Parents Behaving Badly

Many chain restaurants seem to get critically seared.    While I'm not a big fan of the Darden Corporation that has owned Red Lobster and the Olive Garden, but during our last visit to a local OG over the weekend, it wasn't anything the restaurant did that really irritated us.   The incessant screaming of a toddler is a nuisance, even in a noisy and crowded restaurant.   However, the reaction of the parents proved to be the true annoyance.   They were right next to us.   At one point, the child let out a bloodcurdling shriek.   Do you think either parent seemed the least bit embarrassed?    Was there any attempt to take the child out of the restaurant at least for a little time out?   No, they responded by giving their kid soothing attention which only encouraged her to repeat the bad behavior.   Do they really need a degree in psychology to know they're reinforcing the screaming pattern?   No sooner did they leave when another party came in with a younger child with an equally healthy set of lungs.   The adults carried on as if nothing was wrong.   

I've also witnessed scenes at fast food places where parents were completely oblivious and even gave in to their kids acting like completely spoiled brats.   One time when an older couple asked some unruly hell-raisers to stop running running all over the place, the kids' parents actually told the seniors to mind their own business.    Another time, a hyperactive screamer repeatedly demanding ice cream got his wish.   Forget the rest of us for a moment.   Will these clueless parents ever learn to stop rewarding actions that especially drive them crazy?     

A Sorry Bunch

Former Vice President Dick Cheney

Am I the only one repulsed when I see former Vice President Dick Cheney and other architects of the 2013 invasion going on national media blaming President Obama for the recent military reversals in Iraq?    These "neo-cons" took the wheel of Bush foreign policy after 9/11 and managed to transform international support into resentment and domestic consensus into bitter divisions.   A previously contained tyrant, Saddam Hussein, was replaced by religious factions looking to even the score with each other after the Iraqi Army was disbanded.   Iran gained influence as their Shiite allies eventually shut out the majority Sunnis in forming a government.   Now an al-Qaeda-inspired faction (only more radical) called ISIS has been allowed to gain ground as they exploit Sunni anger.   Add 4,500 American military deaths and tens of thousands wounded, not to mention two trillion dollars spent on a war instigated by Washington militarists promising we would be welcomed as liberators and could pay for the war selling Iraqi oil.   Saddam's weapons of mass destruction never turned up either.

That all matters little to the politicians and media who dutifully followed the doctrine of a Bush administration that got it wrong every step of the way. Some of these people are even calling for a new Iraq invasion and blast Obama for removing all US troops.   For one thing, the thoroughly incompetent and corrupt Iraqi government refused to agree to a continued US military presence.   Our troops exited Iraq after paying with blood, but now a new threat looms to this country's mostly troubled existence.   The Sunni-Shiite fight has been raging since shortly after the time of the prophet Mohammed himself.    At the very least, America's Iraq War hawks could admit major mistakes were made.   To listen to their arrogance and lack of any sense of Middle East history, "sorry" isn't a word we can expect to hear.     

His Own Brand

To everyone who goes back a few decades either being in radio or loyally listening to it, the news of Casey Kasem's passing at 82  was a big deal.   My first memories of this American Top 40 countdown king go back to 1971 and Sunday nights on my favorite station at the time: WDRC-FM/Hartford.  I was in awe when I made it onto the "Big D" in 1993 and Sunday night became my first regular show time on this heritage station.   This used to be Casey Kasem's slot!    Of course, we played Baby Boomer oldies by the time I got to WDRC, and Casey had moved to a more contemporary station in the market.   

Radio had changed by then to the point where no one station could be a "catch all" for widely divergent music tastes the way Top 40 had been from the late fifties through early seventies.   Casey's show eventually adjusted to changing times with a more adult contemporary "non-rap" version of his countdown with a narrower playlist based primarily on station airplay instead of overall record sales.   Even with this evolution, Casey was still Casey.    There was no mistaking him for anyone else, and he consistently delivered what listeners expected of him right up to his last show.   In an interview, Casey himself pointed to another way that radio had changed.   With a smaller farm system for a training ground, there was less room for newcomers to "make their mistakes" and work on their craft.   With the exception of his hilarious outtakes that are infamous in our business (partly because we identify with them too), this radio icon made few missteps.   When I was at WBMW/New London in 2009 and Casey Kasem ended his show, I also offered to cover that Saturday morning time slot.   I wasn't going to do a countdown.   That act had already been done by the best.

