"Is there anybody out there?" - Pink Floyd

January 26th, 2011

I imagine anyone who would be reading this only stumbled upon it. That's to say I'm not dumb enough to believe anyone would still be checking in after all this time. So for the few who found these words from some random google search in the middle of a busy day, maybe you had three minutes to kill before a conference call or something and wondered what happened to those two jackasses who used to be on the air in Detroit, lol, let me tell you what very little I'm allowed.

The divorce is finally done. It was official a week into January. The last few weeks have been filled with busting up bank accounts and signing over cars and lots of bullshit that too many of us know all too well. If you're in that group you also know about domicile rules with family court and the 100 mile radius rule. Radio is a business where you sometimes need to move. 2010 was a year I needed to move to take a new job, and I could have, but I didn't, because I was fighting to be the one my children would be tucked in by most of the time. If you're in that group, you may know that when fathers feel so strongly about what's best for their children that they're willing to fight they still lose 92% of the time. Change of domicile would have been impossible to get concurrent with original awarding of custody, so every lawyer I spoke with explained to me that I couldn't move away and fight for my kids at the same time. One put it this bluntly. "It's your career or your kids, you gotta choose."

I chose my kids. I assumed at that time I would never have the chance to work in the business again, and being in my 40s had no idea what I'd be able to do. Today I received my first intent to foreclose notice from the bank. Still out of work. The way things shook out though, I'll be able to search for work now not only here but elsewhere, so I'm foolishly hopeful that after this much time and pain Bill and I will be able to soon get the show back on the air. If you're wondering how the rest of it worked out, I tucked my kids in about an hour ago.