{"id":9147,"date":"2021-05-30T21:52:21","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T01:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=9147"},"modified":"2021-09-09T06:55:11","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T10:55:11","slug":"episode-354-roy-maxwell-sent-me-a-note-remnder-of-those-great-cbc-days-on-radio-noon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=9147","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 354 ROY MAXWELL SENT ME A NOTE…REMNDER OF THoSE GREAT CBC DAYS ON ‘RADIO NOON’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/div>\n
EPISODE 354     ROY MAXWELL SENT ME AN EMAIL\u2026.IMAGINE THAT!<\/div>\n
(WE WERE PART OF CBC ‘RADIO NOON’ FOR <\/div>\n
A FEW YEARS LONG AGO)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Alan skeoch<\/div>\n
May 29, 2021<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Who could resist purchasing a machine like this?  This will make sense as<\/div>\n
you read my email letter, Roy.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Well what a great surprise\u2026You Maxwell\u2026the man<\/p>\n

who did a farm report imitating Foster Brooks and no doubt<\/div>\n
caught hell for doing so. (Foster Brooks was a comedian who imitated a drunk person\u2026.slurred his words)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Roy Maxwell did the farm prices and related information for Ontario farmers. What<\/div>\n
is wrong with this picture Roy?  You must know.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Great to hear from you Roy.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
YES, I am still writing stories<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
When Covid 19 first hit Toronto I decided to do 14 stories\u2026one a day\u2026until<\/div>\n
the crisis was over.  To entertain those in isolation.  We were assured 14 days of isolation would be enough\u2026remember?<\/div>\n
Well now I am writing my 354th  story\u2026one a day\u2026except for two sojourns to hospital with<\/div>\n
gall stone attack. They gave me morphine Roy.  What an experience.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
 354 stories.  Back when we did Radio Noon… CBC expected 1 story a week which I enjoyed doing in<\/div>\n
that magnificent old Parliament Street studio.  The new CBC building was never<\/div>\n
as good\u2026as quaint\u2026as real.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Who was it went out in the back alley for a smoke and talked to another smoker who turned out to be a dead guy ?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Drunks drifted into the old movie theatre and offered their words of advice on occasion.  One particular<\/div>\n
inebriated person even joined one of our broadcasts\u2026some charity show.  His comment\u2026loud<\/div>\n
and clear went over the air waves.  \u201cIf it\u2019s free, it\u2019s for me!\u201d He kept hollering that as our den mother<\/div>\n
whose name I have forgotten tried to hustle him away from the microphone.  God, those<\/div>\n
programs were fun.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Radio Noon was just great.   My first producer Doug Koupar (sp?) let me<\/div>\n
do 3 or 4 broadcasts before calling me into his office.   \u201cJust great, Alan, just great\u2026!!!\u2026.What is the next word<\/div>\n
when someone says that?   the next word is \u2018but\u2019\u2026.\u201dBut Alan, you must remember the attention span<\/div>\n
of the audience is one minute if you are lucky.  Put the big idea out fast, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
That was great advice.  Cut the crap in other words.  I applied that to teaching as well.<\/div>\n
Cut the bull shit\u2026let\u2019s talk about something meaningful.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So many great memories\u2026I still have the tapes\u2026but never listen to them.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I did the shows on my lunch hour.  Racing from Parkdale Collegiate to Parliament<\/div>\n
Street and back was no easy task.  On one of these jaunts a guy jumped on the back<\/div>\n
bumper of my  truck.  When I opened my door he wedged himself right on top of me.<\/div>\n
\u201cI am going to fucking kill you!\u201d he yelled.  I had to think fast.  I looked at my bare wrist<\/div>\n
and told him \u201cNo time for that, I am late for class.\u201d   He stepped back and let me go.<\/div>\n
I have never had a watch\u2026my wrist was bare.  Those were the days that some very disturbed<\/div>\n
people were cut loose from the psychiatric hospital in Mimico.  Sad people.<\/div>\n
Why did he want to fucking kill me?  I have no idea.  Maybe he was a CBC listener<\/div>\n
and was offended by something I said.  Funny thing, Roy, even now 40 years later<\/div>\n
I remember what his running shoes looked like.  He had big feet\u2026shoes were all worn.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The end came suddenly.  \u201cWe don\u2019t need you anymore\u201d which I was prepared for by another<\/div>\n
CBC journalist who said\u2026.\u201dAlan, remember we all have a shelf life.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So Roy\u2026I am going to send you some stories\u2026just random.   They are found on Alan Skeoch.ca<\/a>   \u2026something like that.<\/div>\n

