Ten years ago, on the Monday after my 66th birthday on January 2, 2016, and the first Monday after my Christmas/New Year vacation, I sent the following email to my WABC Family:
“Good Morning Folks,
Please excuse this group email, but I wanted to make sure that all my WABC Family heard this news directly from me. I just gave notice of my intention to retire from WABC and if they accept what I proposed, my last day here will be Friday, January 29, 2016.
Well over half my life has passed since that day in 1976 when I walked onto the 8th floor of the ABC Building at 1330 Avenue of the Americas. I started here as a 26 year old single guy, and over the past 40 years, I met and married my best friend, became a Dad 3 times, sent 3 kids off to college, saw my first son get married, became a Grandfather twice, and recently celebrated a 36th Wedding Anniversary with the same girl I met back in 1977 in the middle of a 5 month long NABET strike against ABC. Over the course of 40 years I have managed to work for 5 different companies without ever changing jobs! Along the way, I’ve worked with some of the best radio has to offer. From the Musicradio days, legends like Dan Ingram, George Michael, Rick Skylar, and Johnny Donovan. On the WPLJ side there were great folks like Tony Pigg, Pat St. John, Jim Kerr, Jimmy Fink, and a late night guy named Bob Marone. When WABC went talk in 1982, I was fortunate to work with great folks like Rush Limbaugh, Bob Grant, John Gambling, and again Johnny Donovan, plus some characters like Ed Koch, and Joy Behar. I’ve also worked with more Account Executives and Sales Management folks than I can count, some of them were the best in the business…and then there were the rest! I’ve appreciated every day that they do what they do so our checks don’t bounce, because if I had to do their job, they probably would!
When I started at Musicrado 77, WABC in 1976, it was the most listened to station in the nation. It was the pinnacle of radio’s number one market, the place where everyone wanted to work, and the only radio station I wanted to work at. I grew up and now have grown old in this radio station and the members of the WABC Family were, and are my family, and I feel that WABC is my radio station. Over the years I’ve been to countless weddings, even Rush Limbaugh’s very secretive and lavish one in Palm Beach, seen so many folks become parents, helped friends bury their parents as my WABC Family helped me do twice 30 years apart, and been fortunate to meet, work with, and become friends with so many great people. How could I not think of this place as my radio station?
40 years of working at WABC has given me so much, taken me to so many places, and let me have experiences very few can look back on in their lives. It has provided a very good life for my wife Susie and me, and for our kids Billy, Krissi, and Kenny. It’s given me memories I will treasure for the rest of my life, and stories that I’ll probably be telling for years to come. I know that I’ve shared many of those memories and stories with you folks, be them from the Musicradio or Talkradio days. In a way, that keeps the WABC of old alive and well, even if it’s only in our minds. I’m sad that our fate in the ratings’ war has not been as kind recently (I’m being generous…this station’s rating stink!s), but I still love and am proud of those four letters. I only wish Cumulus would change them and stop dragging W A B C through the mud, turning what was a legendary radio station into a Mecca of paid programing for anyone who wants a radio show! It makes me sad that today, the radio industry is in the shape it is, and that the future of the young kids I work with today is not as bright as mine was in 1976, but for me, it’s time for Susie and I to move on to our next chapter.
I may be retiring from Cumulus, New York, but in my heart I’m saying good-bye to the WABC/WPLJ Engineering Department and the American Broadcasting Company that a 26 year old me started working at so very long ago. When I look back, all I can say is, “Thanks for the ride…it was better than anyone could expect!”
During the next month that I continued working, I wrote several blogs about my 44 years working in New York Radio, since my start in 1972 at WHN. Over the next month I’m going to share some of those looks back at may radio life that are now 10 years old! Hard to believe. Back in the day, I thought Working in Radio was “Better Than Working for a Living”, but little did I know, the BEST was yet to come!
At the C.W. Post College Interfaith Chapel on the Brookville Campus, at 4:30 in the afternoon of Saturday, September 29th, 1979, in front of friends and family, two young people promised to join their two lives together till death do they part! This is their story…..
Is it just us, or did the Summer of 2025 pass in a flash? Here we are in the middle of September already, with the Labor Day weekend practically a dim memory in our rear view mirror, and kids in school already! It seems like we were just getting ready for summer, and experiencing the first of the summer visitors to Ocean City, and now they’re gone, and our street is empty of cars with Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland license plates. Time really has a way of playing tricks with your mind, and the passing of the summer of 2025 was a big one!
It was a strange summer weatherize too, here at the shore. There were weeks when all it did was rain, and we felt sorry for the renters. There were weeks when the temperature was in the 90s from sunup till late at night. There were also days that the temperature was more spring or fall like than what one would expect from the summer. I guess it was a summer of, “if you don’t like the weather, just wait and it will change”…but you may not have liked that either!
Our Summer of 2025 started with the traditional start of summer, Memorial Day Weekend, but in our family it has an alternate meaning…Susie’s Birthday on May 28th! The festivities started on Tuesday May 27th when Kenny (representing his sister, brother, and brother-in-law) and I took Susie to Tomatoes for a great dinner with a great waitress that really made the night! Then, since her actual birthday was on Wednesday, the celebration continued at Charlie’s where the three of us were joined by our good friend Sue and her husband! Jim
Thursday, June 19th turned out to be International Martini Day, and Susie and I decided to dress appropriately for our visit that night to Angelo’s Fairmount Tavern.
June 29th was the date for Susie’s 2025 Free Table! All through the year, as we’re cleaning out things in the house that we no longer need, they are deposited in one of Susie’s Free Table boxes. Then on a day of her choice, she’s out early in the morning setting up tables in the driveway telling folks that Everything (except the tables) Are Free for their taking! Better than trashing the items and much easier than a Garage Sale!
July was our month for family visits, starting off early in the month with Kenny, Krissi and her husband Mike joining us for a long 4th of July weekend! They were with us for almost a week with Krissi and Mike working from Ocean City, but there was still time for some great family time, and the three siblings had time to enjoy things on the boardwalk they remember from being little kids in OC!
