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| Neil & I bitched about the Bahamas resulting in this cartoon |
Some private memories of Neil Rogers.....Miami radio legend.
Neil Rogers was the only on-going friend I’ve had in this radio business. I have a lot of acquaintances thru the years but Neil and I went “way back” as they say...through three radio stations in the Miami metro...the original WNWS with studios in Little Havana with bullet holes on the exterior...and then in the former funeral home in Kendall on U.S.1.
Then...WINZ where Neil had abandoned issue talk in favor of what ever it was you could call it...which resulted in double digit numbers in ratings. Around 1987...he recommended to the bosses there that since I was on the loose back at the farm in Illinois they bring me down to follow him on the air. They did and I also had massive ratings in afternoon drive.
You can read more on all that in my earlier posts.
Here are some pleasant and a few “sad” memories I shared with Uncle Neil.
We spent a lot of time together...hanging at the Dadeland Mall eyeing the guys (Neil) and the girls (me). We ate in a lot of restaurants and discovered La Bamba...the Mexican-Spanish eatery near Plantation where we were joined by my wife, Laurie, and her kids Jeff and Morgan quite often. When my guy Chris was born we hauled him into La Bamba too and eventually...in high school he would work at one of their restaurants and their food is still our favorite.
Neil and I would drive in his Corvette up and down the beach on weekends especially as Spring Break was not yet “banned” in Ft. Lauderdale.
One morning I got an panic call from Neil who sounded different...he had trouble speaking as he was suffering from a slight stroke. Laurie and I hopped into the car and picked him up and took him to the emergency room at a nearby hospital and waited for the news.
He was scared..because of the slurring of speech but the Doctors assured him his normal speech would return in a day or so...and it did...so we were all very relieved.
Neil had a close friend who suffered from Aids. The prognosis was not good...and Neil wanted me to accompany them to a restaurant for dinner. I was hesitant but Neil assured me it was okay “just don’t share any food and don’t even shake hands with him.” I agreed. The meal was good...the young man, whose name escapes me now,(Kenny..thanks to a viewer) seemed drawn and a quite reserved but he did say he enjoyed both our shows so that was nice.
Neil would call me several weeks later to tell me his friend was in the hospital and he was going to visit him and wanted some companionship on the drive over and back.
I agreed and sadly...a few weeks later his friend passed away.
But Neil bounced back from this tragedy in his life and you’d never know anything that bleak had occurred as he was his old self on the air every day.
These are just a few of the memories I shared with Neil.
He’s gone too soon!
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Here’s a link to one of our best shows...when Neil announced we would go for ice cream and thousands showed up...including my future wife...this is where I met her!!!
just click& enjoy:
my email:
stanmajor@ aol.com
His name was Kenny
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