I am not going to lie to you. The last 5 years here at the ol' Radio Ranch have not been easy. We have been owned by an out-of-state group that didn't really care what we were doing or how we were doing it. But the few, hardened broadcast professionals like Kelley, Shelly, Dedi, Cathy, Mike and I held on by our fingernails hoping that we would get sold to someone who would just give a damn.
Imagine our surprise and delight when the very man that started Kicks 99 in 2001 (Tommy Vascocu) bought us back in July! We have all new equipment, owners that pay attention to what we are doing both on and off the air, and a General Manager (John Moesch) who is here every day and understands BOTH sides of the microphone because he has done what Mike and I do every morning!
So all of us who have been here through the hard times and are now enjoying the re-birth of our beloved radio stations, and our new full and part time employees, had our Christmas Party last night. A lovely dinner at Venezia. It is the first Christmas party we have had in years and we had a blast! You get a bunch of radio people together, give them a little wine and beer, and no one shuts up...especially me!
Mike and I agreed as we were driving home last night that it was good to just sit down and laugh with everyone. And it was good knowing next year will be much better than this one. And, finally, it was good to just be joyful with people who are so much more than co-workers. They are truly family.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Really? Is That Necessary?
Everyone talks about how Christmas has changed. How people seem to just get crabbier and less civil as the "Festive Season" goes on. More "Bah-Humbugs" and fewer "Merry Christmases". Well, I am going to go out on a limb here and say it is all in what you want to hold on to, and that includes your sense of humor!
Yesterday, Mike and I experienced opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to human behavior. We went to Albertson's to do a little grocery shopping. We got in line behind a young woman who was shopping with her mother. She had forgotten her ID so they wouldn't let her buy a bottle of wine. She finished checking out without the wine. Just as she finished her mother came up, cut right in front of us to buy her few items. The young woman then asked her mother to buy the wine for her. When the manager told her they could not do that she got really upset, VERY loud and profane! The whole store could hear her. We felt so sorry for the cashier!
But as we left, all I could think of was something an old friend of ours used to say when he was disgusted..."Some people's children..." and we laughed at how ridiculous that woman made herself look.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Mike and I are refinancing our home. We ran into a snag that was going to hold up the entire process until next year if we didn't get it cleared up. We went into the Citibank branch on Andrews Hiway and talked to the branch manager, Matthew Zentner. He spent hours with us getting the problem sorted. He then continued to follow up on the matter until the problem was resolved, the paperwork was done, and we were able to close on the refinance yesterday afternoon! And we weren't even refinancing with Citibank!
Matthew just went above and beyond good service...and was endlessly patient with us. THAT is the human spirit we choose to think of during the holidays! Hold on to the little (or big) things that people do for you and others that exemplify the best in all of us, and have a Merry Christmas!
Yesterday, Mike and I experienced opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to human behavior. We went to Albertson's to do a little grocery shopping. We got in line behind a young woman who was shopping with her mother. She had forgotten her ID so they wouldn't let her buy a bottle of wine. She finished checking out without the wine. Just as she finished her mother came up, cut right in front of us to buy her few items. The young woman then asked her mother to buy the wine for her. When the manager told her they could not do that she got really upset, VERY loud and profane! The whole store could hear her. We felt so sorry for the cashier!
But as we left, all I could think of was something an old friend of ours used to say when he was disgusted..."Some people's children..." and we laughed at how ridiculous that woman made herself look.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Mike and I are refinancing our home. We ran into a snag that was going to hold up the entire process until next year if we didn't get it cleared up. We went into the Citibank branch on Andrews Hiway and talked to the branch manager, Matthew Zentner. He spent hours with us getting the problem sorted. He then continued to follow up on the matter until the problem was resolved, the paperwork was done, and we were able to close on the refinance yesterday afternoon! And we weren't even refinancing with Citibank!
Matthew just went above and beyond good service...and was endlessly patient with us. THAT is the human spirit we choose to think of during the holidays! Hold on to the little (or big) things that people do for you and others that exemplify the best in all of us, and have a Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Boy Is Home!
