Something wicked this way comes...

I was doing a bit of show prep and ran across this fabulous little piece of fun. Evil comes in little packages- espionage! What they really should be worried about is this little devil sign:

Ok, so you can't really see it. Way too blurry. BUT, I think it adds to the creepyness. It came from the back of my husband's deodorant stick, but it looks more sinister than this:

A poor, defenseless Canadian coin with a cute little poppy in the middle. Oh so creepy, indeed!


Tune in tonight to my show, 7-9pm. I will have a special guest on and we will be talking about spookyness around Corpus Christi. I have a few ghost stories for you and a few urban legends from the southwest to debunk. San Antonio railroad tracks, anyone?

The show that didn't suck!

Wow. WOW!

I am so surprised. I really thought that the show would be a miss and that no one would be interested in a show hosted by such an outsider. I mean, tonight's topic is pretty localized. That meaning a girl from Ohio really does not seem to have anything to contribute. Well, anything intelligent.

BAM! Open up the airwaves for discussion and you got one hell of a show! And that is my idea. That is where I want to go with my show. I want to offer a forum for people who normally do not have such a large bullhorn. I want to facilitate a dialog. I want people to communicate about what effects them. I want you to be part of the show. And tonight it finally happened.

Do you know that I still was getting calls 45 minutes after my show ended? People really want to share their stories and experiences. And it is my job to let them.

So lets do a rundown.

I started my show by expressing concern that no one wanted to be on the show dealing with curanderos. Here's the truth. I started research about 6 weeks ago. I've met with some people I was not comfortable with so I politely heard them out and moved on. Then there were others who were too busy, and others I just could not meet up with. There is a local gentleman I have heard great things about but we could just not connect. We tried last week but my child got a nasty cold so things got delayed (family first!). Then, I got sick. Then, I tried to get in touch with him today and he was with a client when I arrived as planned. I couldn't stay long so I ended up leaving before getting to meet with him. I called and was told he'd call back but I have yet to hear from him. Maybe tomorrow. I would love his input. He sounds really cool.

I called Tex Mex Curios. I met with a lovely spiritual reader about a month ago and since she was not comfortable drawing such attention to herself (I totally understand that) she declined to come on the show but referred me to the family spokesperson. I really wanted to have someone on the show who practiced the craft so I held off. Today was the day I called the spokesperson. He was so kind, in spite of my last minute appeal, and said he could help me out by calling in. Frank Fregoso, Jr., I thank you. He offered some wonderful information. He also made the comment that he could only share so much in such a little amount of time. So true! This, in addition to the wonderful interest of the listeners, is why I will be continuing this topic next week. And the week after. And for the entire month of May. Well, not just this topic but ones similar. I want to give everyone the chance to tell their stories and give people the opportunity to come on the show.

So many people wanted to share their stories. It appears that I have opened up a can of worms with my show. There are TONS of spooky tales, superstitions, and folklore here is South Texas. I hope you will tune in (and call in) and help me learn about this area.

You know, when I went to the front desk to have security escort me to my car (I did have a spooky show, I am just a fragile little thing, and, as Arthur Brooks pointed out, it was a full moon) they laughed at me. We talked about my show and regarding the eerie legends here in Corpus, they commented "well, you are in South Texas!" Well, sorry, I had no clue!

I want a show that links people together. I guess this is it! We all have stories to tell and I want to offer a place for you to share them. I remarked to Arthur that I am the Art Bell of South Texas! I wonder how Art sleeps at night....

At the beginning of the show, a caller by the name of Bo called to remark on my frustration and difficulty in finding actual curanderos to come on the show. He said that perhaps I didn't need to look anymore than I already had. Maybe the Angels already knew I had found the truth of the information I needed and didn't need to look any further. I really liked his way of putting it. It made me feel better. Towards the end of the show, I had a weird caller call in and play some strange sound byte. I was going to edit it out of the web version but a few people called in to say it was some song or clip they recognized and to keep it in. The good news about the studio... we have caller id and we are federally regulated. Crank calls get traced. Crankers can get fined. I mean, this may be a local station, but we are held to federal guidelines. Just an FYI to potential cranksters. So, for those of you who called in, the clip is still there.

