trying something new

so I just finally watched the film "Marley & me" on HBO...very nice film, but I couldn't get over how much I identified with John Grogan, his need to move on even though he was succesful in his regional world as a columnist...and his desire to do something else and then thru that process of doing other things he found his calling was right all along :) so here I sit in Aspen, Colorado with a load of ideas and no outlet to share them...so then I remember seeing "Julie & Julia" the story of a blogger who gained a following by consistently writing random comments while cooking thru Julia Childs book in a year...so here I go...twice a week I plan on sharing a random "column" with you...observations on living in 2010 in the USA...I hope someone out there likes my point of views and random thoughts...and memories from the past...I look forward to having this minor legacy to leave behind...i really want input as well so bring it on :) thanks for checking in...Kevin

OREO DIES

Lorna and I were married for a week or two when Lorna decided we needed a pet or two...so we looked at the paper and a woman had two cats left and she lived in the worst part of Pontiac, Michigan...we walked in the door and she said if you don't take em were putting them to sleep...from the second we got in the car Oreo chose me and Patches chose Lorna...today when Lorna called me crying to tell me OREO had passed and I was overcome with a flood of great memories.

This cat was a dog. she was waiting at the door when you got home, she would wait for you to sit down to jump up on your lap, she would lay on your belly while watching TV and patiently return if you had to get up and go somewhere for a few minutes...she would leap up 6 feet when playing keep away and complain if you didn't feed her on time...smart for a cat don't you think ?

I'm so glad I had her in my life...she's not replaceable or forgetable...she is survived by her brother Patches, cousin Spike and Kevin and Lorna who will never truly get over the purring, seemingly caring soul of one black & white kitty that captured our hearts. I can't believe she's gone.

ASPEN IS BEAUTIFUL!

Aspen is beautiful! just can't believe how gorgeous this part of the world is...

LEAVING MY RADIO CAREER AFTER 25 YEARS!

My last day at WJR Radio will be friday, June 12th...I'm moving to Aspen, Colorado to work for a small business not in the broadcasting field...I've been overwhelmed by the kindness of so many folks wishing me well ! Listeners, PR Folks, Experts on Various topics you name it have been very gracious towards me down thru the years and I'm grateful for their kudos.

It's Hard to list Accomplishments but I do find myself being very nostalgic of late:

• While working at WJR I've spoken to 5 Presidents,(Ford/Carter/Bush/Clinton/Bush)




• I've spoken to personal heroes like BONO, Billy Graham, Don Knotts, George Carlin and Rosemary Clooney, Jackie Chan, Sparky Anderson, Kirk Gibson.

• I was cussed out by the likes of Bebe Neuwirth, Jenny Jones, a Detroit Mayor and even Burt Ward (robin on Batman TV series)




• I worked 20 hour marathons on 9-11, took three straight days of fan phone calls When JP McCarthy died, worked the Midwest Blackout and the Gore/Bush 2000 election debacle.
Thanks to WJR I did radio broadcasts in Beijing China, Frankfurt Germany, Tokyo Japan, on the set of Tim Allen's Home Improvement in Hollywood, The Masters in Augusta Georgia, the 5th anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy,



• we took a "call" from NASA and Jerry Linenger on the MIRS Space station (now I consider Jerry Linenger a friend)
  


• the weirdest "remote" was in 1997 having our WJR News Vehicle wired up to drive Governor John Engler over Detroit's worst potholes LIVE on the radio so he'd get the message to fix them.
  


• my regrets are not being able to set up interviews on the air with the following: Mother Theresa, Neil Armstrong, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne.



• I was there when they closed Tiger Stadium and when they Opened Comerica Park, went to the World Cup, Ryder Cup, World Series, Stanley Cup(in Philadelphia and Detroit),Gold Cup Boat races, Buick Open's, Super Bowl Week, 2005 MLB All-star game and the NBA Finals.

BACKGROUND: I started at WJR in 1992 as a weekend Producer for Jimmy Barrett (my fulltime job was working at the Pontiac Rescue mission with the homeless) then i worked with Fat Bob Taylor & Larry Patton, Mike Deja...then produced evenings with various hosts including Doug Ross, Geoff Feiger, Ronna Romney, Mitch Albom etc...then produced the Ken Calvert show in 1996...Paul W. Smith in 1997...David Newman 1998-2001 and Frank Beckmann show 2003-2009 ...it's been a blast!

ALMOST MAY!

Rock and roll hall of fame Guitarist DAVE MASON join us in Studio to discuss his career starting in the 60's with TRAFFIC
Actor/Comedian Mike Epps who told Host John McCulloch he wanted to know when John was working again so that while he was working he could bust into house and steal the sweater John was wearing...it was very funny but you had to be there.

Two Time GRAMMY winner ADELE let me interview her about her music and life so far as a recording artist.

NELSON: Gunnar and Matthew (sons of Ricky Nelson) I gave them a never before heard interview Ricky Nelson did with Shirley Eder as well as interviews with both their Grandfathers (Ozzie Nelson and Tom Harmon)

Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers and Sam Riddle a Political consultant stop by on opening day 2009 to discuss the Cobo Hall deal.

well, in two weeks I get another year older and life seems to be standing still at the moment but not in a good way...we are poorer and very demoralized by the direction of the nation and the state of Michigan...luckily the Redwings are ruling the play-offs and the Tigers look pretty good early on in the season...my job has continued to be a daily grind of trying to fill the monster with interesting topics and news items while newspapers and sources for fascinating stories continue to go out of business...opening day was GREAT the Tigers won 15-2 over the Texas Rangers and folks in our nation held a huge tea party to send a message that the Olde America isn't dead yet. two encouraging signs for the future...life is bound to get better, thanks for checking in.

