12 posts tagged “interview big show”
Hal Graham, the original Bell Aerospace rocketbelt pilot passed away October 23, 2009. I had the privilege of interviewing him twice.
The Rocketeer
Originally Posted
10/19/2006
Some days the old day job is the greatest job in the world. Yesterday
was just such a day. I had the rare treat of interviewing Hal Graham,
the world's first rocketbelt pilot, and one heck of a ukulele player.
Hal told us all about those heady days in the early sixties when Bell Aerospace sent him all around the country demonstrating the whiz-bang technology of the rocketbelt. He flew for dignitaries, high ranking Pentagon officials, even President Kennedy. While the rocketbelt never realized its promise of personal transport for the atomic soldier on the battlefield of tomorrow, it went down in history as the coolest accessory a spaceman or spy could ever have. From Commando Cody to James Bond, to the Rocketeer, the idea of strapping a rocket on your back and taking off into the wild blue yonder fires the imagination (and probably the seat of your pants.)
Check out Hal in action from his Pentagon Demo. (I added the Shatner vocals. I hope Hal doesn't mind-- it just seemed natural.)
Hal was recently one of the guests of honor at the Rocketbelt Convention held at Niagara Falls. He told us about that too, and treated us to a verse of his song, "My Rocketbelt Daze." You can check out the full performance of his song at the convention over on Tie-dyed Tehuti at VOX.
He also disabused me of a couple of erroneous notions. I was under the impression that several of the guys at the convention came to show off their DIY rocketbelts, but Hal set me straight right away. "These guys aren't knocking these things together in the garage," he said. Oh well, so much for the Diet-Coke and Mentos powered rocketbelt I've been cobbling together!
Listen to the full interview with Hal, as I sit in with Jesse and Sam on the afternoon radio show.
Now, this is not the first time I've had a rocket-jockey on the radio. When my brother and I had our afternoon classic rock show, "The Drive," we did a series of traffic report skits, one of which featured a rocketbelt stunt man. The joke was that our town is so small that the idea of an afternoon traffic report is ludicrous. The running gag through all the skits was that no matter what method we used-- helicopter, hot air balloon, ice cream truck or rocketbelt, something always went wrong and we could never get our traffic report. Mercury Theater Of The Air we weren't, but presented now for your entertainment is "Flash," our doomed rocketbelt traffic reporter. Enjoy!
Are you comfortable? Want some popcorn?
Be sure to check out Hal's rocketbelt page.
My Pal Hal
Originally Posted
8/9/2007
This is a guy I'm proud to say I know. You don't meet many
characters like Hal Graham these days. The real deal with the right
stuff, Hal is the original rocketeer. As the first pilot of the Bell
Aerospace rocketbelt Hal demonstrated his mad rocketbelt skillz for the
top brass at the Pentagon and flew for J.F.K. I caught up with Hal as
he prepared to attend the Rocketbelt Convention this weekend in New York. He graciously agreed to an interview on our radio show this morning.
I stumbled upon a sad bit of news today. I just happened to peek into my junk mail folder to see what was there before I hit the 'Empty Folder" button. There were all the usual suspects, hair loss cures, male enhancement snake oil, get rich quick schemes, phishing scams from "banks" where I have no account, and of course, a dozen notifications that I'm the world's newest millionaire courtesy of some recently deceased Nigerian official. Tucked in among them was an email from October 24, the subject, Hal Graham.
I opened the message from Dr. Nino Amarena which informed me that Hal Graham passed away on October 23rd. For those of you who don't remember, Hal was a true aviation pioneer and the original Bell Aerospace rocketbelt pilot.
Here's video of Hal in action.
But Hal wasn't just an experienced pilot, aerospace enginneer and rocketbelt jockey, he was an accomplished ukulele player as well.