Anthony, a regular, called in twice. The first time he shared his experience with a curandero and the second, he told me a few things to look up. One of them being the 'tracks' in San Antonio. Well, I just happen to have an EXPERT from San Antonio on damn near all things San Antonio. So I called her. Jacquie Moody-Fuller to the rescue! The last 10 minutes of our conversation got totally cut off since the show ended but you can hear it on part 3 on the web. She will be a guest on (hopefully) next week's show to talk about urban legends in Corpus and surrounding areas. So call in with the tales you are familiar with.

Upcoming guests include, Frank from Tex Mex Curios, Arthur Brooks, my creepy-know-it-all-grew-up-here-buddy Mike, and maybe, a curandero.

My point was not to freak anyone out. I just want to share some info with y'all and get a fun, yet meaningful conversation going. I hope you'll continue to tune in.

Tonight's show

I cannot tell you how difficult show prep for tonight's show has been. I am trying to get a curandero/curandera on my show. I've been trying to get some cooperation for over a month. There are a few establishments here in Corpus and several individuals who claim to be curanderos but they are almost impossible to get in contact with.

Just listen to my show. It is destined to suck. Tune in as I miserably, but humorously fail.

You show me yours.....

Ok, so the previous two shows should be up and ready very soon. I know it has been too long. But let's see you work a show, deal with the absent-minded John Kelley, crazy, co-dependent guests, and a zillion blogs. Yeah, that's right, I just called you out! But about the shows....there were a few things I had to do in the editing process to make them work for the internet. Also, I had to edit a huge chunk out of last week's show for political puroises.

See, this regular caller, Gil the Republican, and John Kellel got into a 'man discussion' on my clearly not 'man discussion' appropriate show. In order to save my listeners from the boredom of their said 'man talk', I decided to edit it all out. Unfortunately, that cost me about 30 minutes of my show because I had to remove the beginning AND Gil called in again during the middle of the show. If you are into manspeak (read: boring political junk) I have saved that part of the show and you can listen if you want. But I warn you, it got to the point where I had to tell the boys to take "them out and measure them".

Yesterdays show I had Danny D. Williams, city council candidate and loser 2007. I enjoy him so much that he was my guest host. We talked about getting involved in the community and I got to brag how Mayor Garrett bought me lunch and Danny D. was left to fend for himself.

Speaking of Danny D., he has a show coming up. You can tune in on Fridays, 6-7pm for his yet to be named sports show, starting May 4th.

During the day he is the Sports Doctor. At night, Dr. Love. Yeah, it makes me throw up a little, too. I feel tragically bad for his lovely wife.

Enjoy the shows!

Show Change for Monday, the 16th ONLY

KCCT is airing the Ice Rayz playoffs this week. Since hockey players are so hot, well, they are a close second to soccer babes, I have allowed them to move my show time.

Tune in at 4:45 this afternoon. I will be on, live, until 6:45. It should be a great show!

Interview with Ina May and the public

This blog is brought to you in two sections because as I started typing, I digressed. Big time.

Part 1, Ina May Gaskin

Whew. It is over. The most frightening aspect of the interview was the thought that it might not happen. I had a feeling that it would somehow get cancelled and that all of my gorilla marketing tactics would leave me embarrassed.

I almost was.

I thought it a courtesy to call Ina May on the morning of the interview to say, 'hey, can't wait till our interview, I will be calling around 7:30pm.' You know, a touching base kinda thing. Unfortunately, she informed me that something came up. I instantly felt my stomach come up to my throat. I couldn't believe it. I had been anticipating this for soooo long!

