A CALL TO ARMS

I just got off a rousing round at the forums over at <WKRPinCincinnatiBlog.com> and I must say the support you all have for me is warmly and deeply felt. The Internet is the greatest advancement for the human species, and its good to know all my buddies in Cyber Land got my back when the flak comes beaucoup. Just because some peck o’ wood sees fit to use the world wide web for slander and hate-mongering, it does not and will not deter upright tax paying citizens and Decorated Veterans our Constitutional Right to enjoy our enthusiasm for that fine program WKRP In Cincinnati. Across the Internet fans of WKRP are uniting, banding together and rising up the banner as a people’s cyber-militia. One conversation in particular I had with my good buddy and fellow vet fire4fever over at WKRP in Cincinnati blog stood out for me. We served together and were reminiscing about the ‘Nam, and through all the names, Sarge., Goodall, Corp. Whitelaw, and Stodges, he broke off into a long pause and out of the middle distance, unexpectedly reels into the strangest idea.

“When The Doctor was on the air, he seemed to always come alive, you know what I mean? Its as though he were becoming complete for the first time. It was a look that came over him and I’ve seen it before. In Paan Nang back in ‘67 when we were nearly ambushed doing recon in the foothills. You remeber…The look on Stodges’ face, you were there… back then… “

And I knew exactly what he was talking about. We had both traveled immediately to that moment in the past that neither of us had spoken about since, nor could we, if we could even find words, but we had both blacked it out, simply as a survival instinct.

“We ALL knew full well what was going on with Stodges,” he continued, “he’d been in it deep for weeks now, it was starting to just seem normal” He was speaking of the mental state that Stodges had been slipping into, and we all had seen it before, like many a young recruit serving in the ‘Nam for the first time and living under inhuman circumstances on a daily basis he was suffering the initial stages of PTS and was gripped under a psychosis we all witnessed the onslaught of but were powerless in our own struggles for survival, to intervene with or help. He was able, as if by remote control, to fulfill all his duties and remain at the ready as we were constatly under fire, yet he had adopted, casually, a strikingly disturbing trait. Sometime in the chaos of battle, and in the wreakage of his deepest mind something had already snapped. He had become a cannibal. At first it was like a joke, he did it so casually.We were surrounded by death 24 hours a day, so the humour turned sort of dark, another cruel survival instinct the mind comes up with under duress.One day Stodges comes up to us all around the fire and he’s holding a tiny arm, a baby’s arm charred from where it was blown off, and jokingly he’s holding it like bugs bunny with a carrot and he’s chewing the end, tearing off peices and eating them and making the same “nyahhh, nyeahhh” noises, grinning a cold blooded macabre grin like skin peeling off a skull roasting in the sun Its not something a civilian can comprehend. Stodges was still the most A1 Front Line Honor Roll blood and guts soldier any of us had ever seen and I have yet to see a more steadfastedly efficient combatant nor more fearless warrior since. We trusted him with our lives no matter how low he sank And he had that same look, the look on his face like Johnny Fever would get years later on WKRP. No matter how bat-shit crazy and whatever regrettable actions he may had taken in the past, he was a soldier, first and foremost, bound by duty, to Search and Destroy in the name of Rock And Roll.”

And you know what? He always did, no matter what. That’s why WKRP has always had a large and loyal following amongst our armed forces personnel, especially for me, a vet and DOUBLE AMPUTEE, it is for its accurate and sympathetic portrayal in the character Johnny Fever, of vets living at home and the challenges we face on a daily basis. With that in mind it would be preposterous to challenge the faith and passion of the many thousands of Americans loyal to Land, Liberty, and WKRP

NAILED IT!!!

As you know I took a little mini sabbatical from my piano studies last week. But look here what happened when I returned to my song! BOOM-RIGHT UPSIDE YO HEAD! I FINALLY GOT IT! check this out….(in your face streetboners!)

sometimes all you really have to do is just take a step back and breath…it is all it took for me to get WKRP right, I didn’t bother practicing or nothing all week, I didn’t even watch any of my ‘KRP boxset DVDs, I just fucked the dog and look what happens…Even though I basically knew I had the song down “pat” all along, I will admit it sounds “proper good” now. Indeed, I must say, it’s a very satisfying feeling.

