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General here,
I said good-bye to a friend last night. We’ve only known each other 4 or 5 months, but we had a lot of fun this summer. It wasn’t easy pulling the plug on something that had become pretty special - but as we get older, we have to accept these inalienable truths about life. Seasons change.
So - with a heavy heart - standing in the darkness of my garage - I looked my near-empty beer fridge in the door…and pulled the plug.

The gentle hum that had been there all summer fell silent - and the 2 crappy beers left over from a party in June started to warm up.

And it’s a beauty beer fridge too - with a 245 bottle capacity - though not even I could justify purchasing 10 two-fours to fill it.
But it was hard. To say it was the hardest thing I had to do all evening would be an understatement.
I keep telling myself - this isn’t Goodbye - it’s just See ya next Summer - but that’s not helping right now.

Good Day! Gord here, and a few weeks back I bloged about saying goodbye to summer by putting away my shorts for the year. I have come to regret that decision as for the last week and a half it has been really warm outside and I’m wearing long pants.

Why don’t you just switch back you say? I take this changeover very seriously. I consult with the weather people at 680 News, The Weather Network, Environment Canada and the Farmer’s Almanac. I take ground, water and air samples and launch weather balloons all in an effort to make an informed choice as to my leg-wear.

To simply switch back will go against decades of tradition of the Rennie Family stubbornness. So I will suffer in silence until the weather changes to actual Fall-like temperatures.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go to the mall to get a life.

Hi de hoe neighbour :
It has been one crazy week at radio ranch.  I had a wild Wednesday.  It started in Burlington as I hosted the CIBC Run for the Cure barbeque and bake sale.  I heard from my friend  Helen Wylie that we all raised over $1600.00 for breast cancer research.
Then I was whisked away by Gord in the station van we call “The Pig Pen” to Niagara College.  I was greeted by my old friend Tom Otto who is one of the instructors.  He led me into the bowels of Niagara College into a huge classroom with about 20 kids ready for higher learning.  I’m not sure if they learned anything in those two hours.  They laughed at all the times I’ve been fired and how much trouble I’ve been into over my 36 years of radio.  We talked about being passionate about your work and your life. We talked about women in broadcasting and what makes you unique on the radio.  One very enterprising young man even asked about how much I made.  I told him flatly $68,000.00 plus anything I find on the floor.  If that class is the future of Canadian broadcasters…the future looks very bright.
I told this joke at the end of one show this week.  If you missed it here it is again.
Love ya, buh-bye
Coop

Pavarotti is standing at the Pearly Gates.
 
St Peter opens them and says ‘Oh it’s you Luciano, come on in, squeeze through’.
Pavarotti says ‘Hold on, I’ve got an envelope for you, from the Pope.’

St Peter opens it up and reads it.
 
‘HERE’S THAT TENOR I OWE YOU’

Gord here. Yesterday Mike and I left the CHFI studios and boarded the CHFI van bound for the Niagara region. I say boarded because the van is like a battleship, built for transport not for comfort as it is used to haul portable broadcast equipment for our live broadcasts like the Saturday Night Oldies Dance at the Old Mill.

Our first stop was in Burlington for a CIBC Run For The Cure BBQ Mike was hosting. CIBC provided the hot dogs and drinks for a donation, CHFI provided t-shirts and mugs for a donation, Mike provide his autograph and I provided my back for him to sign the t-shirts. Met a lot of great people and helped out a great cause.

Our next stop was to Niagara College, where Mike was speaking to a class of Radio students instructed by our good friend Tom Otto. Mike shared his 35+ years in the radio business and the stories Mike has are amazing. I’ve always said he should write a book, or have someone collect these great stories and put them in a book. Great class of amazing students, very bright and very interested in the radio business. You will be hearing from them on your radio in the future I’m sure.

Now it’s 6:15pm, Mike and I are in Wellend and need to pilot the battleship back home. The ride home was not as bad traffic-wise as we feared but still a major ride in. I tip my hat to anyone who does this commute on a regular basis, you’re a better person than I, as I would not be able to handle a day to day drive like that.

Now it’s 8pm and we’re at The Keg, catching the Blue Jays win over the Red Sox and all is good. Today I think I will go home after the show, play with my dog Piper and take a long afternoon nap.

Enjoy the great sunshine and warmth today as soon it will be gone…nice eh? Way to leave on a up note. I shouldn’t write these blogs at 4:30 in the morning.

General here…
We met Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas this morning - he came by after the show and taped a segment that we’ll run tomorrow. You know, in this business, you meet a good number of celebrities over the years - and some of them turn out to be real jerks - but not this guy - he is a super nice guy. I think Gord, Mike & I would even find him worthy of participating in one of our monthly wings & beer “meetings”.  
In fact, Erin said afterwards that it was one of the best interviews she had ever been a part of - and - AND - that she was so pumped that she might not be able to sleep this afternoon!
Ok - that’s crazy…too worked up to sleep?!
Not even if Eddie Van Halen had just given me guitar lessons would I forego a nap opportunity.
Anyway, I’m sure she’ll explain how her brain works in her journal tomorrow. But honestly, don’t miss Erin & Mike’s interview with Rob on tomorrow’s show - he is refreshingly funny, sincere and entertaining!

