Radio Reprobate Reunion

(l-r John Emm, and local blogger. Check out Emm's new caps!)

"You look good," we both said in unison.
By the way, when does that start? The "you look good" thing, instead of "hi", seems to kick in sometime north of your fortieth birthday. Like it's some big accomplishment that you are still on the right side of the sod and capable of chewing your own food. (Come to think of it, maybe it is.)
It was my old pal John Emm, with his new wife Arlene, standing at my door. He did look great. The last time we had seen each other we were both fairly well tanked and had probably looked it. Now we were sober and both of our wives looked happy about that. With Arlene, John finally appears to have gotten the hang of marriage and Linda has always been the best thing that ever happened to me. (Did I get that right dear? It's sort of hard to read your writing.)

We spent this past Sunday afternoon comparing the condition of our hairlines, (he still has one), the size and condition of our prostates, (his like a bowling ball and mine roughly equal to the oil pan from a '53 Buick), and how hard it is to suck-in your gut these days. Also, the deterioration of the major league baseball strike zone and the lack of any good popular music in the last thirty years came in for considerable discussion. It was an afternoon to remember.

John reminded me of a few adventures that had been erased from my frontal lobe including the one involving us setting up a Mint Julep stand in front of Ginsberg's Dublin Pub during Kentucky Derby Day 1981. It involved the two of us mixing juleps and selling them for charity for $1.01. This promotion had sailed by radio station management because we were promoting the station's frequency. Can you imagine trying to pull this one today? Though neither of us could recall, we decided that the whole stunt got out of hand before the race even started. We also remembered that the cops were involved.

It was an afternoon that seemed far too brief. We had about seventy-five diet Dr. Peppers and it was just like old times. Even without booze. God, what a relief. I had hoped that we would still be good pals...and we were. Unlike some people, with John Emm it's not necessary to stir in alcohol to drink him interesting. He's a radio legend...and my friend.