Then, about 10 days after Krissi, Mike, and Kenny left us, we had a wonderful visit from our oldest son Bill and our three Grandkids…Layla 11, Henry 9, and our baby, Annabelle 6! If you think we were busy with the 3 older kids, that ain’t nothing compared to the activity that our 3 Grandkids brought to our house! They arrived on Thursday afternoon and soon we were off to the Boardwalk for a night of food and fun! #1 on the list was dinner at Manco and Manco pizza on 9th Street, or as our family calls it, Hose Pizza! That name was coined in one of Bill’s earliest visits to Ocean City. His first summer here, he was 7 months old, and for the next 16 or 17 years, Ocean City was a part of each of his summers. Because they put the sauce on the pizza via a hose, it’s always been Hose Pizza since a very young Billy christened it with that name. Pizza done, it was time to head to Playland and some amusements, but first spend some quarters in their newly rebuilt arcade area! Stupid Grandpa, remembering what we did when our 3 were the age of our Grandkids, put a $20 bill into a coin changer and changed it into quarters. Have any idea how hard it is to grab $20 in quarters, and how heavy they are in your pockets??? Only after getting the change (and with Grandma following me and doing the same thing), did we realize that we could have put the $20 on a swipe card that could be used at all the games! After that, it was time to head out to the rides and into the crowds of people! Grandma and I found a place to sit, and doled out tickets, and a good time was had by all! Every one was tired by the time we got home that night!
The next day after breakfast, it was beach time! Chairs, toys and our Cool Cabana were packed into the beach wagon, and the D’Elia Family headed to Pennlyn Beach! After a great day at the beach, it was time for an early dinner at Charlie’s, and then some front porch games and relaxation.
Saturday dawned a bit crummy with some scattered showers, but as soon as the rain stopped, Billy, Layla, and Henry decided to walk the boardwalk. Annabelle voted to stay with Grandma and me at home, and Grandma dug out one of her old stand by rainy day at the beach activities, Painting Shells! Annabelle and Grandma had a great time and later in the day we joined the rest of the group on the boardwalk! This was the day that the kids had to get some Ocean City Merch (as they called it), and then they all wanted to play Mini Golf! No matter how many shots she took, when asked what she got on a hole, 6 year old Annabelle always said “One,” which didn’t go over great with the 9 and 11 year olds. As we approached the 15th hole, I told Billy, “Now I remember why I hated playing mini golf with you and your sister and brother when you three were little!” After golf, it was a required visit to the Surf Mall and some more Merch purchases, before Grandma and I called it quits and headed home! That night, some Chinese take-out that the kids wanted for dinner, then Billy and the kids headed to Playland for their last night in town!
They left early on Sunday as they headed back to North Carolina and Grandma and I went into rehab mode!
Having Grandkids is a wonderful thing, and we dearly love spending time with our 3. The problem is that when our 3 kids were little, their Grandparents lived minutes away on Long Island, and were in their lives multiple times a month. Things are different today, and our three Grandkids live in North Carolina, while we live in New Jersey, so the time we get to spend with them is precious to us! The good thing is that no matter how long between visits, as soon as we are with Layla (10 going on 16), Henry (9), and Annabelle (5), we all immediately fall into a comfortable Grandparent/Grandkid vibe.
The plan this time was to get to their place at 4:00 after they got home from school. We were going to hang out with them for a bit, stay with Henry and Annabelle while our son took oldest Granddaughter Layla to Drama, and then take off for dinner. That was the plan at least, but the plan didn’t take into consideration that it was about 6:00 on a Friday night, and lots of people had the same idea. Our first stop was a favorite Italian place of the kids, but the wait there was at least 30 minutes, and probably more. Next we were off to a Mexican place, but we couldn’t even find a parking place there. Billy had to pick up Layla at 8:30, and we’d used up a lot of that time driving around trying other places. We tried an Applebees near her Drama class, and although there were lots of empty tables, they had no staff to wait on these tables, so it was at least 45 minutes to wait! The last resort was a Chili’s near our hotel, and after a short wait to clean a table, they sat us down! Adults were getting hungry, kids were getting hangry, and it was almost time to get Layla, but all worked out and the evening was saved!
The plan for the start on Saturday was to attend one of Henry’s hockey practices. This 9 year old kid is a wonder on ice skates, and eats, sleeps, and breaths ice hockey. This year he’s transitioned to the goalie position, and is a stand-out! Our son Bill is a coach and they have some really great shared Dad/Son times with hockey! Our youngest Annabelle decided she’d join Grandma and Grandpa at the hockey rink, and we made sure to bundle her up. Susie and I have learned, and now have a designated hockey bag that comes with us to NC full of all manner of warming things!
After the practice, we had some time and the two of us headed to Aldi to buy some Aldi wine that we like to bring home, then it was off to a local Brewery with the kids and some neighbors and hockey friends that we really like! Adam and Courtney are two great people, and along with their kids Violet and Crosby, we were so glad to get to spend some time with them. Adam’s folks were there too. and it was great to meet them! Billy and Adam coached a team last year, and they are on an adult team that plays weekly. Crosby and Henry are fast friends, and Violet and Layla have played soccer together. We met some new friends too and it was great couple of hours!
Saturday night it was family time and time to finally celebrate Christmas with our kids! The kids had Billy leave the tree up, and there were lots of presents surrounding it. The kids always get money in their College Funds from us, but when you’re a kid, nobody cares about college money, so there are always presents too! We’d brought a bucket of Wings from Charlie’s in Somers Point, Billy ordered pizza and a great time was had by all! The hit of the night was this floating ball that Susie picked up for Henry at Sam’s Club. We went home happy that we’d finally had Christmas with the kids and ready for sleep because Sunday was starting early!
And by early, I mean the alarm going off at 5:30 AM in our room because at 6:30 Henry had a hockey game! We dragged ourselves out of bed, and by 6:30 we were sitting the in bleachers ready to cheer on Henry’s team. They needed a few extra players, so Crosby was playing with Henry and Adam was there to cheer the boys on. No other grandchildren attended with us!
Henry’s team won the game by a 3-2 score and Henry got a lot of great saves. After waiting to see Bill and Henry after the game, we headed back to our hotel to “relax!” After several hours of watching some TV and taking a long shower, we were ready to head to another ice rink, and another practice to watch Henry and Bill in action! This time the girls were along, because after the practice, it was time for us to have some alone time with the girls!
