New Beginnings

     As I celebrate my birthday, I cannot help but think of my mother.  She is not only the one who gave me life, but helped me become the person that I am.  I recently found a note she wrote to me on my 48th birthday, I will share part of it. These are things only a mother could say.      Happy Birthday to my first born. May your days be as they are now, happy loving and always honerable. When you were born you were a wonder, and when I think back 48 years I knew I have made many mistakes, trying to see that you would be able to be a good and decent person. That I am very proud to be your other., and that you are able to care for yourself. My prayer is Psalms 71:18 "Now also when I am old and gray, O God forsake me not until I have shewed thy strength to this generation and thy power to every one that is to come." Please forgive me for thinking that I myself could fix what was broken.Now that I have a broken body I know...

     One of the more interesting programs that Theresa came across was a locally-produced program called "Lift Off". It was a take-off of some of the Isaac Air Freight skits and drama.  The person that produced it was someone who lived in the small town but didn't grow up there. He was from a larger city and involved in a church where they did drama and skits.  He bought a demo tape to the radio station and gave it to someone to listen to. Some of the management didn't really care for it, but if they put it on Friday or Saturday nights it just might work.  Most of the audience was older and didn't understand something like that; it definitely was a trailblazer.      Ted was given the air time, fifteen minutes for the program "Lift Off". On Fridays when the tape appeared Theresa was told to listen for content. She really didn't see anything wrong with it.  It was funny and something that no one else was doing. She was a little...

     Stan who was Theresa's boss continued to work to get the station noticed more.  He was also trying to get Theresa out of her shell more. He knew that she was smart and capable of doing more than she was doing. He started insisting that she have a few hours a day out of the control room where she could concentrate on other things such as music and programming.  She was given a desk . During the time when she finished her on air time, after she left the control room she read the trade magazines and looked at programs she wanted to have on the radio station. People would call and ask about certain programs and  want to hear them on the station. She would write and request a demo and then turn it over to the sales manager.     With Theresa doing a gospel program on Friday nights, there were artist that got request during the regular music time. One group in particular took the airwaves by storm; Rev. F C Barnes and Janice Brown. They ...

     When Theresa went back to college, she had a new determination that she would succeed. She also joined Weight Watchers because during all of the drama of a relationship going wrong she had gained some weight.  She was either going to make Nate wish he had held on to her or just be a force in the business world and look good doing it.  By this time her sister was in college as well and they had a few classes together. Theresa was using her money that she made from work to pay for college.      Her classes were English Lit, Economics, Business Law and Biology.  It was a rough schedule. At work they had changed her hours from 8AM-4PM and on Wednesdays she had a lab. It was rough because as soon as she got in from work she took a short nap, fixed something to eat and was out the door to school.  At work things were getting stressful. One day she was so upset about the relationship with Nate, she forgot to sign off of the tra...

     With a new year Theresa started her life over. She wasn't depressed, just determined to sharpen her skills to be the best she could be.  She had received and invitation out from the guy in high school Nate, that she liked. He had broken up with his girlfriend and was free. Theresa didn't know this until she was shopping in town and he saw her. He ran up to her and asked her out. She agreed to go and since she was shopping anyway Theresa bought a new dress for the occasion. He had told her to dress up and no jeans.  She dressed with care and they went out to a really nice dinner.  The only problem was that it ended early, because he promised to take some kids skating.  Well, Theresa figured if she was going to be able to spend anytime with Nate she would have to learn to skate....      Things were going better at work. She had gotten promoted to music director. They were also recognized as a reporting station to a nationa...

     Theresa was searching for something during this time. She was restless with her radio career. It seemed that no matter what she knew or did she was never good enough. She wanted to go work at a competing station. She heard that they had an opening on the midnight shift.  She put together an air check of music and news and different things and  mailed it with a resume. The air check took several days to get it just right. She took great pains to make this aircheck good, even using some of the music that the radio station she was applying for was playing. She wanted this job really bad.  She wanted to prove to herself and the powers that be, that she could work somewhere else.  When she found out that someone else had the job, she called and asked about it. The guy was very rude and even said that he couldn't understand a word she said.  She was hurt and mad at the same time, this was the midnight shift, a good place to sharpen your s...