Stonington's Spirited Defense

James Tertius de Kay's book
(on Amazon.com)

The advertising agency and printing company I've been connected with for the past twelve years has had an ongoing publishing relationship with one of New England's most active historical preservation groups. The Stonington Historical Society covers the rich heritage of this small shoreline town perhaps best known for fending off a substantial attack in 1814 that led to an equally surprising withdrawal by four warships of the Royal Navy.  

On this 200th anniversary of this battle, a walk through the borough of Stonington reveals many vivid reminders of those dramatic three days during the War of 1812.  The local defenders and civilians refused British demands to surrender, which would have meant allowing their town to be burned to the ground.   Despite a heavy bombardment and an attempted landing, Stonington's defenders prevailed and all the casualties were on the British side.   How did the outgunned American side win?   For one thing, the borough residents saw no alternative, vowing to fight to the death.   To British Navy strategists, this was just one element of a military chess game designed to deflect American intentions away from attacking Canada.   When that strategy proved more costly than it was deemed worth, they pulled out.   To the Stonington locals, it meant everything.   This was their home and way of life... and everyone was involved.    

As we continue to scratch our heads these days over why the best military in the world finds victory so elusive when we exercise military options, perhaps we can take a cue from our own history.

No Soldier Left Behind

D-Day 1944 (Hartford Courant)

The 70th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy invasion follows a series of weeks dominated by military controversy.  Unlike today's commemorations, the latest outrages in the VA scandals take the spotlight away from our military heroes who deserve far better.    Before our short attention span news cycle takes us somewhere else, we need to get to the bottom of these matters.   Having a few heads roll and saying we acted should not be accepted as sufficient by the American public.   No major player in a position of power can claim the high ground or have sole responsibility for the low ground, since problems in the VA have been rampant for years.     Unlike World War II, we rely on a much smaller segment of our society to carry the burden of U.S. commitments overseas.   The postwar GI Bill made a world of difference to returning servicemen.   We owe today's heroes nothing less in the form of sweeping changes that will shake the VA system to its very foundation.

Next came word of the prisoner swap that ended Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's five year imprisonment with the Taliban in exchange for five dangerous Guantanamo detainees.   The right has relentlessly been attacking the Obama administration for letting this happen while the President defends it as part of our "no soldier left behind" pledge.   To me, a commitment is a commitment, whether the circumstances of Bergdahl's disappearance give him hero status or not.   Dealing with characters we consider shady is not unprecedented.   Just ask Israel when they exchanged 1,000 accused terrorists for one Israeli soldier.   I'm disgusted at the wild accusations that have spread to the point of vilifying Bergdahl's family.   Let the justice system get the answers.

Finally, some folks are so bent on laying all blame for everything on Barack Obama.   No, Obama was not the first President since D-Day to never attend a commemoration at Normandy.   He's been there before, and he's there today.   People blinded by hate will fall for the most inaccurate myths.

The Radio Learning Curve

Having been on six different Hall Communications radio stations in eastern Connecticut this past year, it may be a wonder that I've never yet confused one station with another on the air.   I think that's because I always try to have a mental image of what a particular station's target listener may be like and what they expect out of that station and me. Some air performers just bring their own act into a studio without much thought as to whether or not it fits.   I always try to fit in, even though that may not make me the next Howard Stern.   I'll never be the ultimate sports authority, but I do fill in at WILI-AM 1400 for Wayne Norman, one of Connecticut's most established and knowledgeable sports broadcasters.   You better believe I'm going to check that information several times over before it hits the air.  When I fill in at 100.9 Roxy FM, I make no pretense of being in the younger target demographic.   Instead I try my best to deliver show content relatable to that listener.   As long as people tell me I don't "sound" my age, I seem to pull it off.   

The challenge is also apparent on country giant 97.7 WCTY.   I admit it.   Country music is not exactly my area of expertise.   One male contemporary country artist pretty much seemed like another at first.   It was only recently that I learned that Blake Shelton was married to Miranda Lambert.   Show prep is a unique godsend here, because a country fan is as engaged in this music as a sports fanatic is with his or her team.   I know there are a few things in radio I wouldn't even attempt to pull off, like sports play-by-play or fired-up right wing political host, I think it comes down to a basic respect for the listener.   That's the main reason I keep doing this.    Otherwise if it's all about me it just gets stale.