It occurs to me that I may be part of the last generation to listen to AM radio for music.
My station was KFRC 610 AM. And my favorite deejay was Dr. Don Rose.
In fact, Dr. Don was the very first famous person I ever met. I found out he was going to be at the Bay Fair Mall (now the Bayfair Center) in San Leandro one weekend, and I told my parents that I had to go meet him.
True, he wasn't a superhero, but he got to make goofy jokes on the radio AS HIS JOB. For the younger me, that was a dream job.
Well, it still is, I suppose, but I digress.
It's packed away, but I still have the publicity photo he signed for me. I was nervous to meet him, partly because for so long I'd heard him as this booming voice on my radio, as well as hosting various TV shows on one of the local stations. The other part was, as I often say, I was very shy.
I remember being embarrassed at the time by my dad, who was telling him his jokes were all right, but he needed to not repeat them all the time.
I was thinking as we walked out of The Cascades into the rest of the mall, Dad, you don't tell Dr. Don how to be funny! But I didn't say anything, of course.
He struck me as a hell of a nice guy; he didn't act put out in the slightest having to talk to a little kid like me, and he made me feel like I was just as important as everyone else.
Dr. Don died a few years back, alas, but thanks to the Internet, you can still hear him, or in the case below, see him:
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