knew that raising a baby would take away all your ability to have a cyber-life.

Well back in December Eli celebrated his 1st Birthday
So he really loved that cake.

We have a nightly ritual that we do. I will be sitting in the big round chair, (see earlier post about the furniture if you want to see what I am talking about) and I will take my glasses off and I will get down on the floor and play with Eli. We wrestle, tickle, give kisses and all the fun you can have with a little boy. We usually get tired and climb back in the chair. Well, if you kiss Eli on the cheek he will keep coming back for more. Again and again and again. So, he is laying on my chest. I kiss him on the forehead. Sarah askes me a question, so I look away. That was my mistake. He came in for another kiss on the forehead. Instead he came in really hard. I got the full effect of his headbutt. Right in the lower eye socket...



This is the first black eye of my life.

Any time anyone asks what happened, I tell them I am training to be a cage fighter...you know like UFC. No one seems to believe me.

On a funny note. My boss assured me that this may be the first, but will not be the last time I butt heads with my son. So it goes in my "Life in Headphones."