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"Just Thursday"

M

MightyFrenchman

Are there many old-timers out there like me who, if you were a DJ/board operator, tomorrow was just Thursday not Thanksgiving. Even if the station were automated somebody still had to take meter readings, change the reels, load the carts in the rotation machines, etc. Of course if you were a DJ you had to go in to do your air-shift. Those were the bad ole days!
 
MightyFrenchman said:
Are there many old-timers out there like me who, if you were a DJ/board operator, tomorrow was just Thursday not Thanksgiving. Even if the station were automated somebody still had to take meter readings, change the reels, load the carts in the rotation machines, etc. Of course if you were a DJ you had to go in to do your air-shift. Those were the bad ole days!
Click to expand...
Mighty, you are so correct. Just another day, and usually they extended the shifts so that a couple of guys could cover the whole day. Christmas was the worst, though......one place, we did 12 hour shifts......Happy Holidays!
 
Did it a couple of times...first time I thought I was a "big man" for having the shift...after that I realized I was WORKING. In the bad sense, as in "somebody's got the day off so I'm WORKING." Now I somewhat wish I did have to work tomorrow in the air chair. Ah, youth and that "take over the world" mentality...now I just hope I can get out of the damn bed!!
 
I miss holiday shifts: the office & sales staff were all gone, usually there were leftover goodies from the party the day before in the break room, and any callers seemed in a REALLY good mood. Traffic to and from work were non-existent.

I'm glad we can give everybody the holiday off -- but I'd happily work a live Thanksgiving or Christmas shift for minimum wage at any stick in town...
 
don't forget the food: one casual mention about "working the holiday all alone in this big building" would always bring several plates of Thanksgiving feast. Of course, you'd be risking
your life on "listener food"...but for me it was the mid 1970's, and I trusted the regulars. Plus I really was hungry... Today...not without x-rays and chemical tests. ;D
 
For the most part it was fine, except that back in those days you couldn't even find a pizza delivery place open! Hey, you're working on the air doing what you hopefully love...others are putting out fires, responding to domestic violence calls as police officers and staffing emergency rooms, so, when I was doing it, no sweat.
 
I have to use this to give a big shout out to R Geoffery Vargo now with Sarkes Tarzian in Bloomington. Over the years, Geoff and his wife remembered that people on a holiday were not able to ear and he always made sure there was turkey and trimmings at the station on Thanksgiving.
 
I always enjoyed working Thanksgiving, and the "easy money" to be made doing remotes the weekend after :).

I worked at a station in the mid-80's that gave away batteries Christmas morning to listeners who drove to the station. It was a great way to break up the boredom of babysitting Christmas programming.
 
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