Sunny 105 is the only radio station I listen to while in the Soccer Mom / REALTOR Car. (Though we don’t do soccer, The Man insists it’s a Soccer Mom Car.)

Were I a more devout Christian, I’d listen to K-Love Radio or something. But the name K-Love creeps me out, making me think of hippy stuff from the 1960’s that a good Christian woman would never be involved in. Or I think of the old K-Tel records formerly advertised on TV. I don’t know what this confession says about my inner character, but hey.

I only listen to Sunny 105 in the morning when Doc Roberts is on. Doc may not know it, but he and I go back a long way (hoping he doesn’t read this and think of Play Misty for Me – I swear I don’t shriek like Evelyn!)

Doc won’t remember me from his days as “Mark Roberts” on WLSP, Carbondale’s “Lifestyle Country” 94.3 FM. But he’s the last existing shred of my high school social life. He may find that alarming, as do I…I had very few friends and very strict parents; my social life consisted of cheap blank cassette tapes & my Sears stereo.

I wasn’t popular in school, probably due to my adoration of Conway Twitty. (Don’t laugh; his real name was Harold Lloyd Jenkins!)

I tuned to WLSP both for the music and the DJ’s: Joe Coleman, Gordon Knight, George P. Schmitt (who sang an awesome rendition of Tom Jones’ Say You’ll Stay Until Tomorrow), Bill Buckingham, Mark Roberts, and my most adored Dave Skyler Tyler.

A girl in my school claimed she was dating Joe Coleman. We argued over this in class, resulting in my accidentally punching one of my few friends in the mouth. I KNEW Joe Coleman, darn it, (after all, I met him at the Wayne County Fair!) and he was NOT dating her!

• Note: Bet you never realized how crazy DJ fans can be! Watch Play Misty for Me and be educated.

I called Skyler every night – along with other radio-heads like “The People at Gentex”, “Half-Wit”, “Half Wit 2nd”, the girl referenced above, and “The Rascal.” I was “Karen from Pink Wig.” (I’ll spare you the lame explanation.) I usually requested Conway Twitty or Exile.    I was SO excited when Skylar called my house one time (never wondered how he got  my number) and said “Hey, Karen, how would you like two tickets to see Exile??”  AND I GOT TO SEE “THE RASCAL” AT THE BROOME COUNTY ARENA!!!!

My heart broke when Skyler left WLSP.

I called “Gordon Knight” every time he was on too, I think it was Saturday nights.  I usually requested either BJ Thomas’ Whatever Happened to Old Fashioned Love or Conway Twitty’s The Rose. I often thought of BJ Thomas as country music’s answer to Barry Manilow.

These radio guys were a pre-internet social network. I liked hearing that Rascal requested Lee Greenwood just to irritate Skyler (he hated Lee Greenwood). The People at Gentex wanted to hear Alabama.

Those radio days are all but gone, and I admit I’m a streaming radio junkie, but Doc Roberts in the mornings helps me hang on to my past just a little bit.

Thanks Doc!