Marc Clarke Radio  

Once radio gets into your system it never lets you go.  The owners and the bosses may make you forget the joy of it but once you get fired or you are away from it you remember why you loved it so much.  I think I am a member of the last generation of the old radio system.  The system that allowed you to get in the door by being an overnight board operator and then work your way up at a radio station learning everything you could by watching others.  You took meter readings and pulled overnight wire stories for the next day then around 4am you made the coffee for the morning shows and then got out of their way before 6am.  You could smell the alcohol and the morning man's breath though he tried to cover it with mouthwash and toothpaste.  $0$0$0$0The station was not corporate owned it was usually owned by a single owner or a  family.  I remember working for an owner who would bring out 1 roll of toilet paper every morning and be at the station all day to make sure everything ran smoothly.  The call letters where his wife's initials and he said he would never sell (years later he sold for millions.)  The DJ's all had deep voices (even the women) and they were allowed to smoke in the studio and they did...a lot.  The ash tray would be right next to the mic stand and all of us young people wanted the rich pipes(voices) of our idols.  The DJ's drove cool cars and had cool hair do's and were always  on the phone with hot chicks even thought they really only made a low hourly wage but usually had another job on the side or did sales.  They made most of their money in the clubs tax free.$0$0$0$0$0I still remember the first commercial I was ever on.  I had worked overnight running the board and was hanging around the station and they needed one more voice for a commercial for a local car dealer and I was on cloud nine for weeks.  That was almost as exciting as when I used to air-check my station I.D. for the Cardinal baseball games..."And now let's pause for ten seconds for the station I.D." That's when I would have my chance..."You are listening to WTAX. WDBR...Springfield"...Man, I thought I was Howard Cosell.  $0$0$0$0$0Before I actually worked at a station I listened to the radio all the time and back then and even now in my hometown there was no Hip Hop or R& B format you had Country, Top 40 and MOR so I would hook the television cable up to the radio and pick up the Urban stations in St Louis and East St Louis.  I would listen to the Quiet Storm and try and talk like the deep voiced Mel Devon and practice the "Roll Call" with the legendary Dr. Jockenstein.  Radio was fun, alive and I couldn't wait to be a radio guy.  Twenty years later as all platforms of media are changing in new ways,  even though I am not on the radio I am proud to be a radio guy.$0$0$0$0