From Here To IMUS

On December 2, 2007 I traveled to New York City to attend the 1st broadcast of the new IMUS IN THE MORNING radio program live from Town Hall Theater in Mid-Town Manhattan. Here is how it went:

I arrived at Laguardia Sun. afternoon & had made advance arrangements for transportation to my hotel in the Bronx. Yes, I know- I made the hotel arrangements based on price. Upon arrival I phoned the car service only to be told I had a 90 min. wait "because of the snow storm". So I grabbed a taxi. Hodgie my driver needed to call the hotel for directions after driving 40 minutes in the wrong direction. My 10 mile taxi trip took almost 90 minutes. HA!

My hotel (H.J. Express) was located underneath a train track, hard by the expressway (now I get the express part) next to an abandoned building. NICE! The desk clerk suggested I stay in and order pizza rather than try and walk to a restaurant for fear I might get mugged. As I fearlessly wandered around in the rain foraging for edibles and trying hard not to get mugged all I could find was a McDonald's-I've not been to one since my 13 year old son was young enough to be fascinated with the "Play Palace"? The food was worse than I remembered.

Back to the room-30 min. nap-its 9:00 Sun. night, I'm wide awake. I walk to the corner dough-nut shop, ( 2-day old glazed) NICE, off to the train station for directions to Town Hall. I decided what with the rain & ice I should skip the car service & brave the train so I arrive on time for the Monday Morning Resurrection. Its the # 2 train I'll be looking for in a.m.

Toss-turn, here comes the train AGAIN. Siren, moron downstairs in lobby screaming incoherently, call home to report I haven't been mugged yet, TV on-TV off, toss turn-its 2:00 am, no sleep for me. I'm up & in the shower, dressed, checking out at 2:45 a.m. Desk clerk asks where the hell I am going, says "you should take the center car so you don't get stabbed," NICE...

At the ticket office I ask about the # 2 train, tell the gal I'm not from here-I'm not making this up-her coworker asks if I'm from Poland, Ha!! Seems he was admiring my Greek fisherman's hat which according to him was guaranteed to get me robbed while on the train. SO-I changed hats and headed for the platform where I met Maurice-a black man on his way to work as a substance abuse counselor who got me to Manhattan in 1 piece.

3:30 a.m. Times Square is empty & looks so cool! I can still see it in my minds eye: me still trying not to get mugged, piles of trash, cops, an occasional pedestrian. McDonalds again for coffee, I'm at Town Hall by 4:00.

Its me, 2 cops & 1 TV reporter. I walk into the theater at the stage door, Levon Helm & the band are doing sound checks, this is too cool! Shortly I'm asked to wait out front.

More cops are arriving by the minute which as you know is good for me as I'm still trying hard not to get mugged. Mike who I assume is with WABC comes out front & we talk. Nice guy. Cops set up a fence, I'm in the front of the line as others begin to arrive. Lots of security guys from Bo Dietel & Asso. The cops don't know who Bo Dietel is-funny. 5:00-the huge personal bodyguard with the Van Dyke walks out-black limo pulls up, IMUS is in the building with Deirdre who is sporting a fashionable new hairdo.

I'm interviewed by 2 television reporters and a newspaper reporter who are impressed (ah-hem-maybe think I'm an unbalanced stalker) that I made the trip from St. Louis. I meet other IITM junkies,-5:20 Charles walks right up next to me trying to make his way into the building. 5:30 doors open, I'm the 1st one in the theater, take an isle seat, row 5.

Bernie is running about, Charles is in his seat, Levon & the band are waiting, Charles opens with the news, IMUS makes his entrance, the crowd starts applauding, He looks confident, humble and happy.

I heard the same talk you all did about the Rutgers debacle and think that after weeks of speculation on how Don would handle it-he did so masterfully. "Things pretty much ended they way they should have." "I already lost my job, I was trying to save my life."
Not much left for the haters to b#$%* about after those opening remarks, huh?

I'd go to see IMUS do a show off of the back of a truck in Idaho so I can't say anything bad about the resurrection. Town Hall was a great theater, the crowd was wonderful, Levon was outstanding with his heart wrenching rendition of "Annalee".

Onto the train, the M60 bus, the plane, back to STL, 4:30 p.m. still no sleep but to the amazement of many I didn't get mugged..HA!

The Megan Meier Tragedy: Computers Don't Kill People, People Kill People...

