A Surprise Stop-Over In Great Barrington
The wonderful part of being in this radio business is you always manage to stay in touch with those that were considered colleagues and peers in the realm of broadcasting in some way, shape and form and even though it's been a while since the one-on-one connection took place, it usually is rule of thumb that both parties pick up where they left off since their last meeting.
Case in point. On Tuesday one of my dear friends in radio and my former "Boss Man", Jim Reed took a ride on his Harley Davidson motorcycle from eastern Connecticut and decided to head west as he arrived in the beautiful Berkshires and surprised me with a unannounced visit to WSBS.
We both worked side-by-side for over 3 years at KOOL 101 in New London, Connecticut as he was the morning drive personality and I preceded him on the overnight shift back in the day when the station played golden oldies from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Our banter was priceless as we traded tales during the wee hours and when listeners were getting their day off and rolling as I was always in search of that "elusive" solid gold to perfect the library, a task I was willing to take on a daily basis. I also was designated as Jim's primary fill-in whenever he took any time off for business or vacation. An abrupt format change in 2012 ended our good time together on the air, but I can safely say my time with Jim was priceless as we enjoyed playing timeless music on the radio and we had a blast co-hosting classic car shows at Connecticut's Ocean Beach.
As I now call WSBS home base in the beautiful Berkshires, there will always be a place in my heart for Jim as we have remained dear friends and rocked the airwaves in a unique and professional way. Upon his departure, he made a lunch time request for Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild". How apropos being he cruised up here on his Harley. An open invite for you at anytime, Jim. Looking forward to seeing you soon, my radio brother!