{"id":5604,"date":"2020-08-30T10:02:27","date_gmt":"2020-08-30T14:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=5604"},"modified":"2020-08-30T10:07:07","modified_gmt":"2020-08-30T14:07:07","slug":"episode-104-we-do-not-need-you-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=5604","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 104 “WE DO NOT NEED YOU ANYMORE.”"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE  104    WE DO NOT NEED YOU ANYMORE<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
August 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
John Myers, a friend, has asked me  several times to<\/div>\n
tell him about my radio career \u2026  with CBC radio.  I have not <\/div>\n
answered because the  story is long with many twists  and<\/div>\n
turns.  You may  not want the full story because there is no<\/div>\n
high drama.  Maybe  I can tell the story in point form best.<\/div>\n
short form.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
1) At the Thompson auction sale near Kitchener, Ontario around 1980, I bid<\/div>\n
and  bought four threshing machines.  Beautiful things as big as<\/div>\n
five ton trucks.  Historic machines  doomed  to be burned by<\/div>\n
scrap dealers seeking  cast iron.  How could I explain this purchase<\/div>\n
to Marjorie?  She is  long suffering and  never crushes  my enthusiasm.<\/div>\n
 What could I do with 4 huge dinosaurs  of  the<\/div>\n
harvest fields. ? <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
MY radio career began with this threshing machine \u2026. believe it or not.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I bought quite a few of them at auction sales\u2026Was I insane?   No,  I managed<\/div>\n
to turn them into an 300 page M.A. thesis  at U. of T.  Three departments\u2026history, engineering <\/div>\n
and fine arts.  Loved it.  The engineering department shared my enthusiasm the most.<\/div>\n
Where did I keep them?  Gave the best to museums.  Others are still in the barn.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
2) The biggest was made in New Hamberg, Ontario about 1890.<\/div>\n
It was in great shape.   Wooden construction, wood  wheels, lavish<\/div>\n
folk art painting  done by professional stripers.  And  alligator for<\/div>\n
instance was added to accent the sharp teeth of the thresher when<\/div>\n
it tore grain sheaves to bits.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
3)  I donated the machine to Riverdale Farm,  a  kind of <\/div>\n
salue to Ontario farm history located  in the heart of the<\/div>\n
City of Toronto.  To get the machine to its new barn I<\/div>\n
hired Gordon Hume and his flat bed  truck.  It was quits a sight<\/div>\n
rolling up Parliament Street.  Heart of the largest city in Canada.<\/div>\n
A  nostalgic farm! A  few years later Riverdale Farm<\/div>\n
gave it back to me.  Imagine that. The nerve!  So I regave the machine to<\/div>\n
Doon Pioneer village where it remains.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
4) As chance  would have it a  CBC radio producer was having<\/div>\n
a coffee break as  the thresher came by. Parliament Street studio.<\/div>\n
 Or Perhaps  it was  noticed<\/div>\n
by the host of Radio Noon, then David Shatsky.  Someone followed<\/div>\n
the truck to the farm museum and asked \u201cWhat is it?\u201d \u201cWho donated it?\u201d<\/div>\n
So my name reached decision makers at CBC\/<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
5) \u201cWould you drop by for an interview?\u201d   I did and that interview<\/div>\n
went so well that I was asked  to be a regular radio journalist with<\/div>\n
a 5 to 10 minjute  slot each  Friday on Radio Noon.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
6) I must have done  about 100 shows.  My 5 minute special reached<\/div>\n
beyond Toronto.  Some covered Ontario.   Some were national. One <\/div>\n
even reached an  Inuit village in the Northwest Territories.   He was being<\/div>\n
hounded by the local priest.  Scared.  Not much  I could do.<\/div>\n
I know the phone call makes not sense but it was memorable.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
CBC paid<\/div>\n
me eventually.  Around  $100 a show.  Not big.  The cost of parking<\/div>\n
took a big slice of the money.  Then the research and Union  dues took some as well.  I did<\/div>\n
