Jay Kersting's Blog

If you have never done it, selling a house is an absolute nightmare.

Since I do not know otherwise, this being our first sale, I am just guessing that it is worse when you are either surrounded by the mess of it alone and your significant other (by now, probably thinking INsignificant other) is helplessly away from it. 

If you are even slightly aware of the situation that Kathy and I are in right now, you probably know both ends of the story.  But if you don't, let me cut through the clutter for you.

First, on Kathy's side.  Anyone who knows her knows how easy the past four months have beenin her life. She has dealt with my leaving, her mother getting sick, her mother dying, having to get a house ready to put on the market to sell (painting, etc.), scheduling roofers to replace the roof, having surgery, dealing with the issues of what buyers want done to the house, packing a house of stuff up, asking family and begging friends for help moving the stuff from the house, oh and juggle the responsibilities of being a single parent of two boys with not only all of their school work, but also a baseball schedule.

Did I mention that she also has had to deal with a real understanding group of people at her job?  Not just her supervisors, but co-workers and donors. Clearly, nothing TOO major, right?

On my side, still dealing with the new job and getting things more and more set so that I can move from the new job side of things, to the regular everyday job approach.  I am not sure when you move from being the new guy, to being established.  If anyone knows, explain it to me.  But that stuff has been there since I arrived in Jefferson City. 

I have been back in Knoxville a total of three times since leaving in December.  I have done some work on the house each time I have come back.  Mainly things that Kathy didn't know how to do, or felt that would be easier for me to do.  But, I left the last time as the house was being put on the market.  Then when the offer came and the details were worked out, I was told by Kathy and my parents that there was no point in me coming back......and they made a lot of sense, 18 hours of driving for 12-14 hours work did not make sense.  Especially with gas prices pushing $3 a gallon now.  So I feel guilty over not being able to help.  Mainly because I know that Kathy can really only depend on my parents for help.

All of this going on while I am living in a motor home out in a city park.  Yes, it does beat living in a van down by the river.  It is a motor home, down next to the lake.  Not that I am being defensive over my situation.  Actually, it is another point where I owe a LOT to my parents.

Since I do not get to take part in all of the fun that is packing up and moving things out of the house, I get the task of working on getting a mortgage lined up.  Kathy handled our first one.  And she took the lead on the refinance.  So, I am simply here working my way down new ground. 

Currently, my weeks of work have gotten us two Pre-Approvals.  Which, from what I can tell, mean pretty much nothing.  If you have never gotten a pre-approval let me explain what they really say.  Pre-approvals from what I can tell are worded in a way that sort of sounds like this when you cut through the lingo.....

"We have pre-approved these folks based on the very basic information they have provided us so far. Our company pretty much thinks its all bullshit, so we do not want to commit too much to them.  We'll figure out what rate to gouge them with later on, as soon as we can determine from more information that we will require, how much bullshit they have been shovelling on us up to this point.  So, for us to be fair, since we think they are bullshitting us, we present you this pre-approval letter.  It is our way of bullshitting you too."

I don't know about you, but that gives me confidence to go in and make an offer on a house.

So, I am dealing with the stress of this crap.

Kathy only has to deal with the physical stress of moving, the emotional stress of leaving her home for the last four years, the stress of juggling the lives of two boys who are leaving the one home that they will remember from our time in Knoxville, the always understanding folks at her office, and leaving friends behind, most of whom she hasn't had the time to see, or they haven't had the time to see her, since I left in December.

Who has it easier?  Clearly Kathy does by now, right.  Ha ha ha....  It ain't easy on me, but I know that I am only dealing with the mental stress of it.  She has to deal with the physical, mental, emotional, financial and all of the other stresses. 

You must remember, at least she has not had to deal with living with me for the past four months. 

All of that said, assuming we find a house soon, make an offer, get the offer accepted, close on the house and move in.  I figure we will be calmed down and refreshed rather quickly.  I am sure that Kathy will want to entertain folks real soon.  In fact, she mention to me that I need to see what the entertaining possibilities are in any houses I look at.  We hope to have everyone over soon.

And by soon, I am guessing 2012. 