Eric came home from Fort Riley on Saturday. If I never saw him, I would know he was home just from the condition of the guest room and the smell.
I keep hoping the Army will train him to keep his room tidy. Wrong. I guess even the Army cannot train the "pigpen" out of the boy. Honestly, when he left yesterday morning to go mess around with his ROTC buddies from high school, I made the mistake of looking into his room. OMG!!! And the smell! It was as if he had never left home.
My friend, Rachel Dobbs, had warned me. Her oldest son went into the Army as well. He is even a Sergeant, and when he comes home his room looks just like it did when he was a teenager. And they manage this in the space of only a few minutes! On the other hand, Eric is certainly more mature now. But not TOO mature. He is kind of on a par with his father.
He says the room is only messy because his wife, Lilly, is in San Angelo visiting her family. She comes in today. He says she will whip the room into shape in no time. I feel sorry for her. But I DID warn her before they got married! Smell and mess aside, my baby boy is home! I don't really care what his room looks like, as long as he is in it!
I keep hoping the Army will train him to keep his room tidy. Wrong. I guess even the Army cannot train the "pigpen" out of the boy. Honestly, when he left yesterday morning to go mess around with his ROTC buddies from high school, I made the mistake of looking into his room. OMG!!! And the smell! It was as if he had never left home.
My friend, Rachel Dobbs, had warned me. Her oldest son went into the Army as well. He is even a Sergeant, and when he comes home his room looks just like it did when he was a teenager. And they manage this in the space of only a few minutes! On the other hand, Eric is certainly more mature now. But not TOO mature. He is kind of on a par with his father.
He says the room is only messy because his wife, Lilly, is in San Angelo visiting her family. She comes in today. He says she will whip the room into shape in no time. I feel sorry for her. But I DID warn her before they got married! Smell and mess aside, my baby boy is home! I don't really care what his room looks like, as long as he is in it!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Christmas Movies
A lyric in Taylor Swift's latest song "Begin Again" got me thinking about how many families out there that have a tradition of watching certain Christmas movies during the season? Our family does! Mike and I have buckled under the pressure from our kids not to play "A Christmas Story" anymore for awhile. So we watch it ourselves before everyone else arrives. They just don't get that movie I guess.
Oddly enough, they all love "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye! This is one that we watch several times during the season. I think the kids love this one because Mike will invariably do a running commentary on it that makes it really hilarious. My real favorite is "Holiday Inn" with Bing. I have loved that movie since I was 10 years old. I usually watch this one alone. Mike has a couple of old favorites as well. He loves the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carole" with Alistair Sim. He also loves a made-for-tv movie from the 70's called "The Gathering" with Ed Asner. It is fun to watch just for the really bad 70's fashion!
As a family, we all love "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", "Love Actually", "The Holiday" and we have added "Four Christmases". Mike, Adam and Eric have requested we add "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon" as they take place at Christmas. They call them the "gunfire and tinsel" movies.
We don't watch animated movies, the kids have never been fans. Our family also has a pretty twisted sense of humor so there are a lot of "sweet and sensitive" Christmas movies that just don't make the cut at our house. Our poor little brand new daughter-in-law, Lilly, really isn't going to know what hit her this Christmas. On the other hand, she married Eric so she must have some idea!
Oddly enough, they all love "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye! This is one that we watch several times during the season. I think the kids love this one because Mike will invariably do a running commentary on it that makes it really hilarious. My real favorite is "Holiday Inn" with Bing. I have loved that movie since I was 10 years old. I usually watch this one alone. Mike has a couple of old favorites as well. He loves the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carole" with Alistair Sim. He also loves a made-for-tv movie from the 70's called "The Gathering" with Ed Asner. It is fun to watch just for the really bad 70's fashion!
As a family, we all love "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", "Love Actually", "The Holiday" and we have added "Four Christmases". Mike, Adam and Eric have requested we add "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon" as they take place at Christmas. They call them the "gunfire and tinsel" movies.
