Life 2.0

It was a random Facebook post by a young friend of mine that seemed to be filled with despair about another horrible human tragedy that prompted this particular episode of the Life 2.0 podcast. The post started with..."What's happening to our world?..." and went on from there. I've been pondering (once again) what appears to be the deterioration of the human condition, until I think back to the time I was the same age as my friend, and all the difficult, horrible, low-down, bad news of that time. The "same shit different day" line comes to mind. A perspective shift is needed if we are to maintain our spiritual balance, and I suggest you take a stroll through history through times much more difficult than we are living in now, and consider that if your moral compass is determined by someone in political office, you're giving up your inner GPS to the headlines, and not your lifelines.

This is a total free-fall, free-for-all, freebie S&S episode in which a listener wants to know whether Garry and John are really doing this podcast or if it's AI-generated. From there, it's a deep dive into another year of Shark Week (more JAWS!), the evolution (or devolution) of the human condition when it comes to the DUI/OWI of Tony Romo, John explains to Garry the phenomenon of owning a Jeep, and more about Gavin McLeod and "The Love Boat" than you ever wanted to know. And for the record, the content is unscripted and human-generated, because we checked the box.

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Sweetness.

 

Worked with Walter on his foundation, golf outings, and other assorted projects for a couple of years. There's a whole chapter on him in my first book, "Living An Uncommon Life."

 

One of my favorite memories is when I once brought my three-year-old son Andy to the office. We had meetings with K-Mart about a major sponsorship for a project. About halfway through, Walter gets up, takes my son by the hand, and leaves the conference room. After the meeting is over, I find them both on the floor of his office, using golf balls to knock over tees like a mini-bowing alley while crunching down on "hard candy," aka Starlight Mints.

 

One of a kind, on and off the field.

111 years ago today, July 24th, 1915, the Eastland was bound for a day trip across Lake Michigan filled with employees of The Western Electric Company. Over 2,500 people boarded the boat, docked on the Chicago River, and less than an hour later, 844 men, women, children, and crew were killed in what was the largest loss of life from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

 

So, how is it possible that over 90 years later, the name "Niels Petersen" was broadcast in an edit suite at the Oprah Radio Studios in 2008 on a speaker that wasn't even plugged in?

 

One of the most unbelievable experiences of my life, and it's why every July 24th, I make sure to remember the victims of the Eastland and to visit the resting place of Niels and his son Royal, who also perished.

In light of the recent attempt by a rabid fan to get at everyone's benign weather uncle, Al Roker, Garry & John share a couple of near-miss stories when it came to having a listener cross the radio threshold. Then it's a rollback to their first paying jobs and the lessons gained from pouring concrete or pulling nails for a few hours a day compared to being an "influencer" in the 21st century. AI isn't going away, so the guys are trying to figure out the limitations of avatars, and Garry is ready to roll out his chain of retirement homes called "Fallen Arches," which is the perfect segue to a 96-year-old who is upending the apple cart by partying with her group of Silver Seniors until the sun comes up. Finally, Garry & John remember Ozzy Osborne one year after his death. 

It's a rare occurrence that I find myself in Green Bay, Wisconsin, this morning. Even though I'm a Chicago Bears guy, I can't help but think about my long friendship with the greatest guard in the history of the NFL-Jerry Kramer. Last night I had dinner in Lambeau Field at the 1919 Club, and the images of Lombardi and those great Packer teams over the years are embedded in the culture here. So, this SMR is from a couple of years ago, and my conversation with JK and Bob Fox about their book "Run to Win," which also includes a clip from 2001, when Jerry and I talked with the late, great Dick Schaap as well. 

He's quite possibly the most recognizable meteorologist on the planet, and he's Garry & John's special guest on this episode of Saints and Sinners! The favorite son of Aurora, Illinois, where he would send letters to Chicago radio stations as a boy, offering to provide them with a more accurate forecasts, to the millions of viewers who watched him for decades on WGN-TV to his latest foray into acting (kinda) on The Bear, Tom Skilling is not only a man for all seasons, but he knows everything about all the seasons and more.  It's another robust outing in audio excellence!

I was out of the internet landfill for three days last week, which was a blessing in disguise. I took a break from my usual routine and spent some time cleaning out old audio files. I came across a folder of shows I did back in 2015/16 for CBS called Life Matters, and there are 30 episodes in the file with some great conversations, like the one I had with Pulitzer Prize winner (and one of my favorite writers) Mary Schmich.

Amazing how so much of what we discussed a decade ago is still relevant today. The more things change...the more they stay the same.

Yep, you read that right. Only these two guys could have an unscripted conversation that covers everything from Garry's impressive mane to John's follicle- challenged dome and the time Carol Channing wanted to meet John for a date (and he was the dessert!) Then there's the guy who carved his way out of a frozen grave with a dagger made of his own feces. Add in Garry's comments on air conditioning and John sharing a few thoughts about how his old friend John Denver's hit "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is once again in the mainstream due to soccer, and it's another off-the-wall, over-the-top audio outing for the masses.

GM and JSA are back at it for episode zwei (that's number two for your non-Germanic types), and besides exploring the dark corners of each other's minds, it's a show chock-full of Dracula stories (John's dad had a Bela Lugosi crush) Garry's thoughts on how AARP needs to let us live in denial as long as possible and of course beating up a little bit on the radio industry in light of the recent "iHeart Media Massacre." Add in a bit about the hit FX show "The Bear" featuring a cameo by "The Walt Disney of Weather" Tom Skilling and the fact that 99% of the fireworks we use to celebrate our Independence Day every 4th of July come from China and... well, you'll have to listen and figure it out for yourself.