My birthday week continues with the memory of my 70th birthday party, which my daughters, Candis and Cami, organized and hosted at the Airport Hilton in my favorite city, San Diego.
The invites were going out to folks all over the country so we weren’t sure how many would be able to attend. (Candis and Cami pictured with me above)

However, because the party was to be a “Toast & Roast,”  it brought some early enthusiastic responses.
Jeff ‘n Jer responded with a “Hell Yes,” and Delilah commented, “I’ve been waiting for my whole career to roast George Johns.” Candis even talked Hall 0f Famer, Ron Chapman, into being the Master of Ceremonies.
Ron was a perfect choice; he knew me well and has done a lot of MC work over the years. Hell, he even introduced Ronald Reagan to the Republicans gathered as their next President.
Surprisingly, Ron, seemed a little nervous when he said to me, “George, there’s nothing but legends here.” (Pictured above at the party, L-R, Nance Chapman, Ron, me, Linda  Duffy, Cami, her friend Brynn, and sister Candis.)Looking as stunning as ever, Betsy Cameron said, “When George and I worked for Joe Amaturo, he ignored me.”
“Eventually,” she went on to say, “I confronted him and said, George, I’m a six-foot blonde lawyer who is not used to being ignored. She then claimed that I responded with, It’s just my way of hitting on you baby”.
Her husband, Barry Smith, remarked that he realized right away when he met me, that I would be an acquired taste. (Betsy and me pictured above.)

What a great party, folks from all over North America showed up including one of my best friends, Canadian Hall of Famer, Gary Russell who interrupted his Honeymoon to be there.
Gary and I go all the way back to when I first became a PD, and Gary became the first Dee-Jay I ever hired. (Gary pictured above with me at the party)Gary’s Brother, Chuck McCoy, another Canadian Hall of Famer was also in attendance and recalled the day we sat around my office at CKY in Winnipeg trying to come up with a new name for him.
Chuck was headed to Regina to become a top 40 Jock and we both agreed that Merv Vidler wasn’t gonna cut it.
At the time, the McCoys had a huge hit on the charts called “Hang On Sloopy, and because we both adored the talented Chuck Riley, it all came together nicely. Chuck also claimed that I told him that if he was gonna be a real rock jock, he needed a ragtop. He said he got one the very next day and has had one ever since.</em (Photo of me and Chuck above)Group Head Gary Miles, who graciously presented me with an old RCA mic, which I treasure, was another Canadian who made the trek down to San Diego from the frozen Tundra.
Gary recalled bringing me to Toronto to speak to his management group at Rogers Radio about how to motivate talent. After I finished speaking he said to me, “George, even though we didn’t pay you, I still feel like we overpaid.” (Gary pictured above)Ron Chapman claimed that even though I was his boss for over ten years, he doesn’t remember me ever giving him a direct order.
However, he went on to say, somehow though, we always did what George wanted.(Ron and me pictured above shortly after I had inducted him into his 3rd  Hall Of Fame)A couple of great GMs honored me by showing up. Tom Hoyt brought my favorite wine with him, and Roy Laughlin brought his famous and beautiful wife Ellen K.
Ellen, of course, was and still is, tearing up morning radio in LA.(Tom Hoyt, pictured above with me) Bob Christy, who saw me playing with my band, The Jury in Grand Forks long before either of us got into radio made an appearance and brought along his scrumptious wife, Jan.
Janny Cakes gave me one of those full-body birthday hugs that she knows I love. ( (Jan and Bob pictured above) David Wolfe was the closest thing we had to a salesperson at the birthday bash.
David recalled the day we ran a 10K  in Balboa Park. Unfortunately, when we finished the race, the brand new Mercedes David had borrowed from my brother Reg was gone. (David and me shown above, not yet aware that Reg’s Mercedes is no longer where we left it) Jim Hilliard reminisced about our long radio journey together, which began in 1963 and ended August 3rd, 1981 when he claims I screwed him. Somehow this story keeps coming up whenever we’re together, and he especially likes to tell it while introducing me to someone new.
Jim’s gorgeous wife, Barbara, who long ago decided that she was my adopted sister, was also there, and as usual, she scolded me for my choice of women. (Jim and Barbara pictured above.)My old radio partner Bill Yde also came to the party. Bill recently sold his company for enough cash that I’m spending most of my waking hours looking for some documents that still link us. (Bill pictured above.)Gordon Zlot was also there and he brought with him, Bobby Cole and Brent Farris, who flew from Santa Rosa with him in his personal jet.
Bobby claims that he had three great stories, but Ron rejected them as not being Daughter appropriate. Thanks, Ron.
Brent Farris brought along several bottles of Sonoma County’s finest wine, so he got to speak.(Shown above with me at our annual “Confab in the Desert” at Gordon’s home in Palm Springs) Hey, surprise, surprise, even the reclusive radio legend Jack McCoy showed up, and he wasn’t wearing black.
Jack wanted to know if anybody noticed what day it was that I had gone from being a very quiet, unassuming guy he first met in 1971 to the obnoxious angry person I am today? (Jack pictured above with me at the party)My good friend Reid Reker was there, but he declined to speak out of fear of retaliation. Oh yeah, and he’s the only person I can think of that’s not telling me that I should write a book. (Reid pictured above)
Candis explained that one of the painful lessons she’d learned early on was, “Never use the words her Dad told her she should, even if they seemed perfect for the situation at hand.”
She went on to explain that no matter how perfect the words appeared to be, as soon as she spoke them, it always turned out badly, and in fact, she’s still in therapy about it all.
Reid later told her he had complete sympathy for her because not only did things turn out badly for him whenever he used my words, people also started hitting him.(Candis pictured above with me in Burbank last year on our Birthdays)My Brother Reg brought along a few peeps, his computer genius partner Hamid Badiozamani, his CFO Barb Lovenguth, and sales guy Sam James.
When Reg spoke, he leaned into the mic and asked if the person who taught his Brother how to email was in the room? If so, could they please raise their hand because he’d like to kill them?</em(Reg and me pictured above)