It's March already!

I guess trying to keep up with a blog is more difficult then I thought it would be...Michigan got up to 60 degrees yesterday and spring is in the air as I sit here wathcing the World baseball classic. the invention of Facebook has been a growing phenomenon in the world and I love it. for the first time I have access to my family, friends, Heroes, spiritual mentors and I can even book guests using facebook... I recently made a connection with fellow elementary school class members...band members from groups I have followed my whole life and basically I've kept in touch with family in a whole new media...how could this be bad ? I'll tell you. Lorna my wife wonders when I'll turn the computer off ? and now it's even a "are you done wiht the computer yet ? I have to sign on facebook" for her too! so now the new addiction has to be controlled and it can soak up time doing good things like Church etc...meanwhile The Frank Beckmann show has been extended from 9:00am to 11:30am to 12 Noon daily...with no pay increase and a reduction by two weeks in vacation time my morale has been difficult to maintain at work....our stock is worth 1 cent and the country is losing jobs quicker than nook logan...not sure what is up ahead but I know that if GOD were not in control I'd be weeping on the keys right now :) but with God's grace I'm not. we'll I know I must be boring you (the reader) because I'm now bored but I just couldn't let another day go by with out a new blog entry. thanks for reading mindless thoughts...blessings, KC

last night we went to see "Slumdog Millionaire"...although it starts slow it is a great date film. It was very good. life is really cold here in Michigan right now...in fact this has been one of the worst winters I can remember but a bad winter usually means Michigan is a beautiful Green in the spring...the middle east is doing battle and the world get's ready to welcome Barack Obama as President this coming tuesday. folks are losing jobs everyday in Michigan and life has alot of stress and anxiety...God is in control. I'm attempting to get back to Church on a more regular basis and I'm beginning to feel the difference in my state of mind. monday is Martlin Luther King Jr day and I'll be working with fill in John McCulloch. that's all for now I guess...

Trying ping.fm

The show on January 7th

9:20 Pete Hoekstra, Congressman
9:35 Jim Edmonson, Campaign Manager, Mayor Kenneth Cockrel on hiring Obama’s people
9:45 Kym Worthy, Wayne County Prosecutor on Christine Beatty and the Mayor’s attorneys asking for the Text messages to be destroyed.
10:10 CASH FOR CLUNKERS DEBATE
Steve McDonald, SEMA VP of Government Affairs
Jason Bordoff, Policy Director of the Brookings institution’s Hamilton Project
10:40 Adam Michaelson, former Senior Vice President at Countrywide Home Loans and author of “Foreclosure of America”
11:10 Gary Burtka, Mayor of Allen Park on the potential of a film studio coming to his city

had lunch at the Anchor Bar with a friend...very tired.

1-6-2009 SHOW LINEUP

9:20 David Littman, Chief Economist, Mackinac Center for public policy
9:35 Candice Miller, Congresswoman on the stimulus package.
10:10 Ed Dobson, Cornerstone University Jesus for a year & Lou Gehrig disease sufferer
10:35 David Cole, Center for Automotive research on the Hyundai assurance idea and sales numbers and his forecast for 2009 ?
10:50 Jeff O’Donnell, His home is used by Clint Eastwood in GRAN TORINO
11:10 Daniel Bagdade, Nathaniel Abraham attorney

Ed Dobson was a very interesting & diverse piece from today's show...suffering from Lou Gehrigs disease and spending a year living like Jesus did was quite a story. that's a wrap.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION -to blog more

as 2009 gets underway I get the urge to try and blog on this site as frequently as possible...it will help me focus on my daily blessings and hopefully give me some kind of therapeutic encouragement. so here goes for January 5th, 2009.

got up at 4am and headed downtown for a show in desperate need of some ideas...we settled with Daniel Howes on the auto industry battles...Senator Mike Bishop on the budget...two authors who wrote a book about the Stephen Grant murder case...Sheriff Mark hackel responds to them...Jim Barry of the Consumer electronics association...Jim Stark about the delay of the Michigan Sports hall of fame induction ceremony and FOX news contributor John R. Lott about the Al Franken win in Minnesota. while I'm here we also discussed GRAN TORINO the film that was shot in Detroit by Clint Eastwood:

there are movies and then there are films...the difference for me is a movie is mainly a mindless fun plot that entertains and ends there...a film can actually change lives...THIS IS A FILM. they don't come along very often....Shawshank Redemption, Good Will hunting,Amazing Grace and Million Dollar baby are FILMS...GRAN TORINO is a film masterpiece...I can't tell you all the different reasons why but this film will stir your soul. Clint Eastwood is a genius. it breaks my heart to think that this planet won't have his filmmaking forever...I just hope he's passing along all the things he has learned about constructing a film like this one to someone in his life...when you sit down to visit this middle American tale be prepared to experience the heart of Eastwood...the lessons that scream at you include our fear of neighborhoods and being neighborly, racism, the spiritual questions, death and end of life, and finally personal family relationships...this film covers ALL OF IT. If this film doesn't touch you then I'm speechless and your hopelessly numb.Let me tell you one other thing about this film that is truly remarkable...you won't recognize a single player in this film. there are no superstars who demand 20 million a film...dare I say a single actor outside of Mr. Eastwood himself made a single million from this performance and yet that's another beautiful thing about all this...you don't get bogged down by familiarity...it's all new, refreshing and bold...way to go Mr. Eastwood! when does your next film come out ? I'll be first in line.