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Both Layla and Annabelle had gotten Target gift cards for Christmas, and were anxious to do some shopping, so that was our first stop. I got Annabelle to pronounce it “Targeé” and she got a kick out of that. Layla is quite a good shopper and she got a lot for her money, while Annabelle is a 5 year old and had some trouble making a decision, but she was happy ultimately with her purchases! Then it was off to the hotel for some fun! Dinner was at McDonald’s and it was successful with Annabelle eating everything she ordered!
Sunday was a school night, so after Mickey D’s, it was home and time to get into PJs and wait for Dad and Henry to get home! A lot of activity in a jam packed weekend with our North Carolina Family! Till next time.
Miriam Webster defines the word anniversary as follows:
Anniversary noun the annual recurrence of a date marking a notable event
Well in the D’Elia Household this week we think we have 2 recurrences of what we think are notable events.
Today is January 28th, 2025, and on January 28th, 2005, we became the owners of the first floor of 854 Pennlyn Place! If you read the story about our recent trip to Las Vegas, you know that we owned a house there, made a large profit on that house when we sold it, and that profit was the down payment for our Ocean City home! Having sold the Las Vegas house in the fall of 2004, when we came down to Ocean City for the week between Christmas and New Year, we were prepared to house hunt. It was only when we started house hunting on our summer vacation in August of 2004 that we discovered the North End of Ocean City, having never really been aware of the island north of 9th Street. Perhaps it was Kismet, but when we came down that winter, we rented on Pennlyn Place. Our Realtor, Ray, showed us several properties up and down the island, but we fell in love with 854 Pennlyn. We saw the place on December 28th, decided shortly after that it was the one for us, made an offer that was accepted, and off we went.
The closing was scheduled for Friday, January 28th, so we drove down the night before and stayed in Atlantic City. The next morning we drove to the house and unloaded some things we’d brought, and at 10 AM we met at the title company on West Avenue. Before noon, all the papers were signed and notarized and when we returned to 854, it was as the new owners of the first floor. A dream we thought just months before was out of our grasp was now reality. We owned a house in Ocean City, New Jersey!
Our original intent was to keep the place for a couple of years, and as prices escalated, to flip to a better property and then another better property, but we got to know Pennlyn Place, and that plan went out the window The very next morning, I was on the front porch and met our next door neighbor, Doc Anderson. Over the years we’ve met so many neighbors and so many of them have become friends. There’s been 20 years of nights out to dinner, 20 years of parties, and 20 years of nights on the front porch with friends. The truth is that we’d be hard pressed to leave 854 Pennlyn. Yes, over the 20 years people have come and gone, but they’ve been replaced by new people. Susie is very sure that this is our forever home, and it would be hard to argue her point!
The second of “the annual recurrence of a date marking a notable event” that we celebrate this week is tomorrow, Wednesday, January 29th. You see, it was the morning of Friday, January 29th, 2016 that I last stood on the Mineola Long Island Rail Road platform and waited for the train to take me to Penn Station. I started at ABC as a member of the WABC/WPLJ Engineering Department in 1976, and 40 years later, on January 29th, 2016, I retired. 9 years ago I joined Susie in the wonderful world of retirement, and she’s still putting up with me!
So one anniversary of a beginning this week, and one of an end….
We’ve just come back from a fabulous week in Las Vegas and I have my wonderful wife, and 3 of our kids to thank for the trip. Way back in August, I was informed by Susie, our daughter Krissi, her twin brother Kenny, and Krissi’s husband Mike, that in honor of my upcoming 75th birthday, they were going to take me to Las Vegas to celebrate! After discussing dates and everybody’s life schedule, it was decided that we’d arrive on the 12th, as that was 10 days after my actual 75th birthday, and the kids would take the red-eye home on Wednesday the 15th, with Susie and I staying till that Friday. We had months to go and plan, but before we knew it Summer was over, Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went, my birthday was here on January 2nd, and the trip was just 10 days away. Now it was real and we went into travel mode, re-checking reservations, grabbing our suitcases at the storage place, and deciding what to take. At the last minute, Mike’s boss decided that they needed to have a meeting in Vegas, so he flew out a couple of days early. On the morning of January 12th, the four of us (Krissi and Kenny in New York and Susie and I in Ocean City) got up way too early and prepared to head to Las Vegas! Here are some highlights of the trip, because if I detailed everything we did, you’d still be reading this on my 76th birthday!
SUNDAY
We were fortunate to be able to use miles we had to reserve round trip First Class seats to Vegas on American Airlines. Although we’d driven to Philly every time we’d flown since moving to OC, this time we were trying something different. We were booked directly from Atlantic City International Airport to Las Vegas…..but how you ask? American Airlines had begun bus service from various regional airports to Philly. The trip was booked like a connecting flight, but leg one was in a luxury bus with the American logo on the side. The only wrinkle was that we got to Atlantic City’s Airport a little after 4 AM, but the American folks didn’t show till 5 AM! Oh well, there was nothing we could do about it at this point, so we waited till he got there, checked our bags in to Las Vegas, went through our TSA Screening, and waited for the bus at the assigned gate. The ride to the Philly airport was fast and trouble free (it was still dark on a Sunday morning) and we arrived in plenty of time to make our “connecting flight”. Having gone through TSA Screening in AC, we had no need to do it again. The bus actually drives on the field, dodging planes that are parked and taxiing, and drops you off right next to the shuttle to other terminals. From one bus to another and quickly from Terminal F to Terminal A and our flight to Las Vegas! This was so super easy, and it is something we’d definitely take advantage of if we fly again. The flight was great, with an excellent Mexican Egg Enchilada breakfast and several Cranberry and Vodkas, and before we knew it, we were starting our decent into Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport.
Kenny and Krissi’s flight from JFK had gotten in about a half hour before us, and we met them in the baggage claim area. They parked the old folks in a couple of seats, and proceeded to collect our two suitcases, and then the 4 of us headed out of the terminal and boarded the Rental Car Shuttle Bus. We picked up our BMW SUV, and in no time we were driving down the Strip on our way to our hotel, Paris. We’d chosen Paris because of it’s mid-strip location, and the fact that all of us could get rooms for just the cost of the Resort Fee and Taxes (just out $50). During the check-in process, the young lady wondered if we’d like to upgrade to a suite. “How much?” we asked. When she replied $285 we said, “No Thanks!” When she said $85, we said yes. We had a lovely one bedroom suite with a living room, two bathrooms, and a view of the Eiffel Tower and the fountains of the Bellagio across Las Ve
After we were all checked in and settled in our rooms, we met in the casino and had our first drinks in Las Vegas at Le Central Bar.