As I began to explore my options for getting the posts about Hal over to my VOX blog, or removing the password from my Typepad blog and tucking away some older, more sensitive assets for safe keeping, I stumbled across a post from April of '06 when the radio stations had just changed hands, my salary had been cut in half by the outgoing regime and we had no idea what to expect from the new owners. It was a tense, depressing time, but one event buoyed my spirits-- the event described in a post from April 5, 2006 titled, "Songs And Darkness."
The radio stations have been sold and new owners take possession on the 11th. It is a subject I've been silent on out of an intense desire for self-preservation, although I could tell some stories that would make you shake your head in disbelief (and have the audio tapes to prove them.)
The transition has been painful to say the least, although I have been assured that I will keep my job. "The Drive" will most likely go away with the arrival of the new owners and a new format. It has been suggested that I may become a producer for one of the talk radio shows, or perhaps some other form of low-level management minion with hit points of 0 and charisma of -1.
Each day as I pull into the parking lot my chest seizes with the uncomfortable tightness that comes from not knowing what office drama will be unfolding when I hit the door. Yet, I persevere. Today I was able to duck and cover so as to not get any of it on me, although there was plenty to go around.
But when I got to the studio I was informed that even though the transmitter was down I should do my show as usual because it might come back up. So for over an hour I played music and yakked into the microphone as if I were on the air... As if anyone was listening... As if it mattered. The rest of my night consisted of cutting the overnight weather, checking the fax machine a couple of times and pretty much watching the walls until time to go home. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to show up.
When at last the time came, I put the radio stations to bed, gathered my things and headed toward the door. Just then the phone rang. Who calls a radio station at straight-up Midnight? I figured it was one of the out-going regime making sure I hadn't left 30 seconds early. That really put a wrinkle in my jockeys. I was anxious to get home and put the finishing touches on my tribute to Star Trek fan films and didn't have time to play these silly games.
"Hey, I just wanted you to know that I think you guys are the greatest," said the unsteady voice on the other end of the phone. The impediment sounded natural, with perhaps only the slightest help from something medicinal.
Great, one of those.
I put on my perky voice. "What can I do for you?" I asked, hoping I could rush him off the phone after a quick request.
"I can't remember the name of the song or who it's by," He said.
I sighed to myself. These guys always take forever. The sad part is that even if he remembered the title and artist, I couldn't play it anyway since what we were broadcasting at the moment was a satellite feed from God only knows where. But the dutiful DJ response is, "I'll see if I can find it," or "I'll pass your request along to the air-staff."
Then he said, "My name is Frank and I work at Wal-Mart. I listen to you all the time and I think you guys are wonderful." He went on, "I'm fifty-five years old and I lost my son about four years ago when he was fourteen. You play some wonderful music that helps me feel better. Sometimes I come out to the lake at night and listen to you on my little headset and watch the water. I'm sitting here looking at the lake right now." I could hear the station playing softly in the background.
I tried to offer a kind word, but I was a little choked up. I could hear the loneliness in his voice. I could hear the gratitude he felt toward us for being there-- a friendly voice in the darkness, playing songs from better days. It seems odd that someone could feel such a personal connection to people who hadn't a clue he even existed, but perhaps that voice in the darkness was the closest thing he had to a friend. I wonder how many Franks there are, alone in the night, tuning in to the voice like a beacon of human contact. Perhaps it is not an exaggeration to imagine for some it is the only thing connecting them with the rest of humanity.
Maybe in a way the music that we play is somehow a shared experience, as if they feel we are choosing each song just for them; saying to them, "Hey Frank, remember when you brought your kid to the lake and he caught his first fish? This song was on the radio then too." I wished that he could remember the title of the song he had wanted to hear. I wished that I could play it for him. I stumbled through the perfunctory promise to look for it in the music library. I thanked him for his call and wished him well. He expressed his thanks again and we hung up. I came home to write this. Frank returned to the voice, the darkness, the waves, and songs from better days.
