Episode S7 E191; "Dr. Tom and Dr. Randy of "Here For The Health Of It" Podcast!"

 Man. 

First, what a unique experience this was. And also, a big "thank you" to Dr. Tom and Dr. Randy of Columbia Family Chiropractic and hosts of the podcast, "Here For The Health Of It." To say that it was a fun episode to sit down and record with them is an understatement. It was more than fun. 

Unique. Entertaining. Engaging.

Look, fact of the matter is, I don't go on many other podcasts as the guest and get the opportunity to talk about my history and origin. I don't talk about a lot of my experiences or some of the unique stories that I have from my evolution because, on my show ("The All About Nothing: Podcast") I am usually asking questions of the guest. I usually have a set direction that I want the episode to go in and drive it that way in order to learn the most I can about that individual in order to give everyone insight into who they are, or what they represent. 

Being on "Here For The Health Of It" (podcast) was an opportunity to be on the receiving end of questions. And the amount of respect that Dr. Tom and Dr. Randy showed of me, engaging in questions that created new paths to subjects to talk about was just terrific, and I truly enjoyed it. 

The unique story about my experience of getting my first solo morning show gig in radio was really cool to be able to talk about. It felt relevant because it kinda tied two different events into one to make it feel fluid. And the fact that Dr. Tom and Dr. Randy were able to steer the conversation in that way was such a neat feeling. 

I'll tell that story now: 

So, back in 1998, my mother and brother and I had moved to Auburn, Georgia. About 45 mins outside of downtown Atlanta. I had lived in and around the east-side of Atlanta all my life, and at the age of 19, this was my first experience living outside the perimeter (I-285). 

I had been working as the intern for the morning show, "Moby In The Morning" (hosted by James Carney, Moby) for 6 months prior to that, and had been hired by WKHX-FM and WYAY-FM to dj (time & weather) during CD-shows. These were Sunday morning canned countdown shows. Each track ran about 12 to 15 mins with commercials in between, and twice an hour I'd give the time and weather. It was simple, but it was a step into Radio and an opportunity that I hadn't had previously. I'd done some interning prior, working with some Atlanta shows working remotes and bits for shows, but never actually being paid. 

So in August of 1998, I interviewed with the station manager for WIMO-AM in Winder, Georgia. The SM's name was Sid Griffin. I didn't know much about the station when I applied, except that it was a 1000-watt AM station that served as a community communication tool. It played country music and had a fairly static listenership, but had specific programing that the populous was always tuning in for.

Swap-Shop. Look it up if you don't know what it is. It's completely listener and community driven. Basically, callers would provide details about things that they were either in search of or trying to sell or trade. I look back on it wondering now, is that something that I could potentially work into the podcast. I'll have to give that some thought.

SQUIRREL! Sorry. 

So it was a warm August Thursday evening that I was to interview for the morning show position. The guy I was seeking to replace was named "Buddy" and he'd been the morning show, news and sports guy for years. Good guy. He taught me what I needed to know in the last few days he was there before I started. 

So, warm August Thursday evening for my interview. I arrived 10 mins early in a shirt and tie to meet with Sid to discuss the job. He arrived nearly an hour late to the station. The office manager, Barbara kept me company while I waited, and kept telling me, "I'm sure he'll be here any moment."

I don't recall much of what she and I discussed because it was idle chit chat. In fact, I don't remember much of what Sid and I discussed about the job, even except that I was offered the position at the end of the interview, and that I was to come in the next morning to sit with "Buddy" and learn the format and equipment. All great and I was excited. 

When Sid and I shook hands to part ways, I remember walking out into the parking lot to get into my 1987 Jeep Cherokee Wagon, but happened to notice that the vehicle next to mine was running and running loud. The AC was definitely blasting. So I closed the door to my Jeep and walked back down the stairs to the station door and stuck my head in.

I said, "hey, Sid. Your vehicle is running."

Now, it's important to note at this point that I knew what his day time job was. He was the elected county coroner for Barrow County, Georgia. You can look that up. I'm not sure how many terms he ran, but he was established and I feel like now, he was almost a shoe in to be elected each term. Up until a point, which I'll maybe discuss at some point in the future. Part of the reason that I only worked at WIMO-AM.

He didn't leave his office, but yelled back, "don't worry about it. That Ford can run for hours. Plus, I couldn't get to the morgue before coming here to meet you."

Not thinking, I replied back, "cool," and walked back to my car. 

I started the 10 minute drive back to my house where it hit me. He hadn't had the opportunity to go to the morgue before, and then I recalled that Barbara had told me that his tartiness was because he had been working a vehicle collision on Hwy 316 that ran from Lawrenceville to Athens. 

You can assume the rest of the details. 

Check out the episode with Dr. Tom and Dr. Randy of "Here For The Health Of It" Podcast. 

Thanks for reading!