After drinks, and a visit to a few slot machines, we were hungry, so we visited Bobby Flay’s Burger Bar for a bite to eat. Later that evening, a long time friend of Kenny’s, and a Vegas resident, Megan, along with her husband Daniel paid us a visit. We ended up in Vanderpump à Paris, which according to the kids, is a bar/restaurant owned by some reality TV star. All we knew was that it had a nice atmosphere and would be good for conversation. The kids were additionally excited that our waiter was somebody’s son, and had also been featured on this reality show. Don’t ask us…..
After a couple of more drinks, the older folks were tired and headed to bed, leaving the night to the young!
MONDAY
Monday in Vegas was a special day among special days! 20 years ago, on the occasion of our 25th Wedding Anniversary, Susie and I, along with our great friends Pat and Steve Grosskopf, flew to Las Vegas, and at the Chapel of the Bells Wedding Chapel (the place where Clark and Ellen Griswold renewed their vow in Vegas Vacation), we renewed our vows. Susie got the bright idea that since we’d just celebrated our 45 Wedding Anniversary back on September 29th, and with 3 of our kids in attendance, we should once again renew our vows. With Krissi as the Matron of Honor and Kenny as the Best Man, and Mike as our witness, for the second time at the Chapel of the Bells, we renewed our Wedding Vows.
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It was a lovely service, and afterwards we adjourned to our suite at the hotel for a sparking wine toast! Later that night, we Uberred to Lawry’s Prime Rib for some martinis and a wonderful dinner. Susie and I have been there, as had Kenny, but Krissi and Mike were Lawry’s virgins. We had a couple of great martinis in their beautiful bar, and an excellent dinner with wonderful food and a great waiter. We’d been singing this place’s praises to Krissi and Mike for weeks, and after dinner, when I asked Mike if I’d oversold Lawry’s, he said that on the contrary, I’d undersold it! It was a great night with Kenny taking care of transportation and drinks, and Krissi and Mike picking up the dinner bill! Krissi and Mike told us that they tried to get our oldest Billy to join us as a surprise, but with his family and work situation, it was impossible.
TUESDAY
Tuesday was reserved for downtown/Fremont Street. We tried to get a cab for all 5 of us, but the doorman said there were no large cabs in the line, and two cabs would be about $56. For $60 we took a party van, (Krissi’s a good negotiator) and a good time was had by all! We toured various casinos, won and lost some money, had some drinks, and ended the adventure with a couple of cheeseburgers each from White Castle! What a great day!
We had the party van drop us off at the Horseshoe casino next door to Paris, and after some gambling (and winning – “put a dollar in, win a car”), we adjourned to Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Sports Kitchen.
Everybody enjoyed their meal, and once again it was time for Mom and Dad to call it a night, and leave the fun to our three younger partners.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday was a sad day because it was the kids last day in Vegas, but we still had some fun! Back in 2003, Susie and I got the idea that someday we might want to retire to Las Vegas. With this in mind, with the help of our friend Sharon, we bought a house in Vegas. We picked out the model, the lot it was to be built on, and all the finishes and appliances. 3 months later, the build on 10423 Gwynns Falls St. was completed, and although the plans were to rent it out, we decided that we were going to be the first people to sleep in the house. We shipped a king sized aerobed to Sharon, and spent 3 nights living there before we rented it out. We timed it right, and land values in Vegas skyrocketed. We rented the house out for the entire time we owned it (paying our costs) and sold the house 22 months later for a profit of about $135,000. That profit became the downpayment on our Ocean City house, so this Vegas house in a very real way led to us purchasing our now forever home! I’ve told you that story so I could tell you that we started Wednesday by getting the car from the Valet at Paris, and we drove out to visit our house.
The area had grown greatly in the past 22 years, but we were able to find the house. We drove the neighborhood, took some pictures and then headed off to our second stop of the day, an early lunch at In-N-Out Burger.
In-N-Out Burger is a West Coast only chain that we’ve known about for the last 20+ years. During that time, anytime we’ve made a trip to California or Nevada, the trip has included at least one stop at an In-N-Out. In 2016, when we drove across the country after I retired, we even found one in Idaho! The last time we’d eaten here was about 7 years ago, so a stop was a necessity, and we chose one near the Vegas house on Eastern Avenue. Susie and I ordered Double Doubles Animal Style and Animal Style Fries well done and a couple of drinks. I’m sad to say that we were not (nor were the kids) blown away by the food. Perhaps the hype over the past 7 years has been too much, or the quality has changed, or our taste has changed, but Susie said she’d rather have had a Big Mac and frankly the fries stunk! To be brutally honest, I enjoyed the White Castle cheese burgers the night before on Fremont Street better!
After a disappointing lunch, we headed to another one of our favorites, Green Valley Ranch for some more gambling! We marveled how the area around the casino has grown since we first came here 20+ years ago, and gambled for an hour of so alongside and apart from the kids. Having had enough of our adventure for the day, we loaded into the car, and drove back to Paris.
Wednesday’s evening meal would be our last with the kids, and we decided to go back to Vanderpump’s. We were shown to a great private table in the back of the restaurant, ordered some drinks and an assortments of some wonderful finger foods, and thoroughly enjoyed our last meal together!
With still some time to kill before the kids had to head off to the airport, we returned to our room, and had a rousing game of Texas Hold-em with Mike serving as the dealer and using another deck of cards as chips. We had some drinks, enjoyed the cards, and our time together till we said our goodbyes, and Krissi, Mike, and Kenny headed off to the airport.
THURSDAY
Now with just the two of us, Susie and I had plans to visit one of our favorite places in Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon. 25 years ago, on our first trip to Vegas, we’d explored the canyon, and it was a place that we have visited virtually every time we’ve been to Vegas! It frankly was the place we fell in love with in the Las Vegas desert and probably the inspiration for even thinking we might enjoy retirement there. Luckily for us, our friend Eileen was in Vegas the week before us, and through her Facebook posts discovered that you now needed a reservation to tour the canyon, so I went on line and secured one for 1 PM on Thursday afternoon.