I am usually quick on my feet, although I have to say that I still suffer from 'baby brain' and have slowed down a bit. I asked her if she would be willing to do a pre-recorded interview. I could dash into the studio, set it up, and call her back. This way, not all is lost. I could still save face and not disappoint my public (please see part 2, below, for the hairy details).

It worked. She was game so off I went! A normal interview only lasts about 45 minutes when you cut time out for commercials. Because I was able to interview her, off-air, and without interruptions, I got 1 hour and 7 minutes! Yay, Ina May!

Anyway, I truly enjoyed talking with this woman. Joy! Joy! Joy! I am hoping to continue my conversation on midwifery with a couple of local midwives. Hopefully we can hammer out a time when they can come in and share their fabulous selves with us all!

Having said that, I now have to mention the glitches. I am not sure, but I believe Ina May was on a cordless. There were a few points when she seemed to cut out. Also, I heard some clanging around in the background. Dishes? At least there was no flushing toilet! Let's hear it for multitasking! The interview was played in two parts. In each part, there was a brief period of about 45 seconds when the volume went way low. I received a call during the show telling me that we were off air, there was only silence. A few seconds after I hung up, the volume went up again. Go figure!

I am finding that each show is only getting better. There are always a few glitches but I am still learning. A special thanks to Pete Lutz and John Kelley for moving out of the studio on such short notice. They saw my frenzy and let me have my space. Thank you!

Also, I have tons of new links I will be putting up today regarding midwifery, Ina May, and her husband, Stephen Gaskin, who I also would like to interview at some point.

Check out my web-exclusive interview with Ahri Golden. Remember that lovely interview that got erased? Yeah, that one. Well one of the producers agreed to do a second interview. It is here. Thank you, Ahri!

Part 2, My 'public'

Ok, so I don't really have a 'public' per se, but Pudge keeps telling me that I am, in fact, a real radio personality. While I chuckle at the thought that someone would really take me seriously, I mean, I can be serious but I tend never to take myself seriously, I think its super funny that I, Aletha, am a 'radio personality.' Does that put me up there with Martha Stewart? She has a radio show. Way too much pressure.

Anyway, my public....

I started feeling down, just yesterday, when my dearest and oldest friend admitted that he has never listened to my show. Not even the show his wife contributed to! I know his wife is listening, but if he is not listening..... I heard Pudge say the number 5000 on his show last night. I thought the actual audience was less than that but lets go with it. Let us assume that at any given segment we have 5000 listeners. That may be true for his show as he is an anchor but I do not host a coveted prime time show. Pudge, with Reality Check, and John Kelley, with Populist Uprising, are leads on Desperate Housewives while I am am a lead on Days of Our Lives. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all. Well, lets cut that in half for me. 2500. Oh, minus my friend: 2499. Add to that the fact that I ran in to a random woman last week who, when she heard my name, was able to rattle off something I had said on a show. Imagine how wonderful that felt! It would be even better if those listening would call in and visit with me, but hey, you can't have it all!

Since we're imagining things, imagine how terrible I started to feel at the prospect of this much-hyped interview not happening. Mortification. Listeners can be fickle. If you tell them that Francis Ford Coppola, who you are sorta-related to because your cousin is married to his son, is going to call in, but he forgets because he is having dinner with Andy Garcia that night, you look like a jerk.

Anyway, I know I have a few dozen loyal listeners who stay from the very beginning to the very end. By my calculations, my mass marketing reached over 1000 more potential listeners (I belong to a lot of groups, what can I say?) If this interview did not go on, I would look like a huge liar. Or, it would be just a letdown and the next time I do a huge marketing campaign, no one would bite. If you don't deliver, no one will order your pizza. See what I mean?

I did not want to look like a jerk.

I also did not want the listeners to tune in and find out that the interview fell through. Things happen, we all know this, but I had talked about this for weeks. And, I found a way to make it happen.

So, thank you for listening. I see that my web traffic has gone WWWAAAYYY up.

