Johnnie’s Mom has gone HOME

My rational mind says she is gone … my heart can’t believe it.

My Mom went “HOME, home” on Friday night. She had been in the hospital for 2 weeks and finally decided time was too precious to prolong the tests and procedures.  She wanted to go home to be with my Dad, me, Steve and other family and friends.  Then, she said, she would be ready to go “HOME, home.”

We had 2 days to hug her, kiss on her, lay next to her and get comfort and words of advice from her.  We thank God for that gift and are comforted that we were able to fulfill her final wishes.  Anyone who knew her knew she was one special lady.  She wanted those who knew her to remember a day they talked, laughed or had a meal together.  She said she loved us all, hated to leave us, but … it was time.

Johnnie

Why aren’t we posting more updates?

Many of you have been asking for updates.

We haven’t been posting much because, since last Thursday, we’ve been spending  every day with Johnnie’s mom who is in the hospital.

So, thanks for understanding and, more importantly, thanks for keeping Johnnie’s mom in your thoughts.

So, you’ve been asking about …

… Bob Young and Fran Tate.

For the uninitiated:

Bob Young is the incredibly talented singer/songwriter/guitarist who did our “Steve & Johnnie, Johnnie & Steve” theme along with other memorable originals such as “Roll Me A Long One.”

Fran Tate is the 70-something ball of fire who has been our Barrow, Alaska bureau chief and gift-giving Easter Bunny to the kids at Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Now, the REST of the story ….

Bob Young, who had a VERY tough health year in 2010 became very ill again, late in ’11.  It honestly looked like he had lived his 9 lives but…SURPRISE!! After being hospitalized in critical condition for 2 months he was moved to a rehab facility.  For weeks he has been unable to speak.  His condition was “quiet and stable”.  Today his nurse told us he can talk and WANTS to talk to us!! What a wonderful surprise.  We also found out his phone was broken when he could hear me but, I couldn’t hear him.  Thank goodness his nurse was standing right there and said she would get maintenance on that asap as Bob WANTED to talk! I could hear it in her voice, she was pleased and yes, pleasantly surprised! We can’t wait til his phone is fixed and we can actually chat.  He will be tickled to know that you haven’t forgotten him and in fact, not a day goes by that someone doesn’t inquire about him.  So, for Bob, thanks and please, keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  He is going to surprise doctors and us…yet again!

And, Fran…she, like Bob, has been dealing with complications related to diabetes.  She was coming up on a very busy holiday season at Pepe’s North of the Border in Barrow and tells us she got lazy and lax with her medication.  Next thing she knew she was in the hospital for 9 days in a diabetic coma.  She came out of that and back to work only to get a cold and experience a setback that laid her up for 3 more days. She is NOW back to work (12 hours a day!!) at Pepe’s but, is going in later in the morning missing the breakfast shift but, staying late to play “catch up”. She sounded great and says she actually feels really good except for the neuropathy in her feet that slows her down.  Amazing! She also thanks you all for your cards, notes and good wishes.  We will stay in touch, in fact, she reminded me there is an entire display case of Steve and Johnnie Stuff in the restaurant so, not a day goes by that she doesn’t think of us and you, the listeners!  We might just get crazy and head up north for a little visit this year and I can work the tables at Pepe’s…the tips are really good since the food is so good! Again, Fran thanks you for thinking of her and asked that you also keep her in your thoughts and prayers!

So, we are expecting an unseasonably warm day in Chicago today…who cares, the above news has really warmed our hearts!

We’ll keep you posted,

Johnnie

We Finished Decorating The Tree …

… and we were thinking of you.  So, Steve picked up a guitar and we sent you a little holiday greeting.

Too much nog?

Friends That Matter

Marlene Dietrich once said “It’s the friends you can call up at 4 AM that matter.”  Well, we didn’t call Gary and Sue at 4 AM, but that’s about the time they got home, Sunday morning, after helping us clean, what seemed like, never-ending piles of “stuff” out of our office.  At one point, we thought some invisible gremlin was sneaking in and replenishing the office while we weren’t looking.  Oh well, at least most of it was filed alphabetically according to size.

As you know, “Life After Dark” has been the norm (?) for us for over a quarter of a century.   However, shocking though it may seem, not everyone marches to the nocturnal drum beat that has been our extended length soundtrack.  Fortunately for us, Gary and Sue march to the serendipitous drum beat of their own soundtrack.  Even better for us, they have included us in their mix ever since Johnnie first met Sue back in 1984 while doing traffic for WCLR-FM (now WTMX-FM).

Sue was hosting the evening show and Gary was the station’s chief engineer.  Sue has since gone on to be a very successful voice over actress and Gary went on to manage real estate at the, then, Sears Tower where we gave him the nickname “King Of The Roof.”

Though you wouldn’t know it by his busy schedule, Gary is now retired and you’re still hearing Sue’s voice on more commercials than you realize.

When we first met Gary and Sue there was an instant chemistry and communication that, fortunately for us, has grown into a long-term close friendship that continues today.

A decade ago, on a weekend trip to Door County, when Steve was hardly able to move due to, then undiagnosed, Autoimmune Hepatitis, luckily, Gary and Sue were with us and calmly, but quickly, drove us home to get a diagnosis and treatment from our own doctor.  When Johnnie was stricken with an allergic reaction while we were in Nashville, it was Gary and Sue who drove all over Music City’s unfamiliar streets to find a  pharmacy with the necessary remedy.

It hasn’t been all drama.  There are numerous stories of “plastic burning” adventures to celebrate Johnnie’s and Sue’s shared birthday week or late-night Sherlock Holmes marathons or Midnight Superdawg runs … because it was the right thing to do.

As many of you know, along with TV and some other projects, we’re working on a book or three.  One of those books will be about some of the truly special people we’ve been privileged to meet during the course of our “Life After Dark.”  A lot of those people, like Les Paul, have names most of you already know.  Some of them, like Gary and Sue, you may not previously have known about.

But, now you do.

Because they’re friends that matter.

The Week Went By So Fast

Some things, like weddings and final weeks on the radio, go by so fast you hardly have time to take a breath and savor the moments.  Fortunately, today we have the technology that allows us to go back, take a look and say “Oh, so that’s what it was like.”

Case in point, this link to our Friday morning simulcast with Dean Richards on WGN-TV.

Dean is a good friend who was nice enough to get up even earlier than usual to join us.

Thanks Dean.

The Day (Night?) After …

It’s Friday evening as we write this.  We just got up and, after last night’s show and the studio and office clean up after, we feel like we’ve just finished running a marathon.

We’ll be posting a lot more here but, for the moment, we just wanted to, again, say “thank you.”  As you’ll see if you click here, we got by with a little help from our friends.

Now, where’s the coffee?