Thursday morning we got the car and headed around the 215 Beltway to one of our favorite Hotel/Casinos, located just down the road from Red Rock. Red Rock Resort and Casino is about as far away from the Las Vegas Strip as you can get and still be in Vegas and we love it. The first time we went to Red Rock Canyon the hotel wasn’t even there yet, but it’s now one of our favorite destinations. We started with an early lunch in the Coffee Shop, and then killed some time gambling before we headed off to the canyon for our 1 o’clock reservation. As I said, we’ve visited the canyon many times, and have even brought friends there over the years. The main thing we are interested in is the 13 mile scenic loop, and within no time, off we went.
After taking a little more than an hour on the loop, we headed back to Red Rock Resort to play a few more games of chance, we returned to Paris to think about packing our suitcase and to have dinner at the Cafe Americano.
FRIDAY
Friday was our last day, as we were scheduled to take the red-eye back to first Philadelphia and then on to Atlantic City and home. We checked out and left the hotel about 10 AM, and decided to have breakfast at a Nevada place we’d first been to in Reno, Peg’s Glorious Ham and Eggs. We decided to take advantage of their menu and take a brief trip back to Hawaii and both enjoyed Loco Moco, a dish we’d first had at Oahu’s Rainbow Cafe. We enjoyed it a lot!
Then, after filling the rental car with gas, we returned to Red Rock Resort, where we’d decided to spend the rest of the day. Now this resort in addition to a hotel and casino, and a bunch of restaurants also has a bowling alley and a 12 screen movie theater. No, we didn’t go bowling, but after gambling and having some luck for a couple of hours, we bought tickets and throughly enjoyed the movie Wicked!
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It was a great last day, but it was time to head home, so after the movie we grabbed a bite at the resort’s food court (Orange Chicken and Fried Rice at Panda Express), hit the bathrooms, and headed back to the Vegas Car Rental Center, and the shuttle bus back to Terminal 1.
The flight to Philly, the transfer between terminals, and the bus back to Atlantic City worked perfectly, and early on Saturday morning we were reunited with our brand new Honda CRV, in the parking garage at the AC airport, and were on our way home!
It was a great trip, a wonderful way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of my birth, and just so special to renew our vows with Kenny, Krissi and Mike in attendance. Thanks to our great kids and my wonderful wife for coming up with the idea, and then being part of this adventure!
Mike McKay was a DJ that I worked with at WABC. Mike started in 1979 after Harry Harrison, Chuck Leonard and George Michael were let goThanksgiving weekend, in what’s become known as the Thanksgiving Massacre at WABC. We started as co-workers and quickly became friends. I have fond memories of sitting on the board in 8A with him as we did Yankee games, including the night we decided to have a real baseball game experience and sent Angel Bourdon to the Joy Deli for beer and popcorn! Mike would come in, do the log as we engineered the game, and then after the game was over, he’d do a music show. Then there was the time that Mike, Sue Lee, and I traveled in a limo to do an interview with Kenny Rogers at the Meadowlands. I know we had a great time doing it, but for some reason, it never got on the air??
As I said, we quickly became friends, and Susie and I were guests at Mike and Nancy’s house in Malvern, Long Island, and they were guests in ours. That was where we discovered that Mike McKay was just his professional name. His real name was Jay Heavey.
In 1982, WABC Musicradio 77 became Talkradio 77, and Mike stayed on, working as a staff announcer alongside Johnny Donovan, but he was young and really wanted to be a DJ. In 1984 he left WABC and began his DJ trek around the country, with stops in Salt Lake City, Indianapolis and Detroit. Eventually he found a home in the Southwest and in 1997, he, Nancy, and their daughter Erin moved to El Paso, Texas, where he did voice over work, and became part owner of a station and their morning man.
In 2016 after both Susie and I were retired, we embarked on what we called our “Bucket List” trip, It turned out to be a 9 week trip across the United States, driving just under 10,000 miles. I’d posted a couple of stories about the trip, and Mike got in touch and wanted to know if we were going to be getting down their way. I told him we were, and that we already had hotel reservations, but he would hear nothing of it. He insisted that we stay with him and Nancy and be their guests. Susie and I spent several days in El Paso with Mike and Nancy, and it was like no time had passed. I will treasure the memories of that time with our friends that we first met a long time ago.
As I said in this blog in September of 2016, “We rang the doorbell and Nancy and Mike came and greeted us. Handshakes and hugs were exchanged (Mike and I hugged, while Nancy and Susie shook hands), and they invited us inside. The first thing that happened was we got a tour of their lovely house, found out that they were giving us their bedroom for the two nights, and then Mike started the blender and whipped up frozen margaritas. This relationship showed great promise. Drinks in hand, we adjourned to their lovely backyard, which has a pool and ultimate privacy. In minutes, it was like the last 30+ plus years had not happened, and we were all much younger, having fun in their old house in Malvern, Long Island! At one point, Nancy and Mike went in separate directions to make dinner preparations, and Susie looked at me and said, “this is good…very good,” and it was.
We had our first home-cooked meal in close to 5 weeks (Filet Mignon, Twice Baked Potatoes, Broccoli, and Bernaise sauce for the steaks), and it was a wonderful night of food, conversation, and great friendship (and semi-frozen Margaritas). We sat around the dining room table talking till almost midnight, when the 4 of us realized we’d better get to bed.” We later found out that Mike and Nancy also wondered if the relationship we had 30+ years earlier would still be there. The 4 of us were thrilled to learn it was!
As the title says, this is happening way too often as of late. Wednesday morning, I got a call from Mike’s wife Nancy who told me he went peacefully in his sleep, something she said he always wanted. He was a great radio guy, husband, father, and friend, and I will miss our interactions. As I said, it’s happening too often!
Mike McKay
Nancy said she hopes to have a memorial in New York in the future.
The morning of September 11, 2001 was a sunny beautiful late summer morning on Long Island. The temperature was cool, the sky was blue, there were little or no clouds, and the humidity of summer was gone. It was one of those late summer days that hint to the wonderful days of the coming fall season. It was a totally normal day as I walked from the parking garage to my usual place on the Manhattan bound platform of the Mineola Long Island Rail Road platform, and waited for the 7:24 train to Penn Station.
