“Clear the Airlanes…”

Last night, I made my third appearance on the WGN radio airwaves in the past four days! Bill Leff was kind enough to invite me on his late night show, as had Nick Digilio on his Saturday evening program, and Garry Meier on his live broadcast from the Asylum Xperiment haunted house at the Odeum in Villa Park Friday. It’s especially cool that I get to be on a powerhouse of a radio station that can be heard all over the country. I was joking, since I used to do some fill-in work on air there for a few stretches many years ago, that I’ve had more airtime now than when I was doing fill-in shifts, but, I’m only kidding. I have always enjoyed doing radio- and, actually, when I was first starting out, thought my future was more in radio broadcasting than television. There have always been some odd moments though- for example, I got called on short notice to fill-in on a WGN show, and the guests booked for that night were a bagpiper, a representative of some local Scottish games, and someone who was an expert on Scottish travel. I had a sheet of various unusual features of Scotland that I was supposed to use to prompt conversation in the interview with these folks. Well, airtime rolls around, and as we get started- only two of the three guests are present. No big deal, I thought-and , after introducing the two visitors, launched into my first question, coming right from the fact sheet I’d been given- “so, I found out something really fascinating- is there really an area of Scotland that has palm trees?” Dead silence. Both these gentlemen were looking at me, jaws dropped, with a kind of stunned look on their faces. Neither of them , you see, was the travel expert- and, kilt or no kilt, they had no idea what I was talking about. So much for Scottish palm trees…and any questions based on the prep sheet. We continued on, and- it was time for a sample of the piper’s music. Let me give you some advice- bagpipes are loud. REALLY loud. In a small studio space- they seem even louder. Close to a microphone- even MORE loud. I had to control the microphone level with an iron hand, as the sound of the pipes penetrated my headphones…and the outside hallway…and beyond. In a matter of minutes, I saw faces peering through the window in the studio door with a look of confusion. The music and the player were great- but…yes, loud beyond belief. That was the one and only time in my life I asked someone to play the bagpipes. Maybe that was why I only did fill-in at WGN… For our “Halloween Horror of the Day”, let’s move from radio to radiation- and the biggest thing to be spawned by atomic testing- the mighty King of the Monsters- Godzilla! The ancient dinosaur, more or less in centuries of hibernation, was affected by nuclear testing- and the radiation caused it to grow and mutate. It was imbued with dragon-like atomic fire-breath- and its incredible strength, restorative healing powers, and animal intelligence made this towering creature a danger to humanity… though at times, in various incarnations, he became playful and even comic. His name- Gojira- is a combination of the Japanese words for “gorilla” and “whale”- and his unusual roar is instantly recognizable. Godzilla has caused major destruction to ships, cities, various forms of the military, and any other giant monsters that made the mistake of getting into his way. Most definitely the most famous and enduring of the Japanese “kaiju”- giant monsters- Godzilla is our “Halloween Horror of the Day”!