It's 4am Does your DJ know where you are?

Been getting a lot of calls this morning and some rather weird ones. Which are the best kind IMO. Jerry called ( as he does most nites these days ) and we talked some more about his "visitations". He says that the frequency (Kenneth?) of appearances have seemed to increase in recent days. I'm going to visit him my next off day. I picked up one of those disposable cameras so we'll see what we see, if anything.
I've spoken with some lonely souls who call just to hear a kind voice and others who just can't help it they gotta complain about something. Either the music sucks or the musician should focus on the style from the last CD or you know why would that band tour with this other band. I hadn't heard from Cherie (with a C)(sorry that's how she ID's herself on the phone) for a few days and having not heard the sound of her voice I was questioning my previous thoughts. Was she cute, was she interested in me, am I crazy for getting involved with a "ear muff"? Then the phone rang. With the sound of her voice, I forgot all of those misgivings and felt a bit light headed. Crap, I got it good! We talked our usual and she mentioned that her shift wasn't quite over yet so she'd better go. At that point I heard a gruff voice yell at her, "Who the hell are you talking to??!!" Without a good-bye she hung up the phone. I wasn't too concerned but hoped she didn't get into trouble. And shortly I completely forgot about it as I took a call from Walter, a regular, who liked to discuss the merits of a particular band and where they were going and what the h&%$ was their manager thinking.
OMG I love my job.

On the front lines

One thing about working the grave is you mostly get to avoid the politics that are prevalent. This isn't anything out of the ordinary as every job has it's bittersweet moments. The politics in radio though are sometimes abit much as you're dealing with creative and some type A personalities. I once saw a grown man breakdown and kick a wall until the plasterboard fell on him because someone else got to interview a woman who had met a musician (relative well known at the time) in a bar and they had hung out for a few hours. Nothing earth shattering but this guy felt that because he was the "talent" he should have done the interview. The really sad part is the fact that the woman didn't really have anything to say, she just kept saying that "he" was really nice. I mention the politics because the program director asked me to come in during the day and meet with her. Turns out corporate was in town and she wanted to show me off. Ya I put up with it as she gets kudos and then looks the other way when I don't toe the party line during my shift. The amazing thing is that the suits know of me and actually want to meet me. Like I've mentioned, my past sometimes is a pain. They are getting me for a rather cheap payday but I'm ok with that.
I have talked about liking graveyard shift and it's mostly because I'm left alone. The overnite shift is a "loss leader" for the radio station. When the sales staff sells radio time it gives them an opportunity to do the "ok here's what we're going to do for you". Since no really ever buys time in the overnite there are lots of time slots to fill. Of course management loves it. For me it just means that I get to basically have 30sec fillers where all I have to do is push a button, I like it. So pretty much the "graveyard" shift for me is a win win. Alright I'm ON in 3o minutes so time to go.

Later that morning

So after talking with Jerry about ghosts, I took a call from Cherie (with a C) who had called me a few nites before. She again wanted to discuss the music I was playing or rather not playing. We had a quite pleasant conversation and frankly I was a little heavy hearted when we hung up. During our chat we both did the "getting to know one another" thing, as she would ask where was I born and I'd ask if she'd lived here long. By the time she ended the call I'd learned that she was just getting off work. She worked at a bar four nights a week. For my part she picked up that I was 44 years old and had only been in one serious relationship that had ended painfully. Afterwards I was thinking that it might be fun to see if she actually existed or was a figment of my imagination. Maybe next time I'd ask her to coffee. Time for bed. I'm ON in less then 12 hours.

He saw WHAT?

I wanted to get this down before it lost it's craziness. I just got off the phone with Jerry (the mini mart guy who see's ghosts) and he was telling me that in the last hour (3am) he was stocking the cooler and he heard a noise up front and when he went to the head of the aisle no one was there. Which didn't surprise him as he hears a lot of noises and never see's anything So he goes back to stocking the shelves and then feels a cold draft and looks right at a woman dressed like she just stepped out of the 20's. She had that flapper look, bobbed hair and long necklaces with a short shiny dress and she was walking down the aisle and ignoring Jerry. He spoke to her and she didn't seem to acknowledge him. She then turned the corner and he ran down to the end and she was gone.

Wow just wow. I'm going to Google the town's paranormal happenings and see if there's an explanation. I might also do a search and try to determine what was in the mini mart's place before it.

Oh ya I luv a good ghost story and if it's real that's even better. Of course I will admit that it scares the crap outa me and yet I'm drawn to them. I think of it as human nature. How often when you walk into a dark room do you search for a light switch? Most people can relate a story where they would swear a ghost was a possibility.

Ok well my song is ending and it's time for a commercial break. Oh ya tonite's topic just became ghosts and do you believe in them. I hope Casper is listening.

Three o'clock in the morning

Took some fun calls during my shift. They reminded me of a book I read back in high school (ya it was a looong time ago). It was written by Ray Bradbury the author of The Martian Chronicles and a short story (among a million other titles) called Dandelion Wine I think that was the name of it anyway. Something Wicked this way Comes was a book that under normal circumstances I'd never have read as it was mostly a horror story and I get scared enough in real life so don't need any more help. The reason tho I read it was because of the author and of course it was a really good book. I think they made a movie out of it. Anyway the why of it is that during the story it comes up that at 3 am the human spirit is at it's lowest ebb and so, vulnerable to certain forces beyond our grasp. In the story spooky horror stuff would happen around that time and the hero had to overcome those forces during the 3 o'clock hour.