Call it coincidence, fate or the mysterious hand of God, but I needed to hear Frank's voice tonight as much as he needed to hear mine. I hope that by some quirk of luck the satellite DJ will play the song Frank was hoping to hear. I hope he feels that he made the connection he reached out to make. I know I won't soon forget him. I know why I'm going to work tomorrow.
When I read this over again tonight it kind of reached out and grabbed me by the throat. It has not a thing in the world to do with Hal Graham, other than perhaps to remind us that even in the briefest encounters with our fellow humans we make an impression. We never know when or how a simple off hand remark might build up-- or tear down-- another individual. Hal, with his good nature, gentle humor and mad ukulele skills impressed me as a man to look up to and emulate. I know he was a friend and mentor to many in the rocketbelt field. I know Dr. Amarena would agree.
A little later I will sort out all this blogging nonsense so that Dr. Amarena can put together his memorial. I'm honored that he would like to use my interviews. I'm proud to be a small part of the tribute to Harold "Hal" Graham, Rocketbelt Pilot, ukulele player and all around mensch.
Thank you all for your indulgence in my little digression into Songs and Darkness. I don't know why, but I just felt a need to share it again.
I've heard it said of a man who's been beaten, "He just needs to focus on a cause greater than himself." But for a man who has been broken the weight of a great cause can be overwhelming. Sometimes, to draw his attention away from his inner demons, a man needs something to care for smaller and more helpless than himself. Perhaps God sometimes sends angels in the form of animals to heal and to console. And perhaps because of their special service to the creator and their special bond with Man our animal companions may have secured a place in Heaven. Will the fur people who brought us joy on Earth be waiting to share our paradise in the hereafter?
I recently interviewed William Cuccia about how he overcame a lifetime of rage and depression by nurturing an abandoned nestling hummingbird. In their relationship Cuccia saw a reflection of his relationship with God and began to heal. He documented his experiences in a book called, "Hope:Lessons From A Hummingbird."
I also talked to Susi Pittman, a practicing Catholic who wanted to know what yhe Bible said about animals in Heaven. She found scriptural precedent that allows for animals in Heaven. She also explores the notion that animals have souls. She collected her research in a volume entitled, "Animals In Heaven? Catholics Want To Know!"
I recently interviewed Rod Pyle, space expert, Trekkie and WWII buff. Here's an excerpt from his bio:
Rod Pyle is a producer, writer and director of documentary programming for The History Channel and Discovery Communications, as well as an author of non-fiction books. Notable work includes "Modern Marvels: Apollo 11" for Hearst Communications and "In Their Own Words: The Space Race" for First Person Audio. Rod was formerly the Vice President of Communications for the World Space Foundation, a space-advocacy association based in Los Angeles and closely aligned with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA.
Rod spent two years as a visual effects consultant on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and was a visual effects producer for Joe Dante’s Warlords: Battle for the Galaxy for Paramount Studios*.
Current efforts include a WWII feature documentary entitled "War Without Mercy", to premiere in 2009, as well as the completion of a compilation of historical interviews for The Hoover Insitution at his alma mater, Stanford University.
His current book, "Missions to the Moon," is available now. Published by Carlton Books, UK, it will be published in the US by Sterling. Reviews are currently underway.
His book "Destination Moon" was released on November 1, 2005, and is being reprinted for 2009. Rod produced "Beyond the War of the Worlds" which is currently playing on The History Channel.
For those of you who remember the old Sid and Marty Kroft Saturday morning kid's show to which the title of this post refers, here's a trip in the Wayback Machine.
*Worked on Deep Space Nine-- How freakin' cool is that?
Ah, Grasshopper-- as quickly as you can snatch the-- DOH!
As bad as these situations are, so far they have been the result of corporate greed, malfeasance and poor sanitation oversight. I don't want to be an alarmist, but what would happen if there was an attack on our food supply; a deliberate attempt to contaminate our food or water by a hostile nation or terrorist group? If contaminates were introduced at multiple distribution points how far and how fast would they spread across the country?