The party was great fun, and thankfully the “Roasting,” I suspect, turned into more of a “Toasting” because of the presence of my Daughters, and my Niece Christina.
Not only did their attendance tame things down, but it also forced the appearance of the other George Johns, the only one they know, the wimpy one. Most of the folks at the party said some very nice things, and I did feel the love in the room, but then again, these folks are professional actors, so I’m not turning my back on any of them.
I won’t go into all the drama that occurred as we were making our way to San Diego from West Palm Beach when Cami had to be taken off the plane in Dallas by the paramedics but that’s another story for another time.(Photo above is me and my Daughters thanking everyone for coming.)

A year or so ago, I decided to try pay off all my credit cards by refinancing my million dollar view condo. (see above)
Upon doing so, my credit score jumped up into the upper 700s which was in the very good to excellent range.

However, I’ll never forget the pain I went through. Whew!
I had to answer a ton of questions plus submit reams and reams of paperwork.

Then, several months later when I was finally approved, the mortgage company sent me a bunch of checks made out to my debtors that I had to sign and then forward them.
That’s when things began to spiral downward because American Express couldn’t find the check for the ten grand I’d sent them. What!

Thank God I had a copy of the canceled check that showed that they had deposited it, but I was still responsible for the debt as they continued to search for it.
When I mentioned all this to my Nephew Jamie, who’s the Executive Vice President of CSX Railway, he said, “Hey, I know the president of American Express,” and just like that, it was all cleared up.

“Is this going anywhere,” you’re probably asking?
Well, interestingly enough, two things happened after my new mortgage was in place, my credit score went up, and the new interest rates went down.

The next thing I knew, I was getting offers from everywhere, claiming that I could save a ton of money by refinancing again.
However, remembering all the pain I went through before, I was very hesitant.

Finally, my curiosity got the best of me, so I agreed to talk to one of them.
When he told me that I was qualified to get a lower interest rate, I told him to go ahead and crunch the numbers.

After doing so, he informed me that he had rolled the closing costs into the loan so I wouldn’t be out of pocket.
And then he said that with my new interest rate, I’d be saving $49 a month.

When I asked him what the closing costs were, he said, “A little over $6000.00.”
Then when I asked, “Now Why the hell would I want to do that?” All I heard was crickets! .

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

Wow! So one of the rape accusers of Judge Kavanaugh, recently confessed that she lied and, in fact, had never even met the Judge. What I’m pissed about is that somehow her lying under oath isn’t a big deal. Hey, maybe that’s just one of the reasons why all women don’t have pay equality?

It’s better to be the person who questions things rather than the one who claims to have all the answers. 

When someone attempts to post something inappropriate on Facebook, you’d think that not letting it post would be sufficient. Unfortunately, I guess the Zuck is an S&M kinda guy.

Just because the law can’t prove it, it doesn’t mean that they’re not guilty.

California is definitely not as beautiful as I remember. 

I think radio has finally moved from being a career to being just another job. 

Speaking of radio, Why do the executives make so much more than those who came before them? Not only did radio sound much better then, but it was also very profitable.

It’s easier to destroy than create.

According to a few of my Canadian friends, America is in turmoil. The unrest I see only exists in the media until the BLM marches show up. That’s when the looting and destruction also begin..

If I were a singer, I’d try to sound like one of the Beatles; it’s impossible to sound like Sinatra.