not care.  It was a joy to do the programs.  I learned a lot about <\/div>\n
communications.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
7)  On my third or fourth show, my produce, Doug Coupar spoke to me<\/div>\n
privately “Alan, your shows are terrific\u2026.\u201d<\/div>\n
When someone says that to you be prepared for the follow up word which<\/div>\n
is \u2018BUT\u2019.    To repeat   \u201cAlan, our shows are terrific BUT you must remember<\/div>\n
that the  radio audience attention span is  one minute at the most.  Get your<\/div>\n
big idea into that first few seconds  or you will have lost them.\u201d  What<\/div>\n
grest advice.    Cut the bull shit\u2026get to the point right away.  That advice<\/div>\n
changed  my whole approach to teaching.  For the better.  I began each<\/div>\n
lesson with a big question.  Often  a questions to which I did  not know the answer.<\/div>\n
Kids really got involved.  They often took over the discussion.<\/div>\n
(i.e. Why did  John A. Macdonald allow  Louis Riel to be executed?  Why?)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
8)  So I would race down to CBC on my lunch hours every Friday<\/div>\n
to trigger ideas in a public forum.  My personal ego trip some  must <\/div>\n
have thought.  I loved it. Then race back to class.   On one of these trips I  was<\/div>\n
startled as I opened the truck door. A tall thin man in running shoes had<\/div>\n
jumped  on the back  bumper and then blocked my exit.  \u201cI am going to<\/div>\n
fucking kill you,\u201d he said. Made no sense.  I had not hit him.  What should<\/div>\n
I do.  I looked at my watch hand and said, \u201cSorry, I don\u2019t have time for that<\/div>\n
\u2026I am late for class.\u201d  to which the deranged mind  said \u201cOK!\u201d and  wandered<\/div>\n
off.  Lakeshore Psychiatric  Hospital  had recently been closed.  I do  not<\/div>\n
have a watch.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
9) My tenure at CBC radio was quite long\u2026maybe 3years or longer.<\/div>\n
That is an eternity for a radio host and also for radio journalists.<\/div>\n
One of the CBC personalities took me  aside  early in my career.<\/div>\n
He gave  me some great advice as well. \u201cAlan, remember this\u2026we<\/div>\n
all have a shelf life.\u201d  WE ALL HAVE A SHELF LIFE.  Just like hamburger<\/div>\n
and  cheese.  Being an on air personality was not a lifetime job.  At some<\/div>\n
point a CBC exec that I would never meet would decide to change the<\/div>\n
format. Get rid of that Skeoch guy\u2026we need a new direction.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
10)  DAISY<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One of my best stories dealt with our grest dog Daisy.<\/div>\n
She died and I grieved her on the radio. One man phoned to say.<\/div>\n
\u201cI had to put over on 401.  I was crying.\u201d  The studio was  empty<\/div>\n
as I spoke because all involved got emotional.  As  did  I.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
10)  So one New Years Day, I phoned the CBC to outline my special<\/div>\n
program for the new  year.  I had a new  producer by then.<\/div>\n
He was a hatchet man  The conversation was short.<\/div>\n
\u201cJust to let you know my plan for next week. I think\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
The hatchet man cut in fast.<\/div>\n
\u201cWe do not need you any more.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
That was it.  The kiss off.  The guillotine blade was falling.  My shelf life<\/div>\n
with CBC radio was over.  \u201cSorry, we  do not need you any more.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
August 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
P>S>  Not quite over. I did  occasional programs  when they needed<\/div>\n
someone to cover a dead air space.  My second last program was such a shock<\/div>\n
to CBC decision  makers that they never let it go on air.  So when<\/div>\n
I tell you that story it will be fresh.  First time ever.  Next episode.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE  104    WE DO NOT NEED YOU ANYMORE alan skeoch August 2020 John Myers, a friend, has asked me  several times to tell him about my radio career \u2026  with CBC radio.  I have not  answered because the  story is long with many twists  and turns.  You may  not want the full story because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}