Hey…
First and foremost, we have to say “thank you” to everyone who has called, texted, IMd and especially the SkipShow FaceBook Army for the amazing show of support you have given us since our firing in April. I am truly humbled.
I’m sorry it’s taken so long for this website to get put together but for obvious reasons, we (read: me) have been pretty pre-occupied with getting on with life.
A lot of you have been asking so I thought I would give you an update on what’s happening.
Melissa – She is currently visiting with her mom. Actually her mom is here from Michigan. Melissa posted a great video of her surprising mom with an unexpected visit from Melissa’s sister Jackie. You can see it on her FaceBook page. I’d tell you what the link is but I’m pretty lame at this and have no idea how to do that!
Braden – Is spending every spare moment he has with Barrett and preparing for the arrival of his little sister. ‘Nuff said.
Lester – Lester has probably been the busiest. As you know, he is dealing with his mom and her Alzheimer’s. For the past few weeks, he’s been up in Illinois making arrangements for her to be moved into a home where she can get round the clock care. Good old Lester has been spending his nights at probably his favorite place on earth (outside of his place in Parrish); his father’s cabin on the Illinois River.
Lester has been very busy writing new Cowboy Poetry, some of which will be making it’s way on to skipshow.com in the near future. (There’s some exciting news for Cowboy Poetry fans on the was as well!)
As for me…well, I’ve been very busy myself. After trying to get myself back in order (Try waking up one morning and suddenly be without your phone, your contacts and your laptop…it’s very unsettling), I am frenetically working at keeping the SkipShow alive and well and geared up for what ever may be coming next.
If you read my postings on FaceBook, you know that I spent last week in Washington DC as part of the Police Unity Tour. We rode bicycles through the Virginia countryside for three days in honor of those in law enforcement who gave their lives to protect our families.
I have never been more proud to be associated with a group of people than I am my PUT sisters and brothers. Read more about the PUT by logging on to www.policeunitytourviii.org.
Since returning home, priority one has been finding a new home for the Skip Mahaffey Morning Show. But I am also taking the opportunity to concentrate on developing my writing. My first book; Adventures With My Father: Childhood Memories of Divorce, Dysfunction and the Summer of Love is finished. It’s the story of two brothers who were children of divorce when divorce was just a word Tammy Wynette spelled about. It’s a strange story but then again, I’m a strange person…what else would you expect. It started off as a 50th birthday present for my big brother and turned into something much bigger. I am currently in search of a Literary Agent to help me find a publisher (if you know any, send me their contact info!). Excerpts of the book will be appearing on my blog page on Skipshow.com
We are also in the process of putting together two books of Lester’s Cowboy Poetry. Keep an eye out on Lester’s page for further developments!
As for the future of the SMMS, I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t. Every one of us knows somebody who has been affected by the recent problems in the economy. Sadly, there are some amazingly talented people in radio who are without a job. I was arrogant enough to think I was immune.
I thought wrong.
I want to take a minute to address something in a very public forum…about Clear Channel.
I hold no ill will toward Dan DiLoreto (CC Tampa Bay General Manager) whatsoever. He did what he had to do. This could have fallen a number of ways and Dan was kind enough to choose the path the would negatively impact my family the least.
I will always be grateful for his consideration. I consider this a blessing in disguise.
I wish I could sit here and tell you that we will be back on the air together again in the near future, but I can’t. Honestly I have not clue one as to where this path might lead.
I do know this, I miss you all terribly. For 11 years, we rode to work together every day. We shared amazing high’s and terrible low’s. We were all together when the Bucs made the Super Bowl, the Rays made the World Series and on 9/11 when our world changed forever.
Together, we created and delivered over 250,000 holiday cards for our troops overseas. We found homes for over 1,000 dogs and cats. We have raised millions of dollars for St. Jude, The Angelus and hundreds of other worthy causes. We have celebrated births and mourned the loss of family and friends.
We played Battle of the Sexes, Impossible Trivia and You Can’t Win This. We interviewed an amazing list of celebrities, big and small, and more than anything else…we laughed. A lot!
So, I hope you have a chance to check out the web site from time to time. It’s far from finished but I’m working on that. I’ll be adding to it almost daily and I’ll be beating up Brady, Lester and Melissa to please do the same.
I encourage you to please email me with any thoughts or suggestions you may have. My email is still skip@skipshow.com.
God Bless and be Brilliant!
S-
Many thanks need to go to John Tackett at www.usaamerica.com for the design of this website and to Tim Hunt at www.gulfcoastnetworking.com for essentially keeping me alive in cyberspace. Any business you have in these realms, please at least consult these folks.
