I thought that I’d let you know that what you’re reading, is my 200th blog on this site! 200!

I remember when we were told, not asked, to write a daily blog, I kind of bristled at the idea. I told Willy there was no way that I was doing a blog every single day. Willy, knowing me all too well, didn’t say anything. He knew I was just blowing off some steam and, after revisiting the idea, he knew I’d do it and do it to the best of my ability. He was right!

I think the reason I didn’t want to write a daily blog was because I didn’t know what in the world I could write about on a daily basis that would be of any interest to anyone. It still amazes me that anyone would take any interest in what I have to say.

I have no idea how many people read this blog. I certainly do appreciate all of the comments that I receive and I read them all. I wish more people would disagree with me and tell me what an idiot I am for some of my beliefs. I guess if I’m not making some kind of waves I don’t feel like I’m leaving my mark.

Sometimes a blog will write itself, other times writing one is like pulling teeth. Sometimes a blog will make a point and other times a blog will ramble on in no certain direction with no ending. Sometimes I’m not satisfied with a blog and other times I am. It all depends on the mood and the situation.

I am off for a 1 week vacation. When I return I’ll have blog #201!

I hope something happens over the course of my week off so I have something to say!

Have a great long weekend. I’ll be back on Aug.9th!

Again, thanks to all who read this thing we call a blog. I appreciate it!

Well, it sounded like a pretty good concert at Mosaic Stadium last night with Bon Jovi and Kid Rock. We could actually hear it from our deck!

I’m not a big fan of live concerts and haven’t been for years. I can’t understand someone actually driving all the way to Winnipeg, Calgary or even Toronto just to see a 2 hour show. It befuddles me. I wasn’t always that way.

I still remember seeing Kiss and Cheap Trick at the Lethbridge Sportsplex on July 28, 1977. I don’t know why, but I’ve never forgotten that date. The anticipation was incredible. A band that we had read about in all of those rock magazines of the day was actually coming to Lethbridge. To me Kiss was the greatest rock band ever, from the costumes, to the blood spitting, to the smoking guitar solo by my hero (even today) Ace Frehley. His guitar would actually start smoking while he was in the middle of some great solo. Cool! The show had everything. Explosions, lights, strobes, a drum set that rose 20 feet in the air at the end of the cocert! I’d never seen anything like it.

I remember the afternoon of the show, me and about 4 or 5 buddies actually hung around the back of the Sportsplex waiting for Gene, Paul, Ace and Criss to get off a bus and head into the arena. We stood there for hours hoping to be the first people to catch a glimpse of the boys without their make-up.

We just couldn’t wait to get into the arena. The atmosphere was magical. It smelled kind of funny in there. Must have been the american cigarettes everyone seemed to be smoking!

Now that I think about it, maybe I can understand people driving a long way just to see a concert. If that night is as magical for them as it was for me on July 28, 1977, then they’ll have that memory forever, just like I do.

Maybe they’ll even remember the exact date some 30 years later.

I hope they do!

Every night after supper and before the 6 o’clock news, my wife and I settle in for a couple of game shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Jeopardy is great “brain food” and Wheel of Fortune is strictly for fun.

My wife absolutely hates watching Wheel with me! I just can’t help vocalizing how stupid I think some of these contestants are. Last night there was a guy who decided to buy 4 vowels after he correctly picked the first consonant letter! I yelled out to the TV, “are you stupid? You’re doing all of the work for the other players!”
My wife gave me a look and said “why do you even watch this show? You take it so seriously!” I gave her a look that said “leave me alone. I’m right and you know it!”

On the next spin the guy hit the “lose a turn” slot, and then the next player spun twice and guessed the phrase! It didn’t take much work for her because the idiot before her filled up half the phrase with every vowel that was available! If he hadn’t of filled up half the phrase with vowels the next player might not have known the phrase and there’s a chance that he might have had another shot to win some money!

Another thing that ticks me off is the “Free Play” slot on the wheel. If you land there you can either get a free vowel or pick a letter and get $500 for each time that letter appears in the puzzle. Nearly everyone goes for the vowel. Vowel? Pick a stupid letter already and get some money! Last week somebody actually landed on the “free play” slot and picked a letter and got some money for it. I looked casually over at my wife and said, “now there’s someone who knows how to play the game.”
She shook her head and told me how much she hates watching this show with me. Can I help it if I’m competetive?

Maybe I’ll pack it in here at the station and write a book on the correct way to a successful contestant on “Wheel of Fortune.”

At least if I write it down in a book I won’t be yelling at the TV.

That should make my wife happy.

For years, people have always asked Willy and I where we come up with our material for our Breakfast Show and the Flea Market.