Posted by Jay Kersting at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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It finally happened.  Don Imus got fired.  Yawn!  He will reappear somewhere.  XM or Sirius?  Maybe. 

Someone joked that he would replace me.  The thought being that Jefferson City is the nice smaller market for him to rebuilt his legacy from. 

I doubt his ego would fit here.

Should he have been fired?  You tell me.  His comments made advertisers quit his show, which cost his employer LOTS of money.  The simple economics of it tell me, YES.  Over his comments alone?  I doubt it.  It just doesn't work that way in this business.

In fact, here are a couple of points that I would like to shed light on, and others have as well. 

First, his most vocal critic was Al Sharpton.  Al "I have yet to apologize for Tawana Brawley from 20 years ago" Sharpton!!  Now, those who know me know that I admit to voting for him.  Which I did.  It was a Democrat primary, he had alread quit, but he would have made for the most interesting General Election race.  I would NEVER vote for him in a General Election. 

How come none of Al Sharpton's advertisers have pulled their ads pending an apology over what he did YEARS ago?  Is it all now forgotten?  Hardly, every news source out there brought it up this week.

Second, there is a lot of recycling in broadcasting.  You want to know why it is hard to get into this business?  Companies trust retreads!!   They forget that retreads have a higher failure rate, they only remember how reliable they once were.  Imus has been a reliable money maker.  So has Howard Stern and many others of their ilk.  They trust these retreads.  Then they act surprised when they have to grab the wheel to prevent further damage when a retreat blows out. 

I'd rather be sincere in my comments instead of ONLY looking for reactions.  I have said many things that I could have been fired for.  Good thing that wrecker companies in Knoxville didn't advertise on the radio. 

Here is my very simple bottom line.  Imus should have been fired due to the advertisers leaving.  Imus should be vilified for his comments.  Sharpton should SHUT UP until which time he apologizes for his actions of 20 years ago AND for his actions with the Duke case a year ago...if not for MANY other things. 

We need new messengers.  Neither one of these two idiots, Imus' term, are worthy of being one.  Maybe he could go back to "spinning records" instead.  Well, in this case, it would be playing MP3's or other music files.  It is 2007, a successful DJ in the 1970's is not always going to be the best talk host in the 21st Century.

OH, but I MIGHT just be a little biased in stating that. 

Posted by Jay Kersting at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The much anticipated Capital City Cook-Off was this weekend and it was a FANTASTIC event.  Not sure how much money we raised for the Special Learning Center Foundation, but I do know that due to the efforts of Bruce Ring and the rest of the Cook-Off Committee, we have set this up to be a great event for years to come.

Here is how the week brokedown.  On Monday, we had our final committee meeting leading up to the event.  Concern number one....the weather.  Some duties leading up to Friday were spread among the committee at that point.  Nothing we can do about the weather, so we just had to concern ourselves with making the most of it. 

Tuesday afternoon, several of us met out at the Jefferson City Jaycees Fairgrounds to go layout the spaces where the various barbeque teams would set up.  Weather was a factor as well.  I do not have any real rain gear here in Jefferson City, nor in Knoxville.  When we wrapped up for the evening, I was soaked head to toe, through my clothees and really through my skin.  And yes, that is possible.  It was about 42 degrees and my fingers were so frozen (gloves were nice and dry in my office) that I could not bend them straight for about 45 minutes.  Luckily, they were in the perfect shape to fit a steering wheel.  It did take me about two hours to warm up....even then I was still much colder than my normal.  I called it my "Welcome Back to your Home State" weather moment.  A week before, we were pushing 80 degrees.

I don't recall being involved with anything on Wednesday, but on Thursday it was a beautiful, but cool, sunny day.  It gave us hope for the weekend, though I think everyone knew better.  I was back out at the fairgrounds to set up for Friday night AND to set up for our radio broadcasts on Friday and Saturday.  I rode in the back of Greg Bowman's truck and helped put trash cans all around the fairgrounds.  Helped setup tables inside, a skill I learned from my dad at quite a young age.  Probably why I am faster at it than most anyone else there.  Ha ha ha....yup, 30+ years of experience in working with convention tables.  (For the speed comparision...it was amazing, I could set up 7 in the time someone else could to 6....made a huge difference.....considering a total of about 40 tables were all that were involved.) 