And, thank you for supporting my by supporting my sponsors. We really appreciate it!

Technical 'WTFs' and other issues

So Monday's show is up and ready to go. I am listening to it as I write and, unfortunately, I had to crank up the volume up as high as a hippie and it is still running quiet. I will take the disc in the studio tomorrow and try to boost it. Then, reload the thing. Which is a pain but I love you all the best and want you to have a pleasant listening experience. I also re-interviewed Ahri Golden, co-founder of Thin Air Media and co-producer of BIRTH, this afternoon and will have that up and running tomorrow. It is a wonderful 20-ish minute chat and I can't wait to share it with you.
Monday I interviewed Danielle, a local LLL leader. Not only was our interview, er...conversation, effortless, but it was fun. She also gave me an idea on how to help deal with my son's biting phase. I really enjoyed having someone in the studio to visit with. As you may or may not know, all the interviews up until yesterday were via the telephone. Having someone in the studio was a treat. I can't wait to have my new friend back for another chat.

There were some problems, though. We have the current volume fiasco and when I did the playback in the studio last night, I could not hear my bumpers or songs. I had just figured out how to get the songs to record and *poof* they disappear. Again. I hope to figure it out next week. The good news is that I feel each show gets better. And I enjoy doing it.

Next week, the 2nd, I get to talk with the fabulous midwife, author and innovator, Ina May Gaskin, assuming she is not called to duty. Then, April 9th, Danny D. Williams will be live in the studio. Danny D. is a candidate for CC City Council and a really cool guy.

Now, I do not know him that well. However, if the way he initially presents himself is true to who he is and not a facade, then I guess I do know him pretty well. He is a great guy. Down to earth and completely approachable - what more could you ask for? Well, I guess you could ask for a lot more but when you consider most candidates for local office, you're lucky if you can count on anything. Now I know that is a generalization but this is my website and I can say whatever I want. So there. Anyway, he is not representing me or my district. I do not get to vote for him. He is not paying me to say nice things nor has he volunteered to watch my son so that my husband and I could have a date (shame on him!). I just want to tell people how human the guy is and that he doesn't hide behind an agenda. He does not feed you bull.

Let me tell you a story. All details and happenings are true but the names have been changed to throw you off the scent.

This beautiful, charming, ravishing radio personality was at the Cracker Barrell one afternoon with her angelic 18-month old son. The little boy really wanted a piece of the Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake and being a great mum, the fabulous radio personality, "Gwyneth" said, "why not?" Upon pulling in the parking lot, Gwyneth noticed that there were SUVs parked in the lot with those anoying magnetic signs on the sides of the doors. They were bright and one of them, the SUV not the sign, was parked in a handicapped space. The signs? They indicated that a candidate for city council was present. Or, at least, her minions were. Gwyneth and her extraordinarily well-behaved, non-biting son, "Hugh Grant, Jr." went into the restaurant, got a table, and ordered the cake. Knowing that Ms. Candidate was in the restaurant, Gwyneth scouted the area. Now, it is important to note that Gwyneth has been helping out this crazy Irishman, also a radio personality, only he happens to be a politically active one. She helps schedule all of his guests for interviews on his show and called all the candidates. All but 5 responded and those 5 were avoiding her. Ms. Candidate, with her vehicular propaganda parked out in the handicapped space, is one of said people who claimed they'd call back but never did. Gwyneth wanted to get a look at this person and, perhaps, have an opportunity to introduce herself. You know, "Hi, I am Gwyneth and I work with Irish Man and I have called you several times for an interview with him but you never return my calls. Since we are both here, let's schedule it now." Yes, I admit that Gwyneth's tactic might be a bit harsh but she just wanted to see how cool and collected Ms. Candidate would be. Back to the 5 candidates... now, it is possible that they were not really avoiding her, just super busy. However, if you want to serve on my city council, ack like it. Take it seriously when a member of the media calls your butt to schedule you for an interview. If you can't take 30 minutes to answer some questions and tell me why I should vote for you, then you do NOT get the job. What you do get is a highly irritated, but stunningly sexy girl who will not only NOT vote for you but she tells all of her friends how you dropped the ball. But, I digress.

