Progress In Terre Haute?

I am in favor of progress and the idea of making money. Don't get me wrong, we need to better our work environment, blah blah blah.

I see that a local landmark is scheduled to be destroyed in favor of a parking lot! That's right, a parking lot to serve the new building which will replace another parking lot. (...)

Here's a picture of the building that is being razed. It's been around since 1890. Around here, it's a landmark! Since 1953, it's been the only home for Terre Haute's WTHI-TV and its radio stations.   During college, I worked in this building for an inglorious two years. Still, it's sad to see the place reduced to rubble.

In with the new!~

The new place, a McStructure, will be a three story building and will house the radio stations on a portion of the 3rd floor, but not the TV station. The new place will cost $5.7 million with the city kicking in $375,000. The city is gaga over the new building. Good for them. It shouldn't take long for them to recoup the money through property taxes.

Bottom line for me is that the old place is (for me) a landmark and should be left alone. It's been there for over 100 years and it's in good shape and it could be used for something.  This will be profitable for the out-of-state owners of the radio stations.  They sell their building, (make some $) then rent a small portion in the new building, then sell the radio stations! (Make some more $.)

I mention that the old building is in good shape, well, it is, except for the air conditioning system. When I worked there, it was on a part time basis. I've long suspected that full time exposure to the air conditioning in that building caused egos to expand to dangerous levels.

I may be wrong...but I don't think so.

The Latest Radio Reincarnation Of Ronn Mott!

It happened, it really happened! Ronn Mott is back on the radio! I must confess that he told me this would happen, I didn't believe him. Last week, he visits me on the car lot to give me the news - he's doing mornings on WPFR 1480AM in Terre Haute. He offered me an open invitation to join him at any time. While I know I'll take him up on the offer, I can't tell Mrs. General Tom. She doesn't want me anywhere near a microphone.

Actually, I'm listening to him, right now. I must say that I have never heard him sound better! He just played Joe Williams - "Don't Get Around Much Anymore!" Where the hell else will you hear stuff like that? He'll also play some newer stuff...like from the '60s and the '70s!

So, why's he doing this? The guy's no spring chicken! He wakes up in the middle of the night and travels half an hour to work and plays music for three hours and then hits the road to sell commercials for tomorrow's show. I'll tell you why he's doing this - he does it because he loves doing this. You can tell when you listen to him on the radio. What is this? A guy who loves his job? If you ever listened to the guy on the radio or if you are lucky enough to know him, you'll know that Ronn Mott is no normal human.

White Castle: It's A Record!

Hawking burgers for less than a week, the new White Castle in Terre Haute has set a record, selling 60,000 burgers in it's first two days. This is according to a local TV station which didn't bother to tell us what the old record was, where it was set or how many burgers a typical White Castle normally sells in an area the size of Terre Haute.

Good selling!
Mediocre reporting!

I stopped by on Wednesday night a picked up a half dozen slyders. They were done by the time I got home. This means I get about 3 miles per.

So, White Castle, congratulations on your record, especially considering that Dog 'n Suds and Sonic both went belly-up in the same location!

Cool Deals!

This is what 7 inches of snow looks like. Click the picture for the full effect. Shouldn't we be plowing the snow away from the cars? What do I know?

It's unusual for us to get this much snow at one time. Within 48 hours, it should be melted. In the meantime, there's no school today and from the looks of it - we won't be selling many cars.

Ronn Mott

I've got to stop answering my phone on Sundays. During the week I don't have a choice, but on my lone day off, I really don't need to hear any bad news. I got a call from old buddy, Ronn Mott, yesterday, Sunday. I always enjoy talking with Mott. Somewhere above the BS, you always know where you stand with the guy. Well, Ronn gives me some bad news. He's been working at an oldies station in Terre Haute/Rockville for the past ten years and he's been laid off. Others were also let go including Bryan Thomas (Hayden) - another Terre Haute Radio Celebrity and the sales consultant who's been calling on our business for more than 10 years.

Just last week I was listening to Ronn and he made a comment - on the air - that when a business fails, it rots from above - from the top, down. This makes sense. After all, the big shots do the hiring. They do the managing. If they do their jobs correctly, things thrive. If they do not do their jobs correctly, what happens? Ronn Mott gets laid off.
For those of you who don't know who the hell Ronn Mott is, I'll tell you who the hell he is. He's been in broadcasting for 54 years! Ten of those years at WAXI where he was laid off. The anal cavities who laid him off were not even born when Ronn was knockin' 'em dead at KIOA in Des Moines as Ronn Pepper. Here's a picture of Mott from '62.


Ronn, sorry, man. I've been where you are now - more than once. That's why I left radio. You were WAXI's best weapon in the fight against XM and the satellite jukeboxes.
Idea! -> Let's watch WAXI slide a little further and buy it! I'm thinking that we won't have to wait long!