fired...again!

Phoenix

                                                                                                                            

by the time I get to Phoenix....

      The year I spent in Phoenix was filled with interesting developments...like WGN’s Bob Collins showing up in my control room unexpectedly (see earlier posting) and after several months on the air in the late morning shift...getting fired for using the word “arbitron” once.  

      Arbitron was the rating service and on the air folks were not supposed to use the word for fear someone might fill out one of their diaries just because they heard me use the word.  Stupidity reigns!

      My sharp lawyer earned his pay by challenging the station owner-manager’s decision to fire me...because this wasn’t “cause” for that.  So they backed down...kind of.

      They wouldn’t let me work Monday thru Friday but they did give me weekend shows and at FULL salary!

      I took advantage of those weekdays off with short trips to Las Vegas...San Diego and Los Angeles....all generally three or four hours away by car.

      One time I was driving toward Vegas in the very early morning hours and approaching a small town on highway 93 when lo and behold what crossed the highway in front of me...a mountain lion...or cougar as they were called.  Now I’ve seen lots of wild life cross my path...deer, raccoons, possums, cats and dogs...but this was really something.  He paid no attention to my car...and seemed to be headed for the outskirts of the town.  I slowed and watched him for a minute...marveling at my luck in seeing him.  Something one never forgets!

      How hot does Phoenix get in the summer?  Here’s an example.

 I parked in the open lot at the station and went inside to do my weekend shift.  When I came out I opened the car door and saw that a throw away lighter had exploded from the heat (over 110 then) and bits and pieces of the red plastic lighter were all over the front seat!  Now...that’s hot!

      My contract with KFYI Phoenix included a free roundtrip ticket from Philadelphia each month so Betty came out once and I flew back once or twice to Philly.

      We went to dinner at the fanciest hotel-restaurant in Scottsdale and she was really impressed that they had Foie Gras (fresh) on the menu. 

      As for myself...I ate a lot of great Mexican food...worked with a good guy (they are rare in this business) Charles Goyette...who is still going strong writing books on gold investing (see them in your library).

               

          go to:      http://charlesgoyette.com/  

     

     When my one year contract expired I took my severance and headed away from the heat of Arizona back to the cool and green of our Stone House farm in Illinois.

      Phoenix is another of those places I loved working and living in....despite the heat.  Add it too: 

 Philadelphia 

 Tampa(2 times), 

 New Orleans 

 Milwaukee (2 times)

 Kansas City 

 and Miami (2 times).

      My forthcoming network show would be heard on KNXT in Phoenix for years!

stanmajor@aol.com