Virtual Fools

I’ll start with something that seems a bit counter-intuitive: I don’t have a blog.

But, Bobby, what’s Virtual Fools? Well of course it is a blog, but it’s not my blog. It’s a place that has existed before people even used the word blog. We used to have “news” updates that would let people know about new content, but those posts weren’t generally entries on their on. Virtual Fools started as a place to post articles about popular culture before blogging took off. Old articles would take the shape of stories about visits to the boardwalks, movies and games, and even “Funny IMs” and even some comics.

Then Kevin and I started posting some of our schoolwork on here and the site transformed into a place less for irreverent humor and instead thoughtful commentary on culture. We’ve had a handful of contributors who have changed throughout the years, but at the core it’s been a place for Kevin and I to write material with a personal slant. It has never, however, been a blog in the sense of a Live Journal–a blog where we write about our lives beyond what’s relevant to the other topics we’re writing about. I’ve never had such a blog. I mostly keep my personal life to myself.

Despite this, I can’t write about what I want to today without throwing a bit of my personal life in here. It’s an intersection of media and my life that I have a strong emotional connection to. Really, it’s a thank you to someone (and a group of people) who will never read it. It’s a little heavy compared to what mostly appears on Virtual Fools, but I needed a venue.

Like most people, there haven’t been a lot of constants in my life since childhood. That’s to be expected. We all grow and change and move around. It’s one of those things that at some point you learn and you soon get over it. I’m fortunate to have been surrounded by great friends and family through the years. But beyond these supportive people, there’s been another voice in my life that dates back to my childhood.

That voice is radio god Don Geronimo. He’s half of the team that does the Don and Mike Show on my local DC station WJFK. Even though I live in Atlanta now I still think of that as my local station. I really enjoy entertainment talk radio and I’ve written about it before. Even as a kid I enjoyed snow days or days where I went into school late so that I could listen to the morning zoo on the light rock station. I listen to a handful of shows these days and love podcasts for the same reason. There’s something wonderful about a medium where voices have to do all the work. It’s always new and engages the imagination.

Through all that changes, the Don and Mike Show has really been one of the most constant things in my life. I remember it vividly. I was in the car with my dad and it was around Christmas time. He was picking me up from a friends house and had the radio on. The jockeys were playing a game where a listener had to call up a family member and speak only in Santa “ho-ho-hos” to win money. If the person they called stayed on the line long enough the cash was theirs. Seems like a silly radio gag, but that moment means a lot to me.

Coming home from middle school I used to enjoy sitting next to my bed and listening to Don and Mike while doing my homework. At that time the show aired from 3 to 7 (and for a little while 2 to 7) and they provided new entertainment every single day. I listened to them through highschool as well. It was harder at that time because I would miss episodes because of afterschool activities. Then the show moved to a 10 to 2 slot and I couldn’t hear it at all. It became even harder in college because my town didn’t have a station that syndicated the show. But I always made an effort to find a way to listen. I was even lucky enough to have a best friend in college who also was a listener of the show. The day they started podcasting recorded segments of Don and Mike in our last year of college was a great moment. Again I could reconnect with a show that I only caught snippets of. I haven’t missed an hour of the show since.

Why do I write about this now? Well today is the day that Don Geronimo (real name Mike Sorce) is retiring. Dating it back to that nighttime Christmas segment that I still remember, it’s been 14 years. He’s a great broadcaster and it’s sad to see him go.

Three years ago Don’s wife Freda was tragically killed in a car accident. I remember climbing into my car at 3:10 that day and something seemed amiss. Don wasn’t on the air and the tone of Mike and newsman Buzz Burbank was somber. I had missed the news as it was first announced at 3. After a few minutes they repeated the story and I remember tearing up. Freda was often a part of the show, calling in for commentary or to reprimand Don’s silly antics. I was driving down to visit Kevin in Williamsburg in the middle of the summer. I drove down 95, dreading the moment when I would lose WJFK’s signal. When I came back home from that little trip I remember talking about it with my dad. Even though we both listened to the show, we never really talked about it. After all, at times I was a little young for the material–didn’t really want to talk about “dialing for transvestites” with my dad. But we shared that moment of sadness.

Don didn’t come back until 20 days later, when he took the microphone by himself and shared his feelings on air. What makes Don’s radio presence so strong is his ability to share his personal life with millions of listeners across the country. Other radio people might talk about things that go on at home, but Don really spoke from his heart–something difficult to do when you’re mostly making fart jokes and talking about American Idol. But he shared his feelings about Freda that day and it was one of the first times I had to deal with death since being a kid. You might be skeptical, but I learned what it’s like to deal with death from this.

I didn’t know it at the time (or maybe I did but didn’t want to know it), but when I shared in that moment with my dad over Freda’s passing, my dad knew that this moment would be all too familiar. He had been battling with cancer for seven years and the fights were getting more difficult. I always remained optimistic about the situation–sometimes, I think now, disillusionally so. But it even if was harder, it seemed so much better to be positive than negative. It’s the difference between hope and dread. We never talked about it and I honestly was shocked when I my mom called me at college and told me that I needed to come home immediately, no more than a month after Don Geronimo came on the air to talk about the love of his life and how she was taken from this world. Don’s radio presence after his wife’s death was strong, even if behind the scenes he was being torn apart. I learned that life is difficult and we have to find ways to cope.

I associate Don’s voice with my dad. It’s comforting. And, at this point, it has been the male voice in my life for longer than any other.

So today, as Don signs off the Don and Mike Show for the last time, I’m sad. I’m sad to be losing this show that has entertained me and kept me happy. We knew it was coming, but we thought we’d hear Don’s voice until May. Don decided that he needed to accelerate his retirement to get his life in order, and as much as I’m sad, I can understand. But I’m sad to be losing a bit of continuity that has existed when all else has changed. I’ll continue to listen to Mike O’Meara’s new show, but it’s the end of an era. The whole team is a great bunch of broadcasters. I can’t thank Don enough for the hours he’s given us and for the happiness the show has provided in my life.

Thank you, Don Geronimo.