All along the platform there were groups of LIRR regulars, who gathered at the proper location to board their desired car of the train. It might be a matter of knowing where that car would platform in Penn Station, or might be a gained knowledge of what cars on the train might be a little less crowded at that time of the morning. Being creatures of habit, you tended to see many of the same folks day after day waiting on the platform with you, on the train already when you got on, or getting on the train at the Merrilon Avenue and New Hyde Park stops. By in large you hadn’t talked to them and knew nothing about them beyond the fact that they took the 7:24 train to Penn and sat in the second car from the end of the train most days.
Of course, that normal feeling of the morning of September 11th ended when we watched the second plane hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center just after 9 AM! Most of us were then aware that we’d just entered a new world and life would never be the same. The horror of the day continued to unfold as we watched on live television the unfathomable happen with both towers of the World Trade Center collapsing. Rumors were everywhere, and working 17 Floors above Penn Station, and just two blocks from the now tallest building in NYC, the Empire State Building, nobody was sure if there were more attacks coming, and if so, where would they strike. When they finally opened Penn Station late that afternoon, the trip home was strange and very quiet, and when the train came out of the tunnel in Queens, I think most of us looked to the south where the twin towers of the WTC were that morning, but now there was just a pillar of smoke.
The days, weeks, and months following September 11th were very odd in the New York Metropolitan area. Living in Mineola on Long Island, depending on the weather patterns, we were under the landing pattern for either La Guardia, or JFK, and were very used to having a plane go over head every couple of minutes, but with air travel in the United States grounded in the days after 9/11, the skies were eerily quiet. Almost immediately, there were American flags everywhere. Continuing to travel into Manhattan daily on the Long Island Rail Road, the trains were very quiet, especially when we got to the point in Queens where we used to be able to see the towers and now just saw smoke. Penn Station was also very different than it had been before 9/11. There were armed soldiers everywhere and many more police than usual. As the days went on, people started placing pictures of loved ones on bulletin boards, around the station, asking people if anybody had seen them after the towers fell. Security in office buildings all over the city was increased, especially in ours at 2 Penn Place, being above Penn Station. At home, we were missing friends who were members of the NYPD, the NYFD, and even local volunteers, all who were involved in World Trade Center Search and Rescue, and then Recovery. It was a sad time for sure, but also a time that everyone felt we were united as one; there to support each other!
As I said in the beginning, those of us who were daily Long Island Rail Road riders into Manhattan were creatures of habit, traveling on the same train and sitting in the same car everyday. But there were people I’d seen for months, and many that I saw on the 7:24 to Penn Station on that fateful September morning that I never saw again. I always wondered, were these fellow LIRR travelers victims that died in the WTC, or people who were traumatized by the events of 9/11, and just didn’t have the ability to go to work in Manhattan anymore, or had something else change their commuting patterns? As I said, one question I’ll never know the answer to from 9/11.
We were on Long Island recently for the first time in months, for the Wake of a good friend, Jimmy McGuire. Driving around areas and through neighborhoods that were part of our lives for over 60 years brought back lots of thoughts and memories. As we were driving through Westbury, Susie said to me, “What was the name of that restaurant on Post Avenue that was across the street from the Westbury Train Station?” Well, we wracked our brains, and although we remembered the Wheatley Hills Tavern just up the street, we couldn’t for the life of us remember the name of the restaurant Susie had asked about. We continued to search our brains, and Susie did her letter association, which usually works for her, but nothing. It wasn’t till we were on the Garden State Parkway hours later that the name came to her…The Piping Rock Inn! Remembering that started us thinking about other restaurants that we’d enjoyed, but that are no longer in existence, and Susie said to me, “You should right a blog about them.” And so, here it is! The one thing all these restaurants have in common is that they are gone, and only live in our memories. Let’s start with the one that started this whole discussion…..
The Piping Rock Inn – It was located across from the train station on the corner of Westbury Avenue and Union Avenue. We started going there when we were dating and it was considered one of the more classy places I took Susie. It was an upscale establishment and dinner was at least $50, so that tells you how long ago it was! We’d be escorted to our table, elegantly seated, and order a bottle of Mateus Rose, or Lancers, or perhaps a Little Blue Nun, and pretend we were very elegant. We’d have a wonderful meal (no idea what the food was) along with elegant service. Who knew almost 50 years later that we can spend $50 going to McDonald’s with our 3 Grandkids! The restaurant was ravaged by a fire on July 5th, 1980, and never reopened, and the corner is now the home of a glass and steel multi-story condo building. Sad that it’s gone, but it will always live on in our memories!
Wheatley Hills Tavern – Located a couple of blocks further north on Post Avenue in Westbury, it was a favorite “after dinner” stop for us in our dating years. When you walked into the front door off of Post Avenue, you were confronted by a huge rectangular bar. Liquor bottles were displayed on glass shelves around the middle of the bar, and were softly lit by red light. It was a nice quiet place to sit and talk and have a drink. There were no boisterous groups at that hour, and we enjoyed it as a great venue to learn about each other. We’d both enjoy an Amaretto on the rocks and each others company. The restaurant was started in the 30s, and was there for many, many years. The building is still a restaurant, but no longer the Wheatley Hills Tavern.
Dynasty Restaurant – Located on Northern Blvd. in Roslyn, my association with this great Chinese Restaurant started when I was still going to C.W. Post College in nearby Brookville. It was an upscale, elegant Chinese Restaurant and my folks loved it too. It also plays a central part in Susie’s and my life, as it was the first place I took her for dinner shortly after we met. On that night, the “fortune” in my Fortune Cookie said, “You will marry your present lover and be happy!” Almost 45 years and 3 kids later, I think you could say that it was a very accurate forecast of my future. It was a family run restaurant, and you’d be greeted by “Mama” in the coat check room, and then by Sam, the oldest son and maitre d’. Sam would take and make our drink orders, and present you with a menu. The menu at Dynasty was not really a menu, but a folder that held many small menus. There was a menu for Beef and Pork, Seafoods, Appetizers and Soups, Cocktails and Wines, Poultry, Calorie Conscience, Vegetarian, and Noble Delicacies, Chop Suey, Egg Foo Young, Chow Mein, and Lomein, and Desserts. The food was incredible and there was a great staff of only gentlemen who elegantly served you. It was a very special place. Over the years we learned that Sam was an architect, but as the oldest son, when his father died, he had to leave his chosen profession, and run the family business. Shortly after Mama died, the restaurant closed and the space became an Italian restaurant. We miss the Dynasty, and will always remember the special place it had in our lives, and only hope that the closing meant that Sam got to live his chosen life!