Following that, I pretty much hung around (the motorhome and my car were now at the fairgrounds, had no where else to go) and drank a few beers with the guys from the committee, avoided making decisions, met several other folks from here in Jefferson City that I did not yet know and had a good time.

Friday, I had to make my Jefferson City/Columbia television debut.  I was on KRCG 13 to help promote the Capital City Cook-Off.  The cool part was that I was on with two gentlemen who worked with a well known Knoxville anchor, Bill Williams.  Dick Preston and Lee Gordon were both with KRCG when Bill was there back in the 1970's.  They did not spill too much dirt on Bill, just a story about fish from the pond being kept in the sink of the dressing room.  I think I'll have to ask Bill about that.  Neither Dick nor Lee said that Bill did that, but there might have been a little implication. 

In any case, the TV appearance was fun and I was able to promote the event and my station.  After I left the TV station I went back to grab the rest of the equipment for the remotes that afternoon and on Saturday.  Ryan Merrill (Cumulus JC Chief Engineer) and I went and set up at the fairgrounds.  We had a nice setup, the motorhome was bookended by the KLIK van and the Jeff 104.1 truck.  We used the rollout canopy as a cover to our setup.  It really looked like a part of the Capital City Cook-Off.

The big even on Friday night was the "Buck-A-Bone" contest.  Everyone had to buy sheets of ten tickets, for $10, and each ticket got you a rib. Twenty-eight teams prepared a total of 6000 ribs.  We started at 4:30...I think we were all out by 7pm.  And mind you, this was on a night with temperatures in the 40's and heavy rain falling down.  It was miserable outside.  BUT, we were inside the expo center, the band was playing, soft drinks and beer were flowing.  I was a great atmosphere.  I met a TON of people that night, and I am sorry that I will not remember everyone's names.  I was even stopped by a few people who saw me on TV.  I thanked them for coming and told them that I was glad that my TV appearance did not scare them off.  It was so much fun, but hectic at the same time.  You see, during all of this, I got a phone call from Kathy.

Kathy called to tell me that we had an offer on our house.  Our house just got listed on the MLS system on Monday.  The offer wasn't good, but we offered a solid counter.  And then it was back to the work at hand.

I had to announce the winner of the "Buck-A-Bone" contest...which was a people's choice event.  That was fun, because I got to tease Brian Schrimpf about something he said earlier.  Brian is on the committee and he was cooking ribs that night.  He said that he hoped he didn't win because he would be accused of rigging the contest.  So, as I got ready to announce the winners, I told Brian over the PA not to worry, he will not have to put up with the ridicule of having won the contest.  Anyone who knows Brian and his sense of humor can pretty much picture his reaction. 

On Saturday, it was early rise for Breakfast and back to work.  I had to set up for my remote broadcast and the rain had NOT let up.  Furthermore, the band that was supposed to play cancelled.  And I had to be in a judges meeting at the same time I was supposed to be on the air. That last part was easy, I did my first four breaks live and recorded my last two.  By the time I got to the judges meeting, on time mind you, all of the tables were filled.  I was shocked.  I am a Certified Barbeque Judge and I don't even have a seat at a table???!!!???  Well, as it turns out, they had some non-Certified judges there in case we were short. 

So they had to arrance the CBJ's and the non-CBJ's around the 11 tables.....a total of 66 judges.  I still did not have a seat.  Fired already?  Not hardly.  I was promoted the the position of Table Captain.  A Table Captain is a CBJ who oversees one of the tables at a Kansas City Barbecue Society event.  The six judges are presented the meats by the Table Captain and are reminded to stay quiet during judging.  The Table Captain has to also review the ballots of the judges and point these out to the KCBS Reps that are present.  I had two occasions to do this and the reps thanked me for the thoroughness in how I approached my job.  The other nice part about being a Table Captain is that you don't have to eat all of the samples that are presented to you.  I could choose from the samples that were over the amount needed.  And usually, the teams that provided more than the minimum, had the better stuff. 

Yup, it can be good to be the Table Captain.