Just once I’d like to see an ‘R’ rated James Bond movie.

Can you roll it over to Monday if you didn’t get a chance to start drinking early on the weekend?

For many reasons, I don’t take advice well, and in fact, I’m pretty sure the only advice I’ve ever heeded came from my long-time mentor, Jim Hilliard. I don’t remember what it was. 

Adding the word extra to average doesn’t add up to extraordinary.

When all is finally equal, I’m gonna love not hearing; they were the first Black, Hispanic, or Female to do whatever. Where the hell were they

Your changing even the tiniest part of the world today could become colossal tomorrow.

All Lawyers are slime till you need one.

When I lived in Indianapolis, our traffic reporter on WIBC was Sergeant Jim Wells; then he became Lieutenant Jim Wells, followed by Captain Jim Wells, and finally Sheriff Jim Wells. The neat thing about his becoming Sheriff was when he gave me his card and  said, “George, if any of my people ever pull you over, just give them this card, and they’ll make sure that you get home safely.”

You can’t cheat an honest man.

Big Pharma is the bad guy in most movies, but somehow the government hasn’t noticed yet. Maybe they’re blinded by the contributions that enable them to buy mansions? How do you like yours, Obama?

Digital makes sense until you look at a clock.

Men do what they do for pussy, women for security. They’re both wrong.

Being born in Canada, occasionally, I check out the CFL to see how the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are doing. The other day I discovered that the Edmonton Eskimos changed their name to the Elks. What!

Speaking of the CFL, I see that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers still have the best record in the Canadian Football League. Go Big Blue and Happy Thanksgiving.

It’s not paranoia if you’re right, right?

A lot of people would prefer not to know what they don’t want to know.

You learn the most from what came before you.

It seems to me that for whatever reason, the left loves to hate.

Only the mirror tells the truth all the time.

Wow! A traffic controller’s walkout caused all the plane delays on the east coast, huh? I wonder if any of them heard what happened to all the traffic controllers when Ronnie was President, they never got to come back.

COMMENTS

Wendy from Winnipeg: Looks like you’ve had a wonderful life, George! Congratulations! (They Say It’s Ur Birthday)
Geo: I have, Wendy, but those Sunday nights were wonderful too.

Geo’s Media Blog is a politically incorrect look at Radio, TV, Music, Movies, Politics, and Life. For a sneak peek at some upcoming Blogs or to see some that you may have missed, go to Geo’s Media Blog @ GeorgeJohns.com.
On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is encouraged and appreciated.

As you read this, I’m getting ready to go on another plane and train adventure.
This time, I’m flying to San Jose where I’ll hook up with my lifelong mentor, Jim Hilliard, and his lovely wife Barb. 

I think that one of the most fun things I ever saw was a Road Runner run across the road in front of us on route 66 when we were moving from Indy to San Diego. The damn thing looked just like the cartoon.

COMMENTS

James Danielwicz: Too many beautiful ladies for me. (Let’s Hear it from The Girls Part 3)
Geo: Do up your seatbelt, James, we’re only half done, three more pages to go.

Larry Macinnis: So many great insights there George, especially “Attention to detail is what makes lucky people lucky,” and “If you want to a shot at the golden ring, you need a strong #2.” (Nothing But Life-Liners)
Geo: Watching me while I work, Eh! Thanks for the early read, Larry.Doug Thompson: George, I’d be honoured to grab a meal or a brew or two with you anytime you’re in Toronto. (I’m A Bucket List Junkie)
Geo: All going well and they let me into Canada, Doug, it looks like I may be in Toronto on April 22 for a couple of days. Would love to see you.

Debbie Martin: Have a great adventure, my Friend! (Bucket List Junkie)
Geo: Thank you, Miss Debbie, miss you. xogeoxo

Geo’s Media Blog is a politically incorrect inside look at Radio, TV, Music, Movies, Politics, and Life. For a sneak peek at some upcoming Blogs or to see some that you may have missed, go to Geo’s Media Blog @ GeorgeJohns.com.
On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Not only is sharing and commenting encouraged, it’s also appreciated.

During the ’90s, I worked in Boston at WVBF/WCLB, in the Prudential Tower which was in the Back Bay.
I lived a couple of blocks away on the corner of Gloucester and Newbury, which was just down the street from Daisy Buchanan’s.

Now what made Daisy’s special was all the college girls from the neighboring Universities who hung out there.
These lovely ladies couldn’t help but attract a few of Boston’s Super Stars like Larry Bird from the Celtics, Cam Neely and Derek Sanderson from the Bruins, Mo Vaughn from the Red Sox, and Drew Bledsoe, the Quarter Back of the New England Patriots. (See Drew below)Being a pocket passer, Drew never traveled anywhere without his linemen and backup QB, Scott Zolak in tow.
Whenever these guys were at Daisy’s, it was a fun night for my buddy Bob Christy and me as we downed a few while sharing a ton of laughs with them.