     Before Theresa got on full time, she had to pass the FCC License Test.  Element Nine loomed over her like a big brick.  She would have another crack at it.  She had studied and worked on with some of the students on things that she had trouble with, particularly Bradley. Bradley was a geek.  She worked until midnight and the next morning she had to go to take the test.  They would have to leave at six in the morning to get there by eight. Her dad was driving her and he had just gotten in from work and he told her to sleep fast.  She  hardly slept at all. So much was riding on this.      She and her dad set out the next morning. It was dark cold and snowing. She prayed silently as they made the trip and when she got to the exam room, she started the test and began to remember all the equations and formulas that she had to put on the test. She handed it in and she heard the words. "You passed, you only ...

     Theresa graduated from broadcasting school. She had her certificate. The last days of school were hectic, working and going to school. She worked occasionally at Terri's, but she still was working the 20 hours at the radio station. She worked a few fill-in shifts from time to time, but nothing full time. There was talk of her filling in for a guy who was getting married so she figured that she needed to learn the shifts more. She came in to learn the midnight shift with Dusty and he showed her what was to be done. Theresa was worried about staying awake. She usually went to bed around 11PM.  Dusty told her to have something to do each hour to break up the night.  She was looking forward to filling in .  Then it didn't happen, they hired someone else to fill in once again Theresa was crushed.  There were comments about her voice not being good enough.      Then it happened, someone called her and asked her to work a fill-...

     One Friday Theresa got a call from a local radio station asking if she would be interested in some part time work. She was, but she had just failed the FCC exam and didn't have a third class license yet.  She was told to come in for an interview after school on that Monday.  She couldn't wait to get home and tell her mom, who asked the question "what are you going to wear?" Theresa had no idea, she searched through her closet and then she and her mom went shopping. One of the things they bought was a coat.  That Monday she dressed in a dark blue corduroy jumper and a white blouse and her coat and went for the interview.  She was nervous as she climbed the steps and wondered was this a different job than what she had applied for last summer.  Her job with Terri would end in a matter of two weeks.  When she went to the office , they gave her an application to fill out and she did, and when she was finished she was interviewed by the p...

     Theresa's first job was not in radio as she would have liked. It was looking after two kids ages ten and seven, for a mid-wife.  She was a divorced parent who needed someone to stay at the house when she was on call. Babies are not always born in the daytime, they usually come about one or two in the morning, so she needed someone to stay with the kids in the evenings, make sure homework was done, fix dinner and get them to bed and on rare occasions, get them off to school. It turned out to be a fun job for Theresa. It was just like being at home. She could eat and sleep there and get the kids off to school and go to school herself. She got home from school before the kids did and she picked them up from school.  This job would only last a month, because Terri (the midwife) was going to have friend of her who was a nurse move in soon.      Theresa was in her last term at school. She wanted to get her two year certificate.  Th...

     When Theresa started her internship at the local station she was excited. This was the station she grew up listening to and wanted a job with.  She walked in and nobody knew she was coming in the office. It was set up with the DJ from the morning show, he was in sales and was long gone.  The other Dj who had talked to her when she was interesting in going into radio had her write some copy and put some of her notes on index cards.  She sat in the sales office and worked on these things. She would venture into the office and observe and ask questions.  When it was time to go she said goodby to everyone and left.      The next day was a little different, they had filing of records for her to do. Each DJ would pull the 45's needed for the show and the carts; her job was to put them back.  A cart was a cartridge that was had enough tape on it to record a song or a commercial. It looked something like an 8 track tape....

