Trial Balloon: December 18, 2008 Archive

The happiest news of the day is a cameo appearance by everybody's favorite retired radio host, Jim Ed Poole. Jim Ed is still in the process of cleaning out his desk, and is technically "on the payroll" for the next few days, so it wasn't too much trouble to convince him to step into the familiar old studio to play a few of his favorite tunes.
Plus, during the final broadcast Jim Ed made big show of saying "you have my number" so I wanted to assure listeners, including a few emphatic blog reading Jim Ed fans, that we do, in fact, have his number.

One of the best things about starting Radio Heartland hot on the heels of the Morning Show is the continuity - because the transition happened so quickly and no one could think of where else we might be stationed, Mike and I are working in the very same studio Jim Ed and I used for the past few years. That means we don't have to re-train our brains to find a new room early in the morning - we can let the robot inside guide us to the appropriate spot. And there are memories of the good years with Jim Ed all around us as we work. Jim Ed's chair (which we moved), Jim Ed's "Prairie Home Companion - The Movie" poster (which we took off the wall for safekeeping), and Jim Ed's sound effects trunk, which still holds the shoes, the tub of rocks, the ahh-ooogah horn, the drum head, the tearing cloth and the floppy rubber arm. The trunk is in the corner, over against the wall, underneath a pile of stuff that we re-arranged, but I'm pretty sure it's down there because I dug into it late last week to find the roll of duct tape so I could borrow a few strips to help secure the new HD radio in my car.
So reminders of Jim Ed are everywhere. It's almost like he never left, and for a while today, it will seem like he really hasn't.

I hope he doesn't mind the few little changes we DID make.