Every evening Ron Meier sleeps 4 doors down from the Drew family who engineered an anonymous & twisted campaign of Internet torture, fraud & misrepresentation against his 13 years old daughter Megan, so complete that it pushed her into taking her own life. He sleeps in the same house with the computer that carried the message to Megan as well. I'm no Internet Cop & I bristle at the slightest suggestion of censorship, that said, who is responsible for what happened to Megan?

In case you have missed this story here is the crib notes version. Megan Meier lived near another teen girl named Sarah Drew. It's been said that Megan struggled socially & was perhaps withdrawn, depressed & slow academically. Some ordinary teenage issues between the girls led Sarah's mother, Lori Drew to post a fake MySpace page in an attempt to lure Megan into a emotional on-line relationship with a nonexistent boy named Josh. Josh's mission was to see what Megan would say about Sarah. Megan was intentionally toyed with and ultimately an unintended consequence of this pathetic misrepresentation by the Drew family was that a fragile Megan hung herself in her closet and died on October 16, 2006.

One of the strangest components of this sad story is that Megan died almost a year ago yet only recently did her parents go public with their story. It seems Ron & Tina Meier were told to be quiet while local law enforcement grappled with the situation. They went public with their tragedy after learning that the fraud that was perpetrated against Megan by the Drew family, and aided by the Internet, is not illegal. The Meiers are in the middle of a divorce right now. I have to wonder if going public with this much earlier could have saved their marriage? I don't think law enforcement has the right to silence grieving parents looking for justice.

So I wonder... how does the Meier family forgive the unforgivable and how do they move on from here? Sadly they probably don't. If I could turn back time, and reshuffle the deck for them I can't see how they could have done much better with their Megan. From what I have read Tina Meier had a better handle on Megan's Internet habits than most of the parents I know, myself included.

While I didn't know Megan, I have seen her picture. She had dark hair, dark eyes and braces. She was a beautiful young woman trying to figure it all out. I have surprised myself by shedding some tears for Megan and her parents while writing this story. If I am any example of the social conscience of the jury pool here in the St. Louis metro area, the Drews should be very concerned.

Let me explain: For starters-if I had visited such a nightmare on a family who lived 4 doors away from where I lay my head at night, I would be afraid to sleep. Anything could happen. The Drews need to move now! Away from the scene of the crime, away from the Meier family. Next-the Drews should expect some legal eagle to come forward to represent the Meier family gratis, and file a civil action against them any day now for wrongful death ala O.J. Simpson or Robert Blake. Finally, as if their actions so far don't say enough about the Drew family-I still have to wonder how in hell can they possibly stand living 4 doors away from the family that they have destroyed? Without question someone in the Drew family owes a debt to the Meier family and society for their actions.

We now know that for all its benefits, the computer & internet can be a deadly tool in the hands of a fragile teenager or a deranged, immature adult. In memory of Megan Meier I'm asking all parents to speak with their kids this weekend about their Internet use. Let them log on and read this story, leave a comment and ask God to bless Megan & her family.

Is This A Blog, Essay, Commentary Or What, & Who Is D.W.

Let Me Be Clear From The Get-Go, I'm No Journalist.

So if you're a grammar cop or English major, move on. I started this page because I have very strong opinions on a variety of issues. I thrive on debate, discussion & an open exchange of ideas. For years I have posted my thoughts on C.L./Back Page so on. I have always wanted my voice heard and my own blog seems like the next step.

What will I say here? I'm big on personal freedom and the responsibility that goes with it. I have a unique & outrageous sense of humor so I'll occasionally try and make you laugh. I don't put up with bullies and I tend to try and help those who are being screwed. I am rabid about national politics so I will talk often about the issues, candidates and the '08 election. I don't stand for censorship of anybody on any level so I'll talk often about freedom of expression & speech.

I'm from St. Louis and occasionally I'll talk about regional issues that concern me. If you are from Albany NY, please hang in here. Eventually I will have something for everyone.

I am passionate and aggressive & sometimes people mistake that for anger. It's not...I try not to get angry.

I'll be adding the finishing touches to this page soon & by week's end I will write my first Essay, Commentary or whatever. Check back often For this to work, I need your help. I need you to tell me what you think about what I think. Make your voice heard on my blog, try and change my mind on an issue if you dare. Teach us something. Let's go!