WHEN RADIO DJs SOUND DESPERATE ON-AIR

Years ago, I had a nifty pair of folding sunglasses. I inadvertently left its protective case in a taxicab in Las Vegas.

A few weeks later, back home in Los Angeles, a local radio station offered a prize to the first caller who could answer a particular music trivia question.

The prize? A pair of folding sunglasses.

I didn’t need the sunglasses, but I thought, “I’ll bet they come with a protective case.”

And I knew the answer to the music trivia question. What luck; I rarely listen to this particular station.

I grabbed the phone, dialed the station’s number a few times, and found myself talking to the morning host.

Off-air, I correctly answered the question,

“That’s right!” he exclaimed. “Hold on a minute; I’m gonna put you on-the-air. What’s your name?”

“Dan,” I said.

I knew that at the end of the call he’d ask me, “What is your favorite radio station?”

I knew what station I was listening to. But wanting to be a “good” contestant, I actually wrote down the station’s name on a piece of paper in front of me. There’d be no chance of my forgetting.

The song ended.

I was on-the-air with the jock.

He asked the trivia question.

I gave the correct answer.

The jock acted excited, described the prize again, and congratulated me.

I knew what was coming. He was going to ask, “What is your favorite radio station?”

I waited for it.

Sure enough, the jock finally asked:

“So, Dan….Who is your favorite morning DJ??”

I had absolutely no idea.

Not a clue.

After the longest silence in the history of American radio, finally I blurted out, “You are!”