As I completed my second week, eating from the radio bowl of gruel with no spoon, another memo lit up my mailbox. I initially took it for another missive to my sins. But, as I read it…BAM!…just like that, I was back in my old sweet spot, the new permanent host of the 7 to Midnight show! Schwing!

Amy Wright, the Afternoon host was leaving for the brand new Apple 103.5, WAPP in New York! Her move created a vacuum in the full time on air slots at Magic and a few of us moved around. Ron Fillip flipped to Middays from Evenings, Bill Jerome went to Afternoons from Middays and they hired Diane Foxx to take over my nano short stay in the All Night Show. Joe DeRose maintained his Morning Show slot and Assistant Program Director position. My Saturday show moved to 3 to 8pm and butted up against Jeff Rafter who debuted the Saturday Night Oldies Show.

 It was a great move with more exposure for me and a chance to forge friendships with my adjoining show compadres, Bill, Diane and Jeff. Bill was a little older than the rest of us at 39 with wavy brown hair and a clean shaven face with crows feet of wisdom, but he was warm and mellow on air with tons of wit. I loved his stories of going to college in Pittsburgh and watching Pirates Baseball in 1962. Foxx was a fiery red head and continually on with a big smile and lots of energy. Jeff had neatly trimmed hair and looked like a manager and was nearly my exact age, so we had a lot in common with radio experiences to talk about at the changing of the guard on Saturdays.

I met more people around the building including a surprise reunion with Chief Engineer John Stanley who I’d met 9 years earlier at 1170 WBRW Somerville when he was doing double duty of Afternoons and Chief Engineer. John had a neatly trimmed haircut and beard with a little over the ears 1982 style. He remembered me being the 17 year old kid asking him never ending questions about getting into the radio biz. John was a great Jock and had a geek mind for all the complicated electronics that make a radio station broadcast. Stanley also flew airplanes and a helicopter for The Shadow Traffic reporting service for Metro New York. If THAT wasn’t enough, he performed as a stuntman on numerous Hollywood productions. John was fearless and never afraid to try something new and different. He did all these things and was still able to perform full-time duties as a Chief Engineer at Broadcast Center.

I wasn’t on the bad side of Midnight anymore and the sun began to peek out from the clouds at Magic 98.