Following all of the judging, I was again asked to announce the winners.  The rest of my co-horts from Cumulus left, so I gladly stepped up to do it.  Prior to the winners being announced, I got to say something few people ever get to say.

Since I was inside working most of the day, I was spared the wrath of the weather for the most part.  I did help with the clean up inside and out on Saturday night and I did stay the night there at the fairgrounds again.  "Last night we tapped some kegs.  Many of them still have beer in them.  As long as these kegs last, you can come on up and have some free beer!"  Surprisingly, not a huge rush to the free beer.  So, as more and more people made it to the expo center, I repeated my free beer message.  At one point, I quoted John "Bluto" Blutarsky when I said, "have a beer....don't cost nothing."

Yeah, it all was consumed.

Announcing the winners and drawing the raffle winner was fun.  I kept reaching in to the barrel and saying, "nope, not mine.  Not mine either."  In the end, I did not draw my name.  Dammit!  It was a really nice $800 Jenn-Air gas grill. 

Then it was more clean up time.  Finally, I went to bed.   Sunday morning, I got up and watched the morning network programs "Meet the Press" and "This Week" so that I was caught up on things.  Then I moved the motorhome back to the campground, got a ride back to my car, ran some errands, and came back to the office to post this.

I look forward to this event next year.  It was work for a lot of us, my part might have been higher profile due to my job, but not in effort.  Bruce Ring, Greg Bowman, Stacey Backaus, Brian Schrimpf, Brian Welch, Brenda Myers, Debbie Hamler, Darryl Burnett, Cecilia Engle, Chris Wrigley and others whose names escape me at the moment (and others that I might have misspelled, due to being tired at the moment) I thank for all of their efforts AND for letting me be a small part of this.  Among the many things that will make this better next year, will be the fact that I will have the help of Alex and Ben at my side.  Kathy can help if she wants, but I think I'll just let her come out and have fun.  She has worked hard enough this spring.

Posted by Jay Kersting at 01:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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There are really some great people in the world.   I mean that in all sincerity.  I think the world of my family, but there are some others that I want to point out.

This past weekend I went back to Knoxville to surprise Alex and Ben, as well as work on the house some more so that we can sell it.  On my way into town, I called my friend and mentor Dave Foulk to chat.  Dave was working so we could not talk long.  I tried calling again on Saturday, he was busy, so I made time to go see him on Sunday morning. 

I went in to see Dave and actually got there before he did.  We caught up on a few things, but since we swap e-mails frequently, there wasn't a whole with him that I did not already know.  He is always great to talk to.  Dave has lots of interesting insight on things and a wealth of experiences, both good and bad, that he is willing to share. 

Heck, I owe Dave a ton for all of the help he has given me in the last five years.  Rather than ignore the obviously OLD intern in the sports department back in 2002, he offered advice and helped me get to where I am.  When I was about to graduate, he told me which job I should take when the offers came up.  And I listened.  But Dave also was there as a sounding board for my frustrations.  He also gave me great advice when it came to be time to consider moving on.  There were few others outside my family that I could talk to.  Dave was one that I could.  Lucky for me, he still is...though mainly via e-mail and phone calls now.

I got an e-mail from another one of those great people in the world on Friday morning.  I responded to let him know that I am in town.  Scott Simon was my program director at WNOX and we became friends.  In fact, if not for Scott, literally, I would not be here in Jefferson City today. 

In a place where outsiders are pushed away and sometimes shunned, Scott and I hit it off.  I guess the fact that we were both Midwesterners led to that.  The fact that we BOTH love the radio business was another.  I can only guess that Scott saw in me some raw, untapped and under-developed talent.  Under his instruction, I learned a lot about what it takes to put together good talk radio in the 21st Century.  Scott allowed me to get greater opportunities within the bounds of the station, so that I could show what I was capable of doing. 

And it was Scott who referred my current program director to me.  So, directly, I got this job with his help.  I hope that I can return the favor someday. 

Both Dave and Scott are what I consider great for one very BIG reason.  Both of these men went out of there way to help me with no expectation of any direct return back to them.  In other words, they didn't have to do anything for me.  They gave me the push toward something bigger.  They gave me a push to keep working to be better.  You could even say that they provided more tools, figuratively, for me to use.

