Welcome To Your Ice Floe

The three readers I may have are savvy, but just in case a caveat is needed---this will be a cynical, and angry, entry.

Yesterday I was driving to work and flipping radio channels as usual. Coming up LA's Coast the suddenly single voice of Mark Wallengren reminded me that his 20 year plus on-air partner, Kim Amidon, was given the unceremonious heave-ho by the station's parent company. As my stomach dropped with a burst of rage, I remembered that the very same company dropped long time host Valerie Smaldone, at WLTW in New York, after her 20 plus years. Cost cutting, that proverbial rationale. I know from reading the reports that Ms. Smaldone was offered an insulting contract calculated not to be accepted by any self-respecting, oh, and by the way, successful on-air personality. I happened to keep track of Ms. Smaldone though I live in California, because she was only a year or two behind me at Fordham University and I had a passing acquaintance with her she doubtless would not remember. Bye Bye. Don't let the iron door hit you in the rump on your way to other endeavors, code for "you're washed up, and you'll never see the same success again, you old geezer--oh, by the way, we couldn't care less." Although it happens that these were two female successes, and perhaps there is a tale here too, the not very fare thee wells to these two after doing their jobs for essentially a generation, put me in mind of other friends, of a certain age (over 40 and into 50) who having been relieved of their roles in the world, where by the way, they excelled, are relegated to the "what have you done for me lately" pile" concomitant with "even if you did do something lately for us, we don't want you, you're old" pile. These friends of mine have struggled to find anything notwithstanding their pristine resumes. They would, how dare they, like the salaries which they worked through the ranks demonstrably to achieve. You'd get experience. Cost cutting is not consistent with getting experience. All sorts of places have muddled along without real experience, look at the government. Look at where you work, any of you. Experience shmerience.

This is not a new problem. Valuing anybody with skill or wisdom went out with Socrates, and even then folks were complaining about the new crop of kids who ran the world, with their snivelling and self-absorption.

Back to the world of radio, I was looking back at the career of Alison Steele, "the night bird" of WNEW-AM. She was the model for radio DJs, of both sexes, in the 1970s, with her deep, sensual voice and articulate intelligence. And she too was given the heave-ho back nearly two decades ago. Then she died. No, really, she died. At least she has several pages on the net reminding us of her contributions.

I still have my job at 53. My father is convinced that if I lost my job or decided to do something else, I'd be snapped up somewhere for my skills as a lawyer, or a teacher, or a speaker. It just ain't the case, and if I can I'll hang onto this job until I can retire with a decent cushion, and then I will expect that my future life will be entirely volunteer. There she goes the little old lady followed by the neighborhood cats. And I swear, show me an ice floe and I will set it on fire! To mix my metaphors, or is it poetry? I will not be going gently into that good night. There will be kicking and screaming. And Valerie and Kim, I know you don't want to burn your bridges so you have said platitudinal nice things about your former employer, but I have two words for them. James Lipton would know what one of them is.

 

 

        <---------she's the one who's gone from the air.