90% of the time it just comes of off the top our heads. It just seems to sound a lot better when it’s not scripted, and seeing as every phone call is different, it’s impossible to plan anything out. The show really does have everything to do with the callers. Most of the calls we can work with, but others…well, if you listen, you know.

Jokes are different. There’s not a morning that I go into my email and not find a bunch of jokes from friends or listeners. Believe it or not, with all of the jokes that I’ve received over the years, both orally and via email, I’m always pleasantly surprised when I run across one that I haven’t heard before in some shape or form.

As long as I’ve been in the business, which is more than 30 years, there hasn’t been a station Christmas party that I’ve gone to where I haven’t received a joke book.

I think most of us know that the best jokes can’t be told in front of women, children or over the airwaves. I do like to get as close to that line on the radio without crossing it. I absolutely love innuendo!

Some radio personalities go way over the line, thinking crass is funny. I never want to offend people, but sometimes it happens. To balance it out, I make more fun of myself than I do of anyone else, with the exception of Colin Lovequist. Trust me, he gets me back…big time!

But it’s all in fun. This business isn’t rocket science, it’s entertainment. Theatre of the mind. Some suits like to make it to be more than it really is. Those are the ones who could never make it on the radio. So they sit back in a comfy office chair and tell the guys on the radio how it should be done.

Oh well, we all have our opinions and we’re entitled to them! Even the “suits.”

By the way, if you ever run across a great joke, send it my way!

I’m happy the strike at Casino Regina is finished. I’m happy for both the picketers and the customers of the Casino.

I don’t think a decision to strike is one made lightly. It affects the workers lives immensely. People have bills and mortgages to pay, which is tough to do with only strike wages coming in, but it’s “all for one and one for all.”

I always believed to have a successful strike you need the public on your side. If people symathize with you, there’s a good chance you’ll get what you’re looking for. Don’t antagonize the public.

I’d heard stories from friends going to the Casino during the strike how they were harrassed walking up to the Casino. Plus, for those who drove, the picketers would purposely walk very slowly to impede their entrance. Why?

The striker’s beef was with the government, not the customers, so why harrass them? Whomever gave the OK for that action is a bit of a bonehead and really doesn’t understand the “art” of the strike. If you want the public behind you, then don’t alienate it!

A strike is never pretty, but it is legal, and in most cases it is the only way to go. Take your frustrations out on the people who deserve it, not the innocents.

If you’ll be spearheading a strike in the future, remember this very important rule. Keep the general public on your side! If you lose the support of the public, you’re in trouble.

There is a strike in Regina that’s been going on for quite a while now, so I thought I’d revisit my view on unions.

It seems like every couple of months or so there is a story on the news about about some union negotiating with it’s employer. Back and forth the two sides go, with offers and counter offers. I want this. Sorry, you’ll only get this. 10% over 3 years. 20% over 4 years. Blah, blah, blah.

I don’t know anything about unions and I don’t profess to. I have friends that belong to unions and there is definately one thing that I have learned.

A union is a bad employees best friend.

A friend of mine works in a unionized business, and it’s a good thing he does. This guy is a good guy with a heart of gold. He’d do anything for anyone. However, this guy is the worst employee ever. He misses work with every excuse under the sun. There were a couple of times that he was close to being fired, and if he worked anywhere else, he would have been. Each time though, his union stepped in and saved his butt. Every couple of weeks he misses work for something. My wife and I just shake our heads. “Boy, it’s a good thing he has a union to back him up,” we tell each other.

We have another friend that misses work as well, although not nearly as much as the other guy. When I bring up the point that he seems to have a missed a few days of work lately, he smiles and says, “are you forgetting? I belong to a union.”

There is no doubt that unions do protect workers. They set limits that otherwise wouldn’t be set by employers, and that’s a good thing.

From what I’ve seen though, the unions protect people who shouldn’t be protected. It seems impossible to fire even the worst employees, and that’s not a good thing.

In my nearly 15 years here at 620 CKRM, I’ve missed a total of 8 days and have never been late. If I’m needed, I’m there. It’s that simple. I don’t take advantage of my employer. If anything, it’s the other way around. Maybe that’s where a union could help a guy like me.

I guess the union is no different than any other system out there. Be it the welfare system, unemployment insurance, the food bank, etc. There are always people that will take advantage of a good situation and make it bad for those who are really in need.

Yesterday afternoon I was driving on Regina Ave. and was going to turn north on the Lewvan. There was a black Sunfire just in front of me that was headed in the same direction. When this car turned onto Lewvan Dr. it shot out trying to beat the traffic. It did beat the oncoming traffic, but was doing well below the speed limit once it made it onto the Lewvan. Coming up on the vehicle from behind was what looked to be a welding truck with lots of heavy equipment on the back. Suddenly this truck had to slam on the brakes 2 or 3 times to avoid smashing into the back of the car. This stupid Sunfire driver was almost the author of her own demise.