Hopefully, I have learned more than the specifics from these men.  I really hope that I take away the generosity of character that both of these men have shown me.

In many ways, these men remind me of my own father, only they are younger.  (Had to get that in there, Dave and Scott could read this).  Dad has taught me a lot.  And as he would tell anyone, sometimes I needed to get another voice to reinforce the points he was trying to make.  Well Dad, I think Dave and Scott have done that for me on the professional side of things.  I am pretty sure that it has also extended to other areas as well. 

There are many others, but these two are top of mind for me right now.  I will share stories of others later on.  (Mom, Kathy...you have to wait until Mother's Day/Wedding Anniversary week.  Dad, you will get the full treatment near Father's Day....Topher, Dan.....birthdays??  Maybe?  Ha ha ha....)  I will tell these stories, or you can ask me.

So, who have you had a positive influence on today?  This week?  Month?  Year?

Hope you don't find that you are thinking too long and hard on that. 

Comments?

Posted by Jay Kersting at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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It has now happened to me three times.  This is the most unbelievable thing...and it has happened to me three times in recent weeks.

Now, I will not name names on this, I will simply tell you what has happened.  And if you want to debate me on this, please THINK first.

I have now, in recent weeks, on THREE separate occasions, had somebody argue this statement with me.

"The single largest cause of global warming, without argument, is and always has been the Sun."

Apparently, I was wrong about the without argument part.

However, one who chooses to argue this statement with me shows me one of three things.  First, this person is stupid.  Second, is a zealot who had drank the Kool-Aid provided by Albert Arnold Gore, Junior.  Or third, this person did not comprehend the statement.

I am hoping that in all three cases, it was the option behind door number three.  If it is not, then I am very concerned over the education system in this country, NO, the world.

OK, I am not an astrophysicist, nor do I pretend to be.  But this much I know to be a fact, if the Sun burned out right now, we would be lights out in eight minutes.  Dark.  Nothing.  Zip.  Zero.  Zilch.  Now, I could not tell you how long it would take, but I think the Earth would cool rather quickly.  I have a flashlight and a couple of coats, but something tells me this might not be enough.

Some people believe that Earth would lose its orbit, but I think that is if the Sun blows up not just burning out.  Again, I am not an astrophysicist, so I do not know.

Look at Mars.  Remember the Martian icecaps that we used to see in photographs of Mars?  And how we no longer see them?  A geology professor told me that the rate of warming on Mars is consistant with that on Earth. So this means one of two things.

First, the biggest source of global climate change on Mars is the same as on Earth, the Sun. 

Or Second, the Viking I and Viking II landers had terrible emissions and have ruined the environment on Mars.

I know what you are thinking. 

NASA should have used unleaded fuel and catalytic converters on Viking I and Viking II.

I agree.

Posted by Jay Kersting at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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It has been good in Jefferson City for me the last couple of weekends. 

Kathy, Alex and Ben came to visit on March 21st and stayed until Sunday the 25th.  We went to the Capitol, looked at some houses, drove around the area, used hotel pools, goofed off in the hotel rooms.  Generally had a good time.  I think Alex liked the pools best of all.  I'll tell you more about what Ben liked in a second.

Then on Friday night, my brother Dan, his wife and son came to visit us.  Lulu got us hotel rooms using her Marriott points (Thanks again!!) and we went to Central Dairy and generally just hung out and had a good time at the pool and up in our rooms.  Central Dairy is a must visit place here in Jefferson City, especially if you have a nearly 3 year old child with you.  Central Dairy is the big dairy producer/distributor of the area and they have a nice ice cream parlor....nice and cheap.  The taking a 3 year old part.....let me just say that my nephew Will became Bluebeard the Pirate after his Birthday Cake ice cream cone.  By the way, the best part of being there with a 3 year old who is not yours is that his parents have to clean him up and not you.  I think Dan and Lulu enjoyed seeing their son like that, so it was still good.

This will probably come as no surprise, Ben loves the Missouri Capitol.  We had to go back to the Capitol because he liked it so much.  And after talking to a person at Jefferson Landing, I am glad we did.  We got a chance to see the Thomas Hart Benton murals in the House Lounge.  That is a must see for any one going to the Capitol. 