     I ran into someone today, that reminded me of how good God is.  How life has changed for me, for the better.  I did a very light workout at the "Y" today. I am still somewhat congested but wanted to , and needed to do something on the road to recovery. When I walk the treadmill, I usually pray. I didn't walk the treadmill today, I did the rowing machine and some of the others which took about 25 to 30 minutes. I didn't want to do anymore because I didn't want to overdo it.  Betty and one of her friends they were at a Bible study and wouldn't be finished for another 45 minutes. I sat in the conversation area of the Y and started to read a book.     I looked up and I saw Roger Fox.  Roger and I go back a few years with the work he was doing at the church he attended and other things. It was good to see him .We talked for close to thirty minutes. We talked about the bus ministry at the church he attends,. We talked about my sit...

     It was decided that Theresa should do an internship.  One of the guys in the class had gotten a job at a local hospital in the Inservice education department, filming and writing scripts to educate the hospital on the use of new equipment.  His job was to film as an instructor demonstrated the proper use of hospital equipment.  As well as write press releases for the hospital and the health community to come and learn about the latest hospital.There was a call made to the school asking for an intern. Theresa was asked if she wanted to go do this. Theresa was excited and considered it an honor to be asked.  She didn't know a lot about the filming part, but she was sure she could pick it up quickly.  After the Christmas break she would go to school in the morning and do the internship in the afternoon.     The first day was scary and exciting all rolled into one. As she rode the elevator to the fourth floor of the hospital...

     While in broadcasting school, one of the exciting things was field trips. Sometimes Mr. Collins would take the students to different events, like a groundbreaking, a grand opening, or a radio or TV station.  It was always interesting for Theresa. Some of it was intimidating.  One such field trip was to a radio station transmitter site.  In order to get a good signal a lot of radio stations transmitters and towers are in the middle of nowhere, on the top of a high mountain.  That day, the broadcasting students pack up in several cars and made the pilgrimage to one of the transmitters. You had to get permission first, a person does not go exploring around a transmitter site.  One of the engineers was there to meet the class and explain what each transmitter did and how things worked.      The transmitter building itself was not a large building. It had several rooms in it. There was the transmitter room that held all ...

     Not all of the days at the broadcasting school were good ones for Theresa.  There were things that she wasn't aware of, like the reasons for the names of the shows on the air. What type of music was expected to be played. How everyone brought their own music from home and you heard a lot of things on the air that shouldn't have been.  There were times where people would call and complain.  When those calls came in, the students would thank them for calling and try to correct the problem.  If one of the instructors got the call there was usually a yelling sesion that went on, about following the format.  There was only the format for the afternoon show that was explained, it was what is now a classic rock format.  The students put together certain types of programs, like the news at noon.      Theresa was busy writing the two minute features and then reading some of the news and then she was asked to to the traf...

     Theresa's adventure in radio began in high school when a classmate of hers worked part time at a radio station. She would love to hear him talk about the things he did and wished she could hang out at a radio station.  At this stage in the game, Theresa was too timid and shy to do such a thing.  She had grown up in church, doing recitations and plays, but they were scripted and all she had to do was memorize them. She was too bashful to ever start up a conversation with someone. She dreamed of a radio career.  When she told people they kind of laughed and tried to discourage her."It would be too hard", "you will never catch on" were some of the comments that she faced.       After graduating from high school someone got in touch with one of the local DJ's and asked him to call her.  One day she got a call from one of them who suggested that she come by the station and talk to him. She was excited first, to get a cal...

I am going to start writing ashort stories about my days in radio. If Debbie mcamber and Danielle Steele can do it. Maybe I am one in the making.... Chapter 1           Thirty years is a long time to work at a place.  It used to be common for someone to graduate high school and get a job and retire there. It is not the case anymore in this lean and mean take-no-prisoners workplace.  Theresa thought about that as she went to work each morning.  She had started as a part time person working Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. That's what you did to pay your dues in radio. It was expected for you to work holidays and weekends and even overnights if it was needed. You did whatever it took to "make it". Things had changed a lot since those days.  When you interviewed people for a job now you had to tell them that the job required weekend work and holidays. You just couldn't assume that they knew.  Some of the people...