Hey hey, welcome to Monday and it’s Gord at the keyboard to start your week. Did I get your attention with the headline of the Oldies Dance from the Old Mill on Saturday? The only fall out from Saturday night was that a great time was had by all.

Those who have been to the Old Mill know what a great job Mike Cooper does hosting the show live on the dance floor and on the radio. He gets the crowd all wound up into a dancing frenzy, combined with The General’s mastery spinning the tunes. It leaves me with little to do but stand there and look pretty, some nights it’s a tall order believe me.

For those who haven’t been to the Old Mill for a CHFI Saturday Night Oldies Dance I strongly recommend going to the Old Mill’s website, here’s the link

http://www.oldmilltoronto.com/whatshappening.html#mike_cooper

If you like the great music of the 60’s and 70’s with a hint of 50’s for some flavour, you’ll have a great time.

We’ve only got a few dates left for the year, so hurry up and get your tickets now and see Mike Cooper and the Wiseguys live! It’s like Sesame Street on Ice, except for the ice part.

It is Friday! 
So much excitement about the film festival.  Another year passes and still Erin and George Clooney never meet.  I can’t stand the tension anymore.  If they don’t get together soon I think she might in desperation take a run at one of the Wise Guys.  

The only joke I can think of that has Georges name in it is the following… Enjoy Erin.
Mike Cooper
 
One day, when a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river, her thimble fell into the river. When she cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, “My dear child, why are you crying?”

The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and that she needed it to help her husband in making a living for their family.

The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble set with pearls. “Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.

The seamstress replied, “No.”

The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a silver thimble ringed with sapphires. “Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.

Again, the seamstress replied, “No.”

The Lord reached down again and came up with a simple leather thimble. “Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.

The seamstress replied, “Yes.”

The Lord was pleased with the woman’s honesty and gave her all three thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy.

Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the water. When the seamstress cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked her, “Why are you crying?”

“Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!”

The Lord went down into the water and came up with George Clooney. “Is this your husband?” the Lord asked.

“Yes!” cried the seamstress.

The Lord was furious. “You lied! That is an untruth!”

The seamstress replied, “Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said ‘no’ to George Clooney, you would have come up with Brad Pitt. Then if I said ‘no’ to him, you would have come up with my husband. Had I then said ‘yes,’ you would have given me all three. Lord, I’m not in the best of health and would not be able to take care of all three husbands, so THAT’S why I said ‘yes’ to George Clooney.

And so the Lord let her keep him.

The moral of this story is:
Whenever a woman lies, it’s for a good and honorable reason, and is always in the best interest of others.

General here…
So our youngest child just turned 3 and is not yet potty trained. The other 2 kids were trained by now, yet he’s still filling his Pull-ups.
I really don’t care - I say when he’s ready, he’ll catch on.
My mother-in-law says she had her children potty-trained by the time they were 9 MONTHS OLD.
I say bull.
She maintains it’s true - and is more than just a little proud of it…
Why is this a big deal? I can see the economic advantages - sure, I’d like to spend that diaper money elsewhere - but really - 9 months old? Who is she kidding? Is a child’s bladder control even fully developed at that age?
And even if it WAS true - what’s the point of giving them the ability to go potty if they can’t walk to the bathroom to do it?

Gord here and today it happened. Without fanfare or ceremony, I came to my unofficial end of summer… I put my shorts away for another year.

Everyone has their own markers for the end of summer. For many people it’s the first day school, for others it’s the first day of Fall. Mine is the day when I say goodbye to the legless pants for the year.

My fellow Wiseguy, The General, likes to wear his shorts well into the Fall season and I say good for him, as I have nothing else complimentary to say.

Goodbye Summer 2007, we hardly knew you! Please put in a kind word for us when you see Winter 2007.

General here…
Did you happen to catch the new show SHAYE on E! Channel, Sunday at 10pm? Probably not - there wasn’t a lot of buzz around it - but if you’ve ever wondered just what it takes to make it as an artist in the music business, I highly recommend it. I just really enjoyed it. I think they are three very cool and talented women - and could probably even give us Wiseguys a run for our money at the bar!
If you don’t know, Shaye is made up of 3 close friends - Kim Stockwood, Tara MacLean and Damhnait Doyle. You’ve heard their music here on CHFI - they sing “Happy Baby” and ”Lake of Fire”, to name a couple tunes.

My personal favourite is “Beauty” - a song about spreading your wings. I plan to repeatedly play this for my kids when they’re older and trying to find themselves as young people…I always get a lump in my throat when I hear it.

Anyway, I caught the first episode Sunday and was really impressed! It truly showed the reality of the business - one evening they’re playing to 10,000 people as part of the East Coast Music Awards, the next week they’re playing an Auto Show for a crowd of - maybe 100. 
On stage it’s all glitz and glam, but the reality is - they drive themselves from radio station to radio station to promote their album - they do their own hair and make-up before concerts - and during one show Tara MacLean had to perform holding her upset 3-week-old baby in a sling .
They really seem to “get it”, you know. If big success comes, great - if not, that’s ok too. They seem perfectly happy just to hang and sing together - whether it’s a concert hall or a kitchen party.
I like that. That’s very cool to me.
If you’d like to know more about Shaye, their website is: www.shayemusic.com