One of the songs in Sound of Music was So Long, Farewell.

The words fit perfectly here:

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu

At the end of my broadcast this morning I said farewell. I learned during the program our Saturday show has been eliminated, I suspect to be replaced by infomercials as we've already seen creep in to the weekend.

On the drive home I thought of what I would have to say and the one thing I kept coming back to was to not sound like a “sour grapes” type. Since I got off the air I have been able to deal with the shock of what I was told.

The first word that comes to mind is thanks. I have a large number of people to say that to. So please allow me to do that now. I hope I don’t miss anyone.

The first thanks is to the late Mel Miller who hired me On June 9, 1983 and I did my first broadcast at WRKO on June 11 of that year.

I had just lost my job at WSAR in Fall River when Knight Quality Broadcasting was changing formats and was going to satellite music. I had no regrets or bad feelings. After all they had given me my opportunity to get into radio after many years of selling textile machinery.

We (the on air people) had been informed on the morning of Wednesday, June 8 that by June 10th we didn’t have jobs. Our general manger Bob Faye called Mr. Miller on my behalf. He said he didn’t have anything for me but he’d like to listen to a demo tape and meet with me. When I walked into Mel’s office he asked what I was planning to do Saturday morning at 5. I said sleep. Ttoo bad” was his response. “Too bad?”

Mel had just heard from Lou Marcel that he was leaving to go to WBZ to do evenings.

The rest is as they say history.

A big thank you is to the loyal fans I’ve been blessed with all these years.

About a year ago I got an email from a lady who wrote to tell me her Mother passed away “last Saturday”. She told me that when she was a kid she hated me because her Mom demanded silence on Saturday mornings whenever I was on. When she died at home (she was terminally ill and wanted to die at home) she was listening to WRKO. She passed on at 7:30, while Mary Blake was doing the news.

Those of us on the broadcast end of the business sometimes forget that what we say and do has an effect on others.

Other calls and emails talked about how they were made to listen when they were kids and now were making their kids listen.

People listen to talk radio and we become a defacto member of many families.

Bob Gray, the acerbic and sometimes nasty host from New York always broadcast on Christmas and Thanksgiving because those people who let us be part of their family and had few others needed our presence on those days. That’s why, until two years ago I never failed to do those shows. Two years ago I was told I couldn’t do that any more. Why? I never got an answer. Sorry.

Mel Miller once told me I was not a journalist. No, I was a talk host. As such I had to be an advocate for those who had little opportunity to stand up to more powerful interests. It was my mission to clearly identify where I stood on any given issue and then defend my position.

I have tried to do that. I’ve tried to be a voice for the unborn, the rights of private property, the survival of Israel, those simply seeking an opportunity to live and let live. During the last couple of years I’ve tried to give a platform for our troops serving in the war zones by having discussions with those serving here each Saturday at 7 AM.

I will deeply miss having conversations with Christy Mihos when he was “speaking truth to power” and turning lights on the Big Dig fiasco. Christy, will you run for governor again, please?

I will miss the great producers I’ve been blessed with over the years. What you didn’t know is Saturday mornings was the training ground for a lot of good producers, some of whom have gone on to bigger and better opportunities elsewhere, some as program directors.

What I won’t miss is telling all my friends no, we don’t go out on Friday nights because I must be in bed by 7:30 in order to rise at 2:30 Saturday morning. No missing of any of my grandchildren making their First Communion or other events taking place before noontime on Saturdays. I won’t miss not being able to watch my son play baseball for Massasoit Community College on Saturdays, especially road games.

There are very few in the broadcasting industry who can claim to have been at the same place for a quarter of a century. Tens of thousands of calls later I can look back and say, “That was fun”.

I can look myself in the mirror and say I never took a penny or any other gift in exchange for saying or promoting anything. I’ve made a few friends because of talk radio and I’ve lost a few because I wouldn’t support their causes.

Do I have any regrets? Actually only one and I hope this doesn’t ring of sour grapes. The management of WRKO I’ve loyally served in all its interests for all those years could not see fit to inform me personally of their plans to make these changes.

Some say first impressions are often the last. Not in this case, the only foul taste was the lack of consideration in having a producer carry the message. Jason Wolf, are you listening?

I intend to do the following:

1. We will continue our Issues of the Day rants.
2. I can now write the final chapter of my book. I’ve looked into the possibility of dealing with a print on demand publisher. We’ll keep you posted here.
3. I have a number of other stories to tell, so this may well be the time to start.

Again, thank you for being there for me all these years.

Ciao…….Moe