It’s not the first time I’ve seen close calls at that particular corner. I’m surprised you don’t hear about more accidents there.

It goes back to my old argument that slow drivers are more dangerous than fast ones. If you’re going to head out on the Lewvan where the speed limit is 80 kms. at that particular corner, then make sure you’ve got a lot of time to accelerate! It seems so simple, but there are a lot of bad drivers in this city.

The truck sped up to get beside this Sunfire driver, probably to give her a piece of his mind, and rightly so.

Accidents do happen. That’s why they’re called accidents. But a lot of them are probably avoidable. This girl just wasn’t paying attention.

My dad always used to preach to me about defensive driving. Being 16 I thought he was just being old. As the years have passed I have become the defensive driver that my dad wanted me to be 30 years ago.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Everyday I am lucky enough to receive my horoscope by email. Here’s what it says for today:

Hi Jamie! Here is your Daily Horoscope for Wednesday, July 21

Move beyond your normal routines a bit today — you need to do some exploring! It’s a really good time for checking out new restaurants or meeting new people, so don’t just stay in all day!

Wow! How could things possibly go sideways today?

It’s pretty vague, but I think I can make it all happen. I had to look for my car keys this morning, so the exploring part already happened!

I drive by a new restaurant everyday day on my way home, and believe it or not, I’ve actually looked at it, so I guess have already checked out a new restaurant.

Thirdly, I’m here at work, so I won’t be staying in all day!

Hey, that’s 3 for 3! Maybe these horoscopes are for real after all!

It’s funny how you can read 3 different newpapers and get 3 totally different horoscopes. If they really were true, wouldn’t all 3 newspapers have the exact same horoscope?

Whenever I see a good horoscope, I hope it happens, but when the horoscope is lousy, I hope it doesn’t.

In other words, even with the advantage of a horoscope, I still don’t have any idea how my day will go.

I guess I’ll have to leave that up to my lucky astrology mood ring! That’ll show me the way!

The front page of the Leader Post has a shot of the post Craven campsite this morning. In the shot are a lawn mower, lawn chair and a cooler, all left behind for someone else to get rid of. Believe it or not, these are some of the smaller items left behind.

You’ll also find couches, recliners and even small decks that people have pulled there campers away from! Yup, decks! People actually will erect a small deck on the sides of their trailers to sit on for the Jamboree. People take their Craven party locations very seriously.

I think that’s great. What I don’t think is great is that people will leave all of this stuff behind for someone else to get rid of. There are service clubs that get paid to come in and do the clean up after the show. I don’t think they had plans to move a bunch of old couches off the site, but they should, it happens every year.

Although, personally, I would have a garbage bag handy for all of my empty cans, paper plates and the like, I can understand that with 23,500 people camped out, you’ll still have a lot of litter. It goes with the territory. What I can’t understand is why people would take a couch out to the site and then just leave it for someone else to get rid of. I’d hate to see where and how these people live. They probably live in a pigsty. If that’s the way they live when they’re away from home, it’s probably how they live period.

Someone even left a beat-up tent trailer behind! Probably paid a couple of hundred bucks for it and didn’t really care. It was just another casualty.

I’m certainly not perfect, but I am somewhat of a neat freak. Not only is our house always neat and tidy, I just couldn’t leave a mess behind, no matter where I went!

You know what? I’m starting to sound like my dad more and more everyday!

Well, another Craven has come and gone and I don’t mind saying that I’m glad it’s over. I imagine the whole Craven committee, from Kim Blevins to Ken Taylor and all the way down the list, feel the same way today.

Most people don’t realize the amount of work and time everybody puts in to make this thing work, and that’s when things run smoothly. Add the weather we had this year, which posed a whole new set of problems for everyone, and you can increase the time and work at least twofold!

However, it turned out to be a great weekend. The weather was terrific, the entertainment was top-notch and everyone I talked to (and that was a lot!) said they were having a ball.

It certainly is a fair-like atmosphere. Even the food I ate reminded me of going to the midway 4 days in a row. I lived on pizza for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks. If I never see another slice of pizza until the end of the year, that’ll be just fine. Thank you Jimmy Baiton from Western Pizza for all of the great food!

I had a chance to talk to a few of the stars backstage, although most stars weren’t wandering around behind the scenes like they usually do. Charley Pride was one of my favorites and, when you see him in person, you can see why Luke Bryan has been named one of the sexiest men in country music for the last couple of years.

All in all it was great time! It was also a lot of work for everyone, and for that reason, I’m glad it’s over. One full-time job is enough!