Or what about a natural disaster or any other of a thousand things that might disrupt our food production or our transportation network? How would we cope? How many days would the food now on grocery store shelves last? What happens after that? We take for granted that the trucks and trains will run, that the lights will come on whenever we flick the switch, and so far we've been pretty lucky. But just think back to hurricane Katrina and you'll realize how quickly the system can break down. Wouldn't it be wise to take a little more personal responsibility for our own resources?
I'm not advocating stocking up on MREs and ammunition. That's just a little extreme and short-sighted (not to mention downright un-neighborly). But wouldn't it be nice to know that you had a garden, some stores of protein and clean water to fall back on in case you needed it? Even if Doomsday never comes we're better off eating what we and our neighbors produce locally. I doubt that Farmer Jones down the road a peice puts much melamine in his milk, and the tomatoes from your garden are less likley to be contaminated with salmonella than produce from some corporate mega-farm in Mexico don't you think?
Nancy Lee Bentley's website www.trulycultured.com is a great resource if you are thinking about growing, culturing and storing your own food, for whatever reason. Check out the wealth of information on her site. Even if you think naturally fermented foods is beyond your ability or not to your taste, the practical advice she gives on food self-suffeiency is well worth a look.
I had a fun interview with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson this morning. Dr. Tyson is the director of the Hayden Planetarium, author of numerous books and articles on the universe and host of NOVA ScienceNOW on PBS. He's sat on several presidential commissions and even has an asteroid named after him. He was voted the Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive
by People Magazine in 2000.
Not too shabby.
You may have seen him recently on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and He'll be a guest on "The Daily Show"with Jon Stewart on Wednesday, January 28. He talked to me this morning about his new book "The Pluto Files:The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet," getting an asteroid in your butt when you're not looking, life, the universe and everything else.
Whether you like Barack Obama or not, there's no denying the historical significance of his election as our 44th president. I spoke with Dr. Bruce Chadwick, historian and author, on inauguration day about Obama's auspicious achievement, one hundred and fifty years in the making.
Tom told me that the cemetery in Beaumont wanted to move the grave to a more suitable location to accomodate the many visitors to the site. The Big Bopper was exhumed, an autopsy was performed (They determined he died in the crash) and he was re-interred in a new casket. That left J.P. Richardson's son with a dilemma. What do you do with the original casket? One of the early ideas bandied about was to put the casket up for auction on ebay, which got a lot of press, but that idea is on hold for now pending the outcome of several private offers from museums.
You can hear my whole interview with Tom Kreason above, in which he tells about this and much more. Among the interesting facts of the Big Bopper's legacy is that it was J. P. Richardson who came up with the idea of the music video, and for a video jukebox on which to play them.
I told Dr. Hieronimus that of all the people in the world, he was one I'd most like to get stuck in an elevator with for a couple of hours of uninterrupted conversation. The truth is that a couple of hours wouldn't be nearly enough time to delve into even the most superficial discussion of Dr. Hieronimus' areas of expertise. He's created some of the most iconic images of the mid 20th century. He's mentored some of the most iconic people in American culture. He's one of the world's most renowned muralists and he's written on topics as far ranging as The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" to the esoteric meaning behind America's most important symbols.
We only had a few minutes during our interview to discuss a deep topic, and admittedly, Dr. Bob might be a little fringe for the typical Brownwood radio listener. In fact, the good doctor lost my co-host after, "Good Morning Mike and J.R., how are you?" I was fascinated however, and called him immediately after the interview to suggest another. He agreed to record a follow up interview with me unconstrained by the limitations of time and topic imposed by mainstream radio. I'll edit out some excerpts for broadcast, and post the whole thing here. He also sent me an autographed copy of his latest book, "The United Symbolism of America," and agreed to let me send him a few representative examples of my own artwork. We are scheduled to talk on July 8th, look for that interview to be posted here shortly thereafter.