As for Ben, he still talks to me about it. (No one tell him, but I got him a book on it.) 

I also took everyone over to see the old Missouri State Penitentary.  Nothing like an old scary looking prison as a place to go siteseeing.  In fact, Ben had his "Flat Stanley" project for school that weekend.  We have a great picture of Ben, with a very angry face and his arms crossed across his chest, holding "Flat Stanley" in front of the MSP. 

We took pictures of "Flat Stanley" outside the Capitol, outside the Governor's Office, near the busts of Walt Disney and Mark Twain. 

Sunday the 25th was HORRIBLE!!!  Kathy, Alex and Ben left for Knoxville and I felt more alone than ever.  I cried my eyes out. It was the worst feeling that I can remember in a long time.  It did of course pass, but it was terrible.

On Friday, March 30th, my friend Ethan Mayers came to visit. I went to Kansas City and stayed with Dan and Lulu for a bit before I went to the airport to get Ethan.  Then we stayed the night there before driving back on Saturday.  Before leaving town, we had lunch with Dan, Lulu and Will at Oklahoma Joes on 47th and Mission.  Intersting place, decent barbeque (overall a 7...as a certified barbeque judge, that was my determination.  For details, shoot me an e-mail.) and it was nice to spend a little more time with Dan, Lulu and Will.

Ethan is a self proclaimed wine snob and part of his wanting to visit me in Missouri was to go to wineries.  He made a list, plotted them out on a map and we headed out.  Our first stop was in Lees Summit. 

We go in, taste some wine, he buys a glass, the owner shows us around, etc.  I go to the bathroom and this couple walks in and the other employee tells this couple that Ethan was from New York.  Turns out that this guy was also from New York.  When I get back, Ethan is chatting away with Dan (not my brother) and Barbara.  Apparently, they are hitting the same wineries that we are.  We joke that we will see them down the road.

Sure enough, we go to Lone Jack....Dan and Barbara are there ten minutes later.  Ethan and I take a side trip to see Warrensburg....it has changed a LOT in the last seventeen years.  WOW!!  After seeing the sites of the Burg...which did not take long, we continued on to a pair of wineries in Knob Noster. 

We get to these wineries, which are behind a trailer park.  We go to the first, sample...go to the second....and Dan and Barbara are parking as we walk in.  We chat with them as we get done sampling and head out to the next stop in Cole Camp. 

The place in Cole Camp was really cool.  The couple who owned it ran separate vinyards and wineries in Colorado, but they were sixty miles apart and it was too expensive and too many permits, etc., to build there.  They found this vinyard and built the winery.  In fact, this summer they are opening a microbrewery there as well.  Ethan was taking pictures and showing them to the owners.  The husband actually brought Ethan a microbrew sample out to him as he was taking more pictures.   Apparently, they want him to send them pictures and they may use them for their website and advertising. 

Oh, and Dan and Barbara made it there as well.  In fact, they were intending on making it to Jefferson City to catch one last winery.  BUT, it was getting late.  Ethan and I were planning on getting dinner at Paddy Malones that night, so we invited them to join us. 

So we had dinner with them that night, which was nice.  Saturday was a great, but ODD day.

Sunday we hit two more wineries that Ethan wanted to see, toured the Capitol, walked around downtown, went to Arris' Pizza Palace for dinner.

Monday, work in the morning and then off to Kansas City to get Ethan back to the airport.  Went to Arthur Bryant's on 18th and Brooklyn, up to the Liberty Memorial (weather was beautiful, so it was a great place to see the city....Kathy, if the weather is ever that nice when we are in Kansas City, I AM taking you up there....it just never has been so far.), a ride down Ward Parkway, around I-435 and up to my old neighborhood.  I saw that the front door of the McCabes house was open so we stopped to say hi to Cheryl.  Melissa stopped by as well and I got to meet Kirk's daughter Tessa as well.  Couldn't stay long because we had to get Ethan to the airport.

Anyhow, two very busy and very good weekends in a row.  Hoping to make it three in a row.  Then four...and so on.

Posted by Jay Kersting at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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