We don't watch animated movies, the kids have never been fans. Our family also has a pretty twisted sense of humor so there are a lot of "sweet and sensitive" Christmas movies that just don't make the cut at our house. Our poor little brand new daughter-in-law, Lilly, really isn't going to know what hit her this Christmas. On the other hand, she married Eric so she must have some idea!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Rutabega
Every year at Christmas I do something for Mike and Eric that I won't do at any other time of the year. I fix rutabega. Blech. This is a dish Mike's mother made for his dad. For Mike, it has always been a part of the holidays. His dad loved rutabega, Mike loves rutabega, and now Eric loves rutabega. They are the only three people I know in the world who eat it.
The food that was always on MY holiday table is my mother's cinnamon applesauce jello. It was always my favorite food at Christmas and it is now the favorite of my "normal" family members. Anyway, Mike's mother taught me how to fix rutabega the way Mike likes it. First, peel it (easier said than done) cube it and boil the hell out of it. WARNING...you will smell the hell being boiled out! The aroma of boiling dirty socks is the way I would describe it. Then mash it up with butter and salt.
Mike and his family have introduced me to many culinary delights over the years. Scottish meat pies, fern cakes, scones with Cornish clotted cream (perfection!) real fish and chips, haggis (NOT perfection!) black pudding (also NOT perfection!). I can make a pretty good Shepherd's Pie and some very good shortbread. I don't know if the rutabega that I fix is good...I won't even taste it.
When I was checking out at Wal-Mart yesterday, I had to explain rutabega to the young cashier. Let's just say, I am NOT a great "Rutabega Ambassador". I don't think she will ever cook one.
The food that was always on MY holiday table is my mother's cinnamon applesauce jello. It was always my favorite food at Christmas and it is now the favorite of my "normal" family members. Anyway, Mike's mother taught me how to fix rutabega the way Mike likes it. First, peel it (easier said than done) cube it and boil the hell out of it. WARNING...you will smell the hell being boiled out! The aroma of boiling dirty socks is the way I would describe it. Then mash it up with butter and salt.
Mike and his family have introduced me to many culinary delights over the years. Scottish meat pies, fern cakes, scones with Cornish clotted cream (perfection!) real fish and chips, haggis (NOT perfection!) black pudding (also NOT perfection!). I can make a pretty good Shepherd's Pie and some very good shortbread. I don't know if the rutabega that I fix is good...I won't even taste it.
When I was checking out at Wal-Mart yesterday, I had to explain rutabega to the young cashier. Let's just say, I am NOT a great "Rutabega Ambassador". I don't think she will ever cook one.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
We Must Have Done Something Right
As we get closer to Christmas this year I have realized that the excitement for the holiday has come full circle. When we were young, we would get excited to a fever pitch for the presents under the tree and what Santa would bring. Now we get excited about just having our family together again.
And the best feeling is that they are just as excited about coming home! We hear from Eric at least twice a day as his trip home approaches. He and Lilly are coming in from Fort Riley, Kansas on Saturday and we are beside ourselves with excitement. But our little homesick soldier is even more so. He texted me the other day saying, "It is 26 degrees at troop with a wind chill of 3. It's moments like this that I think in a few days I'll be at the cabin with a hot toddie and a fire, family and a movie. It's the little things y'all have done for me that get me through the hardest moments in my job." Wow. Made me cry.
I also love that our oldest son Adam would rather be at the cabin with us for Christmas than anywhere else. We understand that once you marry you have to split your Christmases with your spouses family. Fortunately, Sara's family has a cabin in Ruidoso which makes it easier for them to spend time with two families. I thank her for being generous enough to share time with us every Christmas. I know that some years that has been a struggle and we appreciate her sweet thoughtfulness and her family for sharing her with us.
All those years we decorated the tree, put the snow villiages up, cooked and baked and felt un-appreciated through it all...we must have done something right. For you mom's and dad's out there...keep doing what you are doing to build traditions and joy and family time with your children and they will always want to come home. And remember, it isn't what is under the Christmas tree that matters to them as they get older. It is what you do around the tree.