After enjoying the cake (and boy did we ....errrr, I mean they, they enjoyed it), Gwyneth and Hugh, Jr. got up to pay. Well, if you've ever been to Cracker Barrel, you know that there is a store inside and you pay at the registers within the store part of the building. Well, who should be waiting to pay but Ms. Candidate! Joy! Pure joy! Gwyneth knew it was her because her face matched the picture plastered all over the giant SUV outside.

Now, not wanting to cause a scene, Gwyneth played it very cool. She held her baby in his sling (wow, this Gwyneth sure sounds great!) and patiently waited for Ms. Candidate to make eye contact. Patience. Patience. Patience. No eye-contact. It is not like she was talking to anyone, her peeps were off shopping. She looked impatient as she waited to pay for her outfit (yes, she was buying an outfit at Cracker Barrell). Finally, she looked at Gwyneth. Well, through her. No hello, no boo, no wow what a handsom little guy you got there. Nothing. Just a vacant glance and a turn away. Hmmm. Gwyneth could have said something but felt the time was not right.

Now, if you were running for city council, wouldn't you think you would say hello to those around you? Those who might vote for you? Just out of the "hey, I am running for city council and I must be nice and say hello to everyone and coo over babies and win votes" spirit? Or, just out of habit?

Guess not.

I know that if I give someone my vote and tell them that I want them representing me, I expect them to be approachable and nice.

Now, I bet you think you know who the people in the story are. Maybe you do, but I doubt it.

Anyway, on to other things.

Don't ask me how (I am a member of the media now) but I came across a website that linked to me. It was not the most flattering of articles, not about me, but for the station and its decision not to continue with Air America broadcasting. The fact that they linked to me has helped with my traffic. My counter stats go up big time, daily. If you would like to read the article, find it here. I also left a comment for the author.

Now, today. I got my hair cut. I went to a local slaon, actually, the owner hosts a radio program on KCCT, Thursdays from 7-8pm. Her name is Denise Miller and she did a great job. Problem is, my hair was down almost to my butt and now it is a few inches past my shoulders. It had not been this short in a long time. I told her that I wanted to grow it out, all one length, but needed a good cut. Pre-haircut, it had lots of layers in it and she levelled it out to the shortest layer. I am feeling remorse. It looks fabulous and she did a great job, I am just missing it a bit. However, today is the 28th of March. And, if you have been listening to the show, I cut my hair according to the advice I found in the Old Farmer's Almanac. Yeah, sounds as crazy as my mother but she (my mother) claims that a wealth of information can be found in the almanac. Based on the moon cycles, the season, and whether you keep eye of newt in your pantry, you can successfully accomplish tons of things by following the almanacs advice. So, in honor of my mom, I have decided to consult with my trusty almanac before I make inportant decisions. For the next few months at least. We'll find out if this old-timey advice works. The reason I cut my hair today is because today is the best day to cut it if you want to encourage growth. I feel a tingle in my scalp already!

Hmmm.... the almanac. Check out some fun things here. According to the table, if you want to procreate, your best boot knockin' days for April are the 4th and 5th. Just in case there is something to this, I am making sure I look my ugliest, most unattractive on these days to prevent any advances on my husband's part. You see, since we are convinced that our son dislikes us (at 18 months he already requests that we drop him off at least two blocks from his babysitter's, we are that uncool- I thought I had 12 more years before that started!) and that if we have more children, at least one of them is bound to love us and want to hang out with us. I am still not so sure on the logic so I think it is best, assuming that the almanac is right, that I come down with dysentery on the 4th and the 5th.

Thanks for listening!

Aletha