OK, So Just Who the Heck Am I? (General)

First off, thanks to those who left me comments after post number one. Some are on the comments page and others were emailed to me. Of course, the first batch of readers has been family members and friends. I’ve already learned some things about this blogging thing, and I’ll just leave it at that.

A “Ricky Fritsch” (whoever he may be) wrote, “If you keep writing I'll keep reading.” Well, that’s pressure, but I’ll try to handle it. Some days, the posts might be long. Other days, it might be a sentence or two. Again, we’ll see how it develops. I might have to get one of those RSS things going so you can be notified when the updates have been made.

That “Ricky” guy, by the way, is a friend and colleague of mine. That works as a perfect segue into getting to know me. I’ll try to keep the biography brief. A lifelong suburban New Yorker, I am currently seeking a full-time position, having recently been laid off from the corporate world…again. Shouldn’t there be a prize after so many layoffs? Three from corporate and one from radio. Radio, you say? Yes, radio, and that’s where Ricky comes in. Starting next month, Ricky and I will begin our third season as the broadcast team for the Greenwich Cardinals in Connecticut high school football on WGCH, 1490 on your AM dial, and on the net at www.wgch.com. Technically it’s Ricky’s second year, but he did a few games with me the year before last, so why quibble? I’ve worked in radio since 1990, virtually all as a part-timer, and I love it. Sure, I’d love to work full-time in radio, but salaries are what they are, and that’s just the reality. I’m not talking out of school here. So I work my backside off in things like marketing and generally use radio as a hobby. Everyone winds up with a top-notch effort from me.

Anyway, back to the bio. Let’s see, lifelong New Yorker, recently bought a house after living in Mahopac for over 37 years, happily married to my best friend, with a great little boy who keeps us sane…or crazy, depending on the day. What else? After my last post, you probably figured out that sports plays a huge role in my life, and that is so true. You know by now that I am a big Yankees fan, but I’m not afraid to bash them, as with that ceremony yesterday. Come on, give me a break. I blame a lot of that on the Yankee lackeys (Randy Levine, etc.) because despite George Steinbrenner’s bravado, he always had his limits.

So you get it with the Yankees. But there’s also the Pittsburgh Steelers, my favorite football team. Admittedly, I jumped on the bandwagon when I was about 10 (hey, anybody who could beat the Cowboys was OK with me), but I’ve been crazy loyal ever since. Music is also a huge part of my life. I have a wall of CD’s staring at me, and belong to the iPod world as well. There’s always a song running in my head. Now I tread lightly here, because sometimes people give me looks when I tell them who my favorite band is, but I don’t care. Huey Lewis and the News hooked me in early 1984, and I’ve seen them more than I’ve seen anyone else. Trust me on this one – they put on a great show. Free your mind and give them a try the next time they come around.

So far, I’ve given you kind of basic stuff – sports, music, movies, history, travel and so on. Then there’s my interest in roads. There, I said it, and I feel better. I don’t think I’m a true “roadgeek” (yes, there’s such a term) in that I can’t define engineering terms and so on, but I love to go on road trips. This was born out of some 14 family drives to and from Florida when I was young. Since then, the Internet has shown me that I’m not alone. There’s a whole lot of “us” out there, many with websites, blogs, and a discussion board at miscellaneous.transport.road. I enjoy taking pictures of road signs (again, I feel better) and have had some published on the web. So from time to time, you might hear me go on about roads. Be kind to me at those moments.

I think you’ll learn more about me as this blog progresses. For now, I’m content to leave things here and carry on. But before I go, please take a moment and notice that I’ve added a link on the right. The link is for “Rangers Lead The Way”, the blog of a good friend (and WGCH colleague), Sean Kilkelly (who told me that I could use his name here). Whatever you do, take the time and read his blog. I’ve read many blogs and his might be the best. It is written much in the spirit of how I’m going to write mine. Sean talks about sports, politics, pop culture, and so on. He has even teased us with parts of a novella. Most of all, though I’ve known Sean for about seven years or so, and we’re fairly good friends, I’ve learned quite a bit about him from his blog. It is exceptional. This is a guy who should have a professional column somewhere, or a radio show, or both.

Oh, one last thing. In each post, I’ll put some pithy title at the beginning, but will also put a category in parenthesis. That way you, dear reader, will be able to decide if you’re in the mood to read it.

The Yankees and Red Sox are off and running on a five game series this weekend. You’d be wise to check in on them.