And the best feeling is that they are just as excited about coming home! We hear from Eric at least twice a day as his trip home approaches. He and Lilly are coming in from Fort Riley, Kansas on Saturday and we are beside ourselves with excitement. But our little homesick soldier is even more so. He texted me the other day saying, "It is 26 degrees at troop with a wind chill of 3. It's moments like this that I think in a few days I'll be at the cabin with a hot toddie and a fire, family and a movie. It's the little things y'all have done for me that get me through the hardest moments in my job." Wow. Made me cry.
I also love that our oldest son Adam would rather be at the cabin with us for Christmas than anywhere else. We understand that once you marry you have to split your Christmases with your spouses family. Fortunately, Sara's family has a cabin in Ruidoso which makes it easier for them to spend time with two families. I thank her for being generous enough to share time with us every Christmas. I know that some years that has been a struggle and we appreciate her sweet thoughtfulness and her family for sharing her with us.
All those years we decorated the tree, put the snow villiages up, cooked and baked and felt un-appreciated through it all...we must have done something right. For you mom's and dad's out there...keep doing what you are doing to build traditions and joy and family time with your children and they will always want to come home. And remember, it isn't what is under the Christmas tree that matters to them as they get older. It is what you do around the tree.
Monday, December 10, 2012
No More Moving.
I went to 14 different schools in 11 years of school. I graduated from a high school in Kansas that I never actually attended because I had all the credits I needed! My mom had always wanted to travel beyond the small world of Grand Junction, Colorado but her dad said "NO!" when she wanted to join the military out of high school. So we moved around Colorado, then California, then Kansas. As soon as I could, I moved myself back "home" to Colorado and went to college in Boulder.
Anyway, Midland is the only place I have ever called home for longer than 5 years! There are many habits and problems that come from moving so much. First, they say 3 moves equals a fire in terms property loss, etc. So I have very little of my childhood left. I have our three stockings (Mark, Dana and Troy painted in silver glitter on very grubby felt) and I have three little stuffed reindeer (red, green and white) that my paternal grandmother gave us when I was about 5. Mine is the red one with the little bracelet pinned around it's neck so everyone knows it is the girl deer! That's it. That is the entire collection from when I was a child. And I only recently found the little deer in the attic. They were still in a square "go-go boots" box! How is THAT for making one feel old!!
So now I have a wonderful antique cedar chest that my mother gave me when I graduated from college and I call that my "Stuff My Kids Did Trunk". I have everything in there from the outfits they wore home from the hospital to their graduation caps and gowns. The second problem I have from moving every six months of my life is that I get restless if I am in one house too long. Mike lived in 2 houses total until he was 18 and he told me right at the beginning of our marriage that we would NOT be moving every 6 months! So now I just re-arrange furniture and paint walls. It's better, I don't have to pack!
Anyway, Midland is the only place I have ever called home for longer than 5 years! There are many habits and problems that come from moving so much. First, they say 3 moves equals a fire in terms property loss, etc. So I have very little of my childhood left. I have our three stockings (Mark, Dana and Troy painted in silver glitter on very grubby felt) and I have three little stuffed reindeer (red, green and white) that my paternal grandmother gave us when I was about 5. Mine is the red one with the little bracelet pinned around it's neck so everyone knows it is the girl deer! That's it. That is the entire collection from when I was a child. And I only recently found the little deer in the attic. They were still in a square "go-go boots" box! How is THAT for making one feel old!!
So now I have a wonderful antique cedar chest that my mother gave me when I graduated from college and I call that my "Stuff My Kids Did Trunk". I have everything in there from the outfits they wore home from the hospital to their graduation caps and gowns. The second problem I have from moving every six months of my life is that I get restless if I am in one house too long. Mike lived in 2 houses total until he was 18 and he told me right at the beginning of our marriage that we would NOT be moving every 6 months! So now I just re-arrange furniture and paint walls. It's better, I don't have to pack!
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