Jericho Diner – Located on the corner of Jericho Turnpike and Roslyn Road, this was our local diner, and the place that all our kids ended up after any nighttime event. The pay phone outside the front door was also our only means of communications when we moved into our Mineola house in the middle of a strike at New York Telephone and couldn’t get our phone installed! Susie, by the way, was pregnant with Krissi and Kenny too! Unfortunately, a number of years ago it was replaced by a CVS Drug Store! As with all diners, the menu was huge, but Susie always claims they served the best cheeseburger she’d ever had…even though one day they served her a Cheeseburger Deluxe platter, piled high with fries and onion rings and a beautiful bun, but no burger! Everybody, including the waitress got a good laugh out of that!
Rutha’s Italian Restaurant – Located on Northern Blvd in the Auburndale section of Queens, this was a real old school Italian place. We learned about it the day we moved from Jackson Heights to Bayside in 1968 and the moving men told my Dad they’d stopped there for lunch and raved about it. Soon after we went for dinner and saw why they raved. The place was built in 3 storefronts, with one being the bar and the other two the actual restaurant. Your dinner came with a salad, complete with glass oil and red wine vinegar bottles on the table. Everything was great, from pizza to mussels, to full meals, but I loved the Veal Parmigiana that was prepared and served in a small metal casserole dish. It was big and oh so good, and every time I got it, it was cooked to perfection. Because it was also a bar, it was a great place to enjoy a pizza and a pitcher of beer. Sadly, after many years of enjoying meals there, one day it was suddenly gone.
Roslyn Cafe – Located on Roslyn Road, about halfway between Northern Blvd. and the Long Island Expressway, my love for this place dates way back to being a student at C.W. Post College and my time at WCWP, the college radio station. I think the first time I went to the Roslyn Cafe was with Bill Mozer, on one of his Friday nights off from ABC, and a group from the station. That was the first of many visits over the years with family and friends, and I remember loving the food and the kind of crazy atmosphere, as we loved sitting in the bar room. It was the food, and the people we were with, and the atmosphere that made it special in our eyes. Sadly, in the early 90s, it became an upscale restaurant with Valet Parking, and our beloved Roslyn Cafe was no more!
Manero’s Steak House – I don’t remember the first time I went to Manero’s, but I know it was a staple of our early married life when we lived in Port Washington. Located on Northern Blvd. and Middle Neck Road, this Manero’s was one of a couple of restaurants in a small local chain, and we just loved the place. It had a real old time steak house vibe, but unlike the current version of steak houses, you didn’t go broke paying the bill. Your meal came with a big salad in a wooden bowl, and I remember a real treat was to get their Oil and Vinegar dressing, and pay a bit more to add crumpled Gorgonzola cheese! We enjoyed many great steaks, along with their onion rings and garlic bread over the years, along with the typical grumpy waiters. Sadly, the entire chain went away and our location became a Bryant and Coopers, which Susie and I only went to once back in the day because the prices had more than doubled! We have, however, recently been there for our good friend Patrice’s Birthday Lunch, and it was very nice…but then we didn’t pay the bill!
TR’s in Williston Park – Located on Hillside Avenue, a block away from the East Williston Long Island Rail Road station in Williston Park, the TR in the name stood for Teddy Roosevelt, with a menu loaded with Teddy references, and a place we were regulars on many Fridays we didn’t travel to the Shore. This was a real neighborhood bar, where people stopped in on the way home from the train station for a drink or dinner, and where people like us came to enjoy a meal and the surroundings. We loved sitting at one of the high tops in the bar, having a couple of beers, playing Lotto Quick Hits, and running into neighborhood people we knew. We enjoyed their buffalo chicken wrap and their burgers were excellent and served on an English Muffin. Susie was partial to their sweet potato fries! Sadly, Patti the owner sold to some folks who decided (as often times happens) that they had a better idea, and changed the theme, the name, the concept and raised the prices and TRs was no more.
An incredible bacon/cheese burger from TR’s
These are just a few of the many restaurants that have come and gone, but that live on in our memories. Of course, there were others like Apple Annies on Westbury Avenue in Westbury, that was a big old rambling place that we went to on holidays like Mother’s Day. They had the best brunch! There was Jimmy’s Backyard along the water on Main Street in Port Washington that we went to for George and Pat Michael’s wedding reception. We thought it was a fabulous place, but it abruptly closed, and we never got to use the $100 gift certificate we had. The Candlewood Inn along College Point Blvd in Flushing, where they made incredible Spaghetti Carbonara right at your table. After going a couple of times, loving it, and bringing others with us, the next time we drove by it was a topless club! Then there was Danny’s Haven in Baldwin, near where Susie lived in. An old school pizza and beer place, it was knocked down, and replaced with a McDonalds! There was Amigos, a little hole in the wall Mexican place on Main Street in Port Washington that we went to for many years. Nothing fancy, but good food and drinks at good prices. Sadly we drove by one day and it was gone. Susie’s brother Donnie worked at Villa Rosa in Freeport. Great Italian food, but sadly it too is gone!
The restaurant business is tough, and any establishment that survives and thrives (like our favorite Piccolo’s in Mineola) is an exception to the rule. Yes, restaurants come and go, and like the ones I’ve enumerated above, ultimately all is left is our memories of good food, good times, and great people. We salute those that live in both our memories and in our everyday life, and hope to have lots more drinks and meals with the people we love in the great restaurants that are still around. To the rest of them, thanks for the memories!
One of the hard things to deal with emotionally when you get older, is that calls you get about a death among family or friends, more likely concerns a friend or relative who is near your age, rather than a friend of your folks or a parent of one of your friends. It has been a pattern in our lives the past couple of years, but it’s still always a shock. That was the case on Wednesday night when we learned that our dear friend, and my former co-worker, Jimmy McGuire had died.