So at one point I took a call from a woman and we talked for a bit about the current song and how there was a better song by that artist on the same CD and could I play that one for her. As I said earlier I was allowed to deviate from the playlist at times so I agreed to play it in the next hour. She called back later and thanked me. Her name was Cherie with a "C" as she informed me. I also took among others a call from a guy who talked to me for quite some time about his encounters with spirits and we're not talkin' Rum. At first I thought he was jerking my chain but after a while I realized he was serious. He worked at the local all nite mini market and would be all alone in the store and hear the entry buzzer, look up and no one was there. He said once in a while tho he would see fleeting images of someone walking down an aisle. His encounters were not restricted to just the mini mart, he also ran into these hauntings at his home and sometimes when he was out and about on his days off. Don't know if I believed him but here's the tie-in, he said most of the time this seems to happen around THREE o'clock. Hmm a coincidence? Not sure but with out identifying myself I plan on checking the mini mart out one of the nites when I'm off and see if I find anything. Should be fun.

You never know who or what you'll run into on the graveyard shift but it's always entertaining. And that's why I work it.

Mathematics vs the Radio

You would never think that math would derail a successful baseball career or take out a Boy Scout. For me at the age of 10 the world revolved around Little League, Cub Scouts, my bicycle, and the radio I listened to at nite until my parents yelled to turn it off. The times tables of 2x2 and so on had no place in my life. Boy was I in for a shock! As the school year was ending and I was thinking of summer vacation, reality was plotting against me. My teacher was writing my parents a report of my inability to multiply 4x8 and other silly formulas made up of numbers. I was informed of my new summer responsibilities and they included learning the times tables and then being tested. Procrastination immediately formed a barrier against this forsaken idea but my parents were formidable enemy's of procrastination and so my torture began. I still got to spend my summer vacation outside with friends but at nite was presented with flash cards and quizzical stories. When summer ended so came the TEST. The grading curve was set quite high and the results were rather scary. At least to a 10 year old kid who really just wanted to ride his bike in the sunshine and not worry about 7x9. When it was over and the dust had cleared, the consequences were truly dire. I'd not done well at all, in fact I'd barely passed. The parents issued the punishment and I was left with only one choice. I could keep one and only one of my pursuits. So of the baseball, scouting, bike riding and radio listening what would I keep? You are probably asking yourself at this moment, how could he keep that? Well I'll tell you that of all those items, the one I really enjoyed the most was the radio. It played music I liked and the guy who was playing all the music I liked told funny stories and gave me insights to the world outside my view. I'm pretty sure right then and there I decided that that was what I'd do when I grew up. Of course as an adult once that came about I learned it wasn't all playing music and telling funny stories. Boy did I ever learn that.

Just a quickie

Just wanted to pop in and get this down before I went to bed for the day. I never thought I'd come back home. I was born and raised in this town and at the age of 20 I left. I thought greener pastures were out there and I was right. My childhood was pretty normal, I spent the majority of it watching TV. One of my favorite shows was a spy show ( I was into James Bond) called The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The really funny thing about that show was the fact that in the credits the producers thanked UNCLE for helping make the show possible. As a kid I believed that. Ah the power of Television. I remember when I figured out it was a phony I was disappointed but went to the library and started checking out books on the Secret Service and the FBI. I thought heavily about doing that as an adult.
Of course then 4th grade and the times tables entered my life and it was suddenly a whole 'nother world. It's interesting how one moment in time can change a person's whole life.

A Night in the Life

I usually arrive about a half hour before my shift, it gives me a chance to relax and prepare. Being a DJ isn't all fun and games, I do have to actually work, well sorta. I look over the first hour playlist to see what's on the agenda. Ya these days you don't just play anything you want. The playlist has been put together by computer, based on group testing and down load hits. On the overnite I can deviate some. In the first hour I'm going to replace two songs that have gotten me calls from listeners telling me those songs suck. My method is to substitute another song from the same artist and CD. That way I'm at least supporting the CD. The program director knows I do this and she gives me that latitude as she knows I won't abuse it.

I also go over my first break chatter. Tonite it will occur around 12:15, give or take a minute depending on how the time pans out. My first set contains one of the songs I replaced and it's slightly shorter, so time wise I'll need to be aware of that. I try to have a topic that I can discuss the whole night. It makes it less boring if I can start a dialogue with the people out there. Tonight the topic will be Cheese. Everybody likes cheese and seem to have a fave type so it should turn out to be an interesting shift. Speaking of which, it's almost midnite and I'm ON.

I'm on the Radio!!

Wow my first nite on the air and everything went great. A couple of calls from the usual odd late niters but that's to be expected. The music is fine and I'm able to slip in some of my faves so it's all good. I had a call or two from women and I recognised the type. There are groupies for all types of jobs, like badge bunny is a cop groupie and on air radio groupies are called ear muffs. Well I had a couple of ear muffs tonite and it always makes me laugh as the reacting to a voice goes both ways. They can't see me and I can't see them. Take my word for it quite often there is disappointment both ways. Alright I'd better get some sleep as the midnite to six shift starts all over again in a little more than 12 hours and I want to be wide awake for the fun.