After having a nice dinner upstairs at Ciao Bella’s, Bob and I decided to pop down to Daisy’s for a nightcap before heading home.
When we got down there, the place was jumpin’ and filled to the brim with all kinds of “pretty things.” Luckily though, we found a couple of empty stools down at the end of the bar where some Patriots were holding court.

However, probably because we’d consumed more than a few glasses of wine at Cia Bella’s, it wasn’t long until Bobby was painfully saying, “Damn, I gotta take a wiz, but how the hell am I gonna get through this crowd?”
At that moment, the Patriot’s right tackle, Todd Ruschi, who weighed in at least 300 pounds, effortlessly lifted his tiny wife off his lap and said, “Follow me, Robert; I do this for a living.”

As I think back about all those fun days in Boston, I can’t help but wonder what Drew Bledsoe thought the day Tom Brady showed up at his first practice? (Drew and Tom shown above)
Like us, I’m sure that he had no idea that he’d be rewriting the NFL history book.

So far, Mr. Brady has played in 10 Superbowls, won 7, and was the MVP in 5 of them.
Tom’s also been selected to the pro bowl team 14 times and the Buccaneers (2-1-0) are the odds on favorite to win the Superbowl again this year.

Not bad for an old guy who had to start over with a new team last year because the Patriot’s brass thought that he was over.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he also had to kick the asses of future Hall Of Famers Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers, and Patrick Mahomes so he could add another ring to his already vast collection.

Here’s to the GOAT who goes back to New England on my birthday next Sunday to take on his old team, the New England Patriots. Go, Bucks!

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

So if Tom Brady as he predicts,plays into his 50s, how confident are the Patriots about what Jersey he’ll be wearing when he’s inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Speaking of football, other than being politically correct, what purpose do you suppose the pretty women on all the football pre-game shows serve?

Also speaking of football again, I’m happy to see that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are leading the western division in the CFL. Go Big Blue!

Well, I guess the Christmas season has begun, I just saw my first ad for discounted Christmas trees.

Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder may have been blind, but nobody had more vision than they did.

Why would young people vote for a bunch of old people?

Very few see what you see.

When someone says, “Hey, no pressure,” it usually means that there’s a lot of pressure about to come down.
It’s kinda like somebody saying, “No problem, Man,” you know that there’s gonna be more than a few problems showing up.

Did you know that when asked to describe themselves, white people are the only ones who don’t begin their description with what race they are?

I find it strange that our government hasn’t noticed that we pay more for prescription drugs than any other nation.

Before being allowed to make a political statement on social media, a person should have to declare whether they’re a Republican or a Democrat.

Speaking of slimy politicians, I wish they’d stop bugging us for money. Why don’t they use the money the lobbyists gave them instead of buying mansions.

Having two daughters, I’m all for women’s rights until the ladies have more rights than I do.

I need somebody to explain why most black folks speak the same as those in any country but America?

The most significant difference between a Kia and a Ferrari is the price.

It’s easy to blame everyone but yourself.

So do I have this right, Biden thinks it’s ok that Mexicans swarm our border but not Haitians? Sounds a little racist to me

I never knowingly imposed my will on my children as my parents did. However, in hindsight, that may not have been a good thing.

COMMENTS

Douglas Herman: George, re our FCC attorney John King: He kicked ass for us because he was a RADIO GUY long before becoming a lawyer. I worked in Radio with John even before he went to law school. He and I met each other at the University of Nebraska School of Journalism. We worked together at Lincoln, Nebraska’s KLIN AM/FM, a leading adult-oriented entertainment and news station. I was the piss-poor PD and even more piss-poor morning man; John was a news guy in Lincoln’s biggest and best radio news department. We were both getting paid (not very well) to learn the Radio craft. We both learned it pretty well, and John found a different route to taming the Radio beast. I hope we both left positive marks on the business. (New Mother Nature)
Geo: Both of you sure helped me kick a little radio ass, Doug; I’m pretty positive about that!

John King: Doug Herman, you are too humble. You and news director Dick Benedict breathed new life into a staid and tired program service. There was, as they say, excitement in the air. The stations’ owners wondered that they gave the mic over to young guys like you and me. Yeah, we were cheap, but I think they were attracted to the fresh vim and vigor we brought in the door. (New Mother Nature)

Geo’s Media Blog is a politically incorrect look at Radio, TV, Music, Movies, Politics, and Life. For a sneak peek at some upcoming Blogs or to see some that you may have missed, go to Geo’s Media Blog @ GeorgeJohns.com.
On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is encouraged and appreciated.