It started out as a normal day at WBKC. I did many different air shifts there over the years and this particular day, I was handling the mid-day air shift. (10A-3P)
I had just cracked the mic for a break when the station manager and two cops walked into the air studio. I completely froze.
So, let’s halt this scene right now. While I wasn’t exactly a hell-raiser, those were my drinking days and who knows what i could have done the night before. But for cops to have the GM interrupt my break to take me down? This must be serious.
As you probably figured out, it wasn’t serious. It was for a good cause. I was being arrested for the March of Dimes Jail and Bail. This one had a twist. The arrest, conviction, sentencing and jail time would be done live on the air.
Someone else hopped on the air and did a play-by-play as I was handcuffed and walked out of the station. I was then handed the Marti unit (the transmitter that enables remote broadcasts) and headed to “court” which was set up in the old Senior Center in downtown Painesville.
They had a real judge run me through the court process while the whole thing went over the air. I had to “do time” until I could raise $250 for the March of Dimes. I did reports every 15 minutes until I had made enough phone calls to get that pledged.
What a unique way to help raise money. And I can’t believe that someone actually took a photo of this AND that I kept it.