So… While it is true that I have gone as far as I can with “WKRP” and I now know all there is to know about the piano, negating the need for me to study it any further, I realize that there are my legions of supporters following this plog, and I will, despite my lack of need to do so, carry on! If only for your, you the reader’s own benefit. So stay tuned, my babies, as the good doctor would say, for I have more exciting piano music to regail you with in the weeks to come. Yes it is true, I have found even more piano books at the library and, even though I am saving it for a surprise (hint, hint), I will return here in days to come with a new and even more exciting favorite from that golden era of popular music piano books…the 1980s. I promise to amaze you with my piano skills with a brand new, totally retro, top-secret surprise addition to my repertoire. (slaver, drool)

INSPIRATIONAL...

ONE NATION UNDER GOD AND THE MIGHTY 'KRP!

HANDING DOWN THE MANTLE

This one really puts the "Classic" back in "Classic Rock"

This talented youngster is sure to give Staind and Nickleback a run for thier collective monies. Keep an ear open for this mysterious dark horse. (I don't know the artist's name; if it is you, and you are reading this please contact me immediately)

THE RETURN OF THE “MAC”

As many of you have probably already noticed, The beloved WKRP BLOG that you all know and love so well, has been on hiatus for some time now. Seeing as I had to go into the hospital and have been otherwise incapacitated since last winter, your buddy, me, hasn’t had the time to update this here WKRP BLOG even though, as you well know, many earth-shaking ‘KRP related news events have transpired since then. I promise that I will do my best to get to each and every item of hard WKRP news and give my usual in depth coverage and ask the questions to the answers you need to know regarding all things WKRP!

Also, while I was in the Veteran’s Admin. Hospital I had time to do some serious thinking as to the very nature of this Blog, this thing that seems to breath a life of its own, its more than just a fan page, or tribute. It reminds me of the great honour roll that they will read out under old glory, in these fateful days to come. You see, I was “inside” having my gall bladder removed (apparently you don’t need one?) and 35% of my pelvis excised, due to that nasty bit of gangrene I picked up last summer somewhere. Doc says I probably got an infection in my wound when I went to the annual Veterans for A Better America BBQ weekender. since I am a DOUBLE AMPUTEE, and basically everything under my waist is referred to as my “wound” its not hard to imagine, when sitting in a musty tent and drinking plenty for 4 days straight, that a body can pick up a microbe or two. any ways, long story short, if the gangrene returns that could spell permanent sayonara for yours truly, so Doc has me on a strict antibiotic regime and boozing is Verbotten!

But its great really! The nurses at the VA are all top drawer, sweet as pie, and keeping that place spic and span, spit-shiny and fine form so’s the doctors and more importantly, the brave defenders of this great nation’s freedom, can rest easy and enjoy the comforts that this administration would gladly rip from under us in favour of funding its coddled affirmative action programs or some other hippy pinko bullshit. It makes me sick, it really does. and that’s in a HOSPITAL! Now that I’m back in civvies, the outlook seems grim! If it weren’t for the fine folks at HandyDart, and the miracle of Internet Technology, I shudder to think that these subtle terrors would move forward unchallenged. But NO! Says I! I Shall Return (to paraphrase the great MacArthur) To The Library! To Get The New WKRP Season 2 Complete DVD BOX SET I Put on hold! And to the pharmacy to get my meds! and the welfare office! because, if I have to get it together to get out the house, I better do all my errands, because getting around with no legs, and 65% of a pelvis, and no gall bladder, well, its a bitch, son!

 

 So it looks like I’m down for the “long haul” and that’s a good thing because WKRP needs us, this thing of ours, and it looks like I’ve got nothing but time on my hands to moderate, facilitate and disseminate the good news that is the mighty 'KRP. stay tuned my babies, for I will post regularly, but for now, its just plain old good to be back