“Hi Jack! It’s good to see you again. This looks like a nice community.”
“Thanks, Pete. We like it. Kevin, I’m Jack Jackson. Uncle Steve told me a lot about you. I’m really glad you took the time to see what we’re doing.”
“Jack, it’s my pleasure. Your uncle was an excellent radio man, which sound like an inherited family trait! I had a lot of fun working with Steve and learned a lot from him. Pete and I have been talking, but we decided we wanted to hear from you and the station’s leadership first.”
“I appreciate that, Kevin. Pete, I understand you have a game to call remotely tonight?”
“That’s right. Hopefully everything will work. I brought a microphone and the remote interface to do the broadcast from my hotel room. As long as we get a good signal and I know what’s coming next in the game, we should be fine. If not, Kathy Jones is on standby, just in case.”
“Wow, that sounds interesting. I want to hear more about that. Let’s go ahead an order so you can get out of here on time. Since its Friday, I’d suggest the fish – it's caught locally.”
Kevin smiled, “That sounds like a great start, Jack. Let’s eat.”
----
Friday night had a familiar routine for Jake and Emjay Bauer. The COVID kept them from eating out like they enjoyed, and since Emjay was getting close to her due date, they took no chances.
Jake took care of dinner, firing up the gas oven for homemade pizza and bread sticks. Emjay like it, because she could sit in her favorite chair and watch him prepare the meal.
“Honey?” Jake called from the kitchen, “we’ve got a few things saved on the DVR I thought we could watch this evening if you like. I saved a Stevie Nicks concert at Red Rocks and a movie I think you’ll like. It’s called “Lady and the Tramp,” and the similarity is striking.”
As Jake laughed at his own joke, Emjay slowly walked in the kitchen. “That sounds OK, but shouldn’t we be eating spaghetti?”
“We are going to use the breadsticks instead, my dear. It should be ready in 45 minutes.”
---
As Jack Jackson finished telling Storm and Moss the history of the station, he looked across the table,
“Despite all the struggles, the station has been a strong part of Ironwood and provided a nice way of life for our family, I hope you can give us ideas on how that continues.”
Kevin looked at Pete before speaking. “Jack, we’re in the same boat. Radio is day to day and week to week. You have a presence that any media company would kill for; I hope before we leave Tuesday that we identify some things you can do that will keep the station strong for the next decade. If you have time Jack, could you give me the nickel tour of Ironwood?”
“That’s a good idea, Kevin,” Pete said. “I better get going. What time do we meet tomorrow?”
Jack looked at his phone, “How about 6:55 at the station. We’re right downtown – I'll leave the door open for you.”
“Excellent, see you then,” Pete replied.
---
Jake pulled the bread sticks from the oven, set them on a platter next to marinara sauce, and walked into the living room where Emjay was waiting.
“Mmm, smells good, Jake. I’ve got the concert cued up, are you ready?”
“Go ahead, I’m going to have a Leinie’s, what do want?”
“Water is fine, thanks.” Emjay clicked play and Nicks sang “Outside the Rain.”
---
It took Pete a few minutes to connect the microphone interface to his laptop, plug in the mike and create a sound booth out of the extra blankets in his room and the quilts he carries in the car for just this kind of emergency.
Pete thought the station connection was good and the primary window on the laptop screen would show him the game. Vicki was producing tonight, using text messages to send notes to Pete during the broadcast, Coach Suter was in studio A across the glass from Vicki.
“Vick? Just checking here, I’ll be able to see the game and stats on the computer screen and hear Pete in real time on my headphones like all the games we do, is that right?”
“That’s it, coach. Hopefully no one can tell the difference at the end of the game. The pregame show was recorded yesterday. It’s nearly done, after the commercial break, you and Pete are live on the air.
If you need me, toggle you mike switch to cue and I can hear you.”
“Let’s play ball, Vicki!”
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