Jimmy running the board in WABC’sStudio 8A
I met Jimmy the first day that I worked at ABC…August 8, 1976. Well, it really wasn’t day, but rather night, as I started my first shift at the WABC/WPLJ Engineering Department at 11:45 PM on a Sunday night. There were a lot more people at the station that night than would normally be around on a Sunday night, because on that night, the main WABC Studio was being dismantled, in preparation for a rebuild, and Jimmy was a part of that crew. A year older than me, we had similar backgrounds and we just seemed to hit it off. After 4 years at WHN Radio, where I was the youngest Engineer by a whole lot, it was good to be starting at a place where there were a lot more folks in my age bracket!
After my two weeks of training were over, I ended up working the evening shift (either 3-11 or 4-Midnight), which Jimmy worked too. This was definitely the shift where the younger guys and gals worked. We started our day with the second half of Dan Ingram’s show, were part of George Michael’s A-Team of Engineers, and finished up our day with Chuck Leonard. We also enjoyed the more laid back WPLJ radio style with Pat St. John, or Tony Pigg, and Carol Miller, ate dinner together, and thanks to Bill Mozer and his Volvo, we traveled home together many nights. Those beginning years at ABC were without a doubt, the best time I’ve ever had working, and since we worked the same schedule, many times our work life and our social life became one.
Jimmy along with George Berger, and other NABET Members picketing in front of the ABC Building in 1977
In May of 1977, NABET (our union) went on strike against ABC and now we had a lot of free time! We had to picket every other day, and we were on different picket schedules, but there was no more coordinating days off, so the younger group was available to hang out together. On July 3rd, because I didn’t have to work, I went to a backyard barbecue where I met my forever partner Susie, and soon she too was in the mix of my ABC Friends, so she’s known Jimmy about a year less than me. Now we had a foursome…me and Susie and Jimmy and his girlfriend Diane, or Dede as we always knew her.
Action Park in Vernon, NJ Pre-Kidsand Post Kids
When the strike was over, we went back to work, but we still managed to hang out when we were off. Jimmy liked to go out on my boat, even though he was a rotten sailor, and more often than not ended up hanging off the side of the boat throwing up in Long Island Sound. Jimmy and Dede were always at the Christmas Party we’d throw at my Mom and Dad’s house in Bayside, and were a part of the Christmas tree decorating party my folks had every year! When I popped the question to Susie, Jimmy was an usher in our Wedding party. He also was instrumental in planning my Batchelor Party along with our late friend George Berger, which was legendary!
At work we continued to be partners in crime! Jimmy and I worked so many remotes together for WABC and WPLJ. Big events like the WPLJ Dr. Pepper Concert Series at Central Park’s Wollman Skating Rink, and small 2-man jobs like the year we did Winterfest in Central Park. We also always seemed to end up working the shift before the twice a year time change, and had the task before we went home Saturday night of re-setting the clocks in every WABC and WPLJ Studio. When music ended at WABC, and when combo came in, and we stopped Engineering for PLJ, a number of people went to either TV or Network Radio, but Jimmy and I stayed around at Local Radio. When I became the daytime Group Seven, Jimmy worked daytime in Maintenance, so we were still together. We celebrated with Jimmy and Dede, when about a year after we tied the knot, they too got married. We helped each other move out of apartments into houses, and were there for backyard parties at each other’s homes. We were there for each other through the death of parents and the joy of the birth of our kids!
Me, the late Al Gold, Su Ronneburger, and Jimmy out to lunchMe, Jimmy, and Kiki HooperJimmy and myself hanging in the hall of the ABC Building outside of Studio 8XJimmy, myself, the late George Berger, Laurie Kline, and George Musgrave in the Engineering Shop in the ABC BuildingOne of our Birthday Club lunches at Benihana around the corner from the ABC Building – Jimmy, Me, Al Gold, Gene Maxwell, Bob Deitch, Marilyn Kammer, Su Ronneburger & Cathy WeinflashJimmy’s Birthday Lunch with Laurie Kline, Rosemary Nelson, and meChief Engineer Bill Krause, me, Su Roneburger, and Jimmy visit out new Studios at 2 Penn Plaza just before our move from the ABC Building
In the early 90s, ABC separated local and network radio from the companywide NABET seniority list, and Jimmy felt his best chances for the future was to now go to TV, while I stayed in Local Radio. Jimmy went to TV ENG, and loved what he did. He traveled the world on news assignments for ABC and enjoyed it all. As his schedule got crazier and crazier, our lives drifted apart, but there was still the warm bond between us anytime we were together. Over the years that happened many times, but we were all too busy raising kids (Billy, Krissi and Kenny on our side and Melinda and Christopher for the McGuires) and getting on with our lives to have the kind of relationship we had in our younger years.
When I retired in 2016, I went to the NABET Retiree’s luncheon on Long Island for the first time. Jimmy had retired a couple of years before, and it was great to see him and Dede and so many of the folks I started with way back in 1976! The funny thing was that I was the only one that had retired while still working in radio, but even after working for years in television, the group from the WABC/WPLJ Engineering Department sat together…that’s how special those years in radio were, I guess!
Me, Jimmy and the Late Great Jerry Zeller at one of my first NABET/ABC Retiree lunches
The last time we were all together, was five years ago, at a big party thrown to say goodbye to WPLJ that had been sold to a Christian Broadcaster, and would be changing format. Everybody I started working with in 1976 was there, as well as people I’d worked with during my 40 years with the station, and since I’d just retired 2 years before this party, everybody I left in January 2016 when I left WABC and WPLJ for the last time. Even though I knew all these people, Susie and I spent the night with our old friends from the early years at ABC, including Jimmy.
Jimmy and Dede loved cruising, and since as a Disney Retiree he got discounts from Disney Cruise lines, they often times cruised with Mickey and Minnie. In fact, they had just gotten back from a Disney Alaskan cruise with their whole family: Daughter Melinda and her Husband Tom, their two Grandkids, and their son Christopher. It was after a red-eye flight home, that Jimmy had gone out to his car, and had fallen “asleep”. Farewell my old friend…we will often think of you and remember the good times, and Susie and I are happy that your last week on earth you were surrounded by your family, and that your passing was as peaceful as it was. Love you Jimmy!
R New Adventures 