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

<\/div>\n
FOLK ART: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?  I HAVE NO IDEA.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Life leads us in strange direction Roy.  David Shatsky noticed a hug threshing machine being<\/div>\n
hauled up Parliament Street to Riverdale Farm.  \u201cWhose machine?\u201d   Marjorie and I had donated<\/div>\n
the thresher.  Had it trucked on a flat bed by Gorden Hume to Riverdale Farm in the heart of Toronto.  David then<\/div>\n
asked me to describe the machine to the radio audience.  Sounds boring, Roy, but not so. The<\/div>\n
machine is the size of an 18 wheeler and covered in professional folk art\u2026done about 1890\u2026<\/div>\n
a snake, an alligator, several lions and lots of garish paint swirls.  On my first CBC broadcast <\/div>\n
I asked David why a snake was painted on that threshing machine.  \u201cWhy,David?”He turned the question to me.<\/div>\n
\u201cYou must know, Alan?\u201d \u201cI have no idea\u2026let\u2019s think about it.\u201d  And we used our imaginations.<\/div>\n
I think a lot of radio listeners must have done the same.  Let me ask you Roy.  Why would a professional<\/div>\n
sign painter put an alligator on a 19th century farm threshing machine.  There is an answer<\/div>\n
but I have forgotten it   Use your imagination.  I love open ended questions that are sincere.<\/div>\n
There are so many things in this world that need explaining.   Think of the ex-President of the<\/div>\n
United States for instance. \u201cHow could he happen?”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Note: Roy, you might wonder why I would give such a great machine to Riverdale farm.<\/div>\n
there is an easy answer.  I bought  FOUR of the machines at an auction then wondered<\/div>\n
what Marjorie would say when I got home.  \u201cFor the museums!\u201d was my answer.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Well Roy, I still collect those old machines and now the movie industry is based in Toronto. They<\/div>\n
need those machines often.   Old rusting hulks are great props. All those little threads in life lead somewhere, Roy.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Remember you doing Foster Brooks\u2026made me laugh\u2026.and, Roy, some farmers must have laughed<\/div>\n
as well.   <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
May  2021<\/div>\n
\n

<\/p>\n
\n
On May 29, 2021, at 5:52 PM, Roy Maxwell <rmaxwell20@cogeco.ca<\/a><\/a>> wrote:<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
Alan,<\/p>\n
I rediscovered you quite by accident (hay tedder story in an Oakville park) and I cannot resist the temptation to say hello.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Radio Noon was a long time ago! I am still in contact with several of the old CBC gang. Sadly, we recently lost my good friend, Glenn Powell (national Agr. News Reporter), but many of the other folks are still here and doing well.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I am so pleased to learn that you have stayed active and been so successful in pursuing your love of history and farming.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Good on you, Alan.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Roy<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n


<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 354     ROY MAXWELL SENT ME AN EMAIL\u2026.IMAGINE THAT! (WE WERE PART OF CBC ‘RADIO NOON’ FOR  A FEW YEARS LONG AGO) Alan skeoch May 29, 2021 Who could resist purchasing a machine like this?  This will make sense as you read my email letter, Roy. Well what a great surprise\u2026You Maxwell\u2026the man […]<\/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-9147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9147","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=9147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9147\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}