Perhaps this post is not a perfect fit for the subject but I believe many of you will appreciate the slight change of course. Most often I post in the North Florida board as that is now my home turf. In my quest to kick radio up a notch where I live, I often site the greatness of the past and the wonderful radio experiences I enjoyed in South Florida from the late 70's through the late 90's. I gave special recognition to Bill Tanner and Mindy Lang in a post now on the second page of comments on that board you may want to check out - clearing up loose ends.
http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=159726.0
I spent a good amount of time back in South Florida last month and I continue to enjoy the radio experience. I have to agree with a lot Scott said. Given my age, I tend to listen to Majic 102.7 and WLYF (Lite FM) a good deal. My goodness, it has to be several decades that I have enjoyed these stations. But I find myself increasingly fascinated with the Coast, especially their 80's weekends. There is a certain soundtrack that is unique to South Florida and I still hear it in the music.
Given the amount of time I had on this last trip, I really found myself going to so many places that I enjoyed so much in more youthful days. I'll always love Miami and especially Coconut Grove. For a moment, I was in my 20s again.
On the way, I noticed the old Y-100 building and it's now home to Cox Radio - my goodness. What follows is personal but for way too long, I kept it in and I just need to share it. Denny's that's next door ( A place I went to a ton of times after a night of clubbing) got me thinking about the greatness of radio and how many who were on the air really had a bond with the listener. Let me briefly explain.
I suppose each of us has highs and lows in life. For a time in the early 80's, I was going through a pretty bad time. After a Friday night being out all night, I justy couldn't sleep. I called a weekend early morning host who was on Y-100. He must have figured I was in trouble. He listened for what was a couple of hours. For the next few weeks, I kept in touch. One day we were supposed to meet at that Denny's but somehow it didn't happen. I got my act together. He was an inspiration to me but I never really thanked him. When he passed away, I thought I lost my best friend. But that's the way radio was at one time.
Anyway, personal stuff but I have wanted a long time to say it. There are still great people on the air today but they are so restricted. All I can say now is "Thank You" for caring. I'm just one story - I'm sure in the days when those on the air were really a friend - there's got to be a lot more stories. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. Peace.
