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Matt's Monday Thoughts for Oct. 5th

I experienced something this weekend for the first time in my 10 years as a radio professional.

I went back to a town that I had previously worked in to stay overnight.

Since 1999, I’ve lived in Charlottesville, VA., Huntsville, AL, and Omaha, Nebraska. All great towns but it wasn't until Saturday night that I actually woke up in my old place of living the next morning. It was kind of weird to be honest, especially waking up in a hotel room after living in the city for 4 years.

Being gone only 5 months after my move to Des Moines made it a lot easier to pick up where I left off but it was still an interesting experience to see so many faces that I knew. Yet, there were some changes that surprised me like construction and new bars that had opened up.

I was back in town for a bunch of client meetings for my Creighton website and then I went to the Tucker Max movie and party event. While seeing “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell” was a cool experience, the party…..well – I only have 1 word and it’s not good for those of you who know of Tucker and would expect a great story:

LAME.

It was at a bar in West Omaha that tries very hard to make you think you are not in Nebraska. The lighting, the drink prices, the music….all trying very hard to convince you that you are aren’t in a city of less than 1 million people and state with less than 2.

A for effort though but the douche bag dudes out numbered the attractive girls 10 to 1 and the vibe of the place was that of a bad frat party.

Not my scene.

I actually was staying at the same hotel as Tucker Max and met him in the lobby as I was checking in. 5’6, probably 160 lb…nothing special to look at but a nice guy and somebody you can tell is still getting used to the spotlight. He’s jumpy at first when you alert him that you know who he is but calms down quickly.

At the overpriced, wanna-be city bar, I talked with Tucker for a minute or two amid guy after guy trying to shake his hand or talk to him or get an autograph. It’s kind of weird to think about his celebrity. All he really did was tell stories about his life.

As I told him – he could be 1 of 100 guys in the country but the difference is that he’s an outstanding story teller. He disagreed with me saying that it was him just being honest. Maybe – but honesty with a talent for putting words together has made him a lot of money.

A lot more than if he would have tried to be an actor. His 1 scene in the movie flopped.

Thank god for the Rose and Crown….my bar in Omaha. That made the night fun and drunk after I left the Tucker worship party.

*Entourage. Season finales are always sad. I hate them to be honest. All endings have been met with a nasty response by me. Even back when my mom used to pick me up from sleep away camp…I hated the final day. No more fun and games.

Well, the ending to this season was awesome. E proposing to Sloan was a gift to me because I was pissed that Jamie Singler was off the show after breaking up with Turtle. You have to give us one of the two and Sloan marrying E keeps her around for good.

As a 32 year old, a lot of my friends are getting married soon or have been married for a while. It was nice to see the real life side of the show poke through.

Next season could be the last. Donna and David’s marriage ended 90210. Maybe E and Sloan’s will end Entourage. They can’t keep going forever.

*Bored to Death. This show is going to be fun. I really like it and the comedy is perfectly matched to me. HBO has a big hit on their hands again.

Now, where is Big Love?

*Boy I feel for Iowa St. Another really tough loss at Arrowhead after the previous one to Florida St. and a game they would have won if they had A-Rob. 3-2 is still not horrible. But where are the 3 W's coming from now for a bowl game?

*Iowa's Ricky Stanzi was having a killer game...until he became Ricky Stanzi again and threw a pick 6 vs. Arkansas St. He's still the 1 guy who might keep them from a Big 10 title.

For more to date posts...

Be sure to check out my work blog:

http://www.kxno.com/pages/mattandmiller.html

I will post on here more than I have been but I get paid to post on the link above :)

To Remember September 2001

Every September, we remember 9-11.  I remember the fact that there were over 100 people from Mass. that died that day on the planes.  In fact, some from my hometown of Andover.  I heard the poem - Self Evident - today by Ani Difranco and thought I'd share it.  Love it.  

For her voice - mp3 is available here 

Self Evident by Ani Difranco 

yes, 
us people are just poems 
we're 90% metaphor 
with a leanness of meaning 
approaching hyper-distillation 
and once upon a time 
we were moonshine 
rushing down the throat of a giraffe 
yes, rushing down the long hallway 
despite what the p.a. announcement says 
yes, rushing down the long stairs 
with the whiskey of eternity 
fermented and distilled 
to eighteen minutes 
burning down our throats 
down the hall 
down the stairs 
in a building so tall 
that it will always be there 
yes, it's part of a pair 
there on the bow of noah's ark 
the most prestigious couple 
just kickin back parked 
against a perfectly blue sky 
on a morning beatific 
in its indian summer breeze 
on the day that america 
fell to its knees 
after strutting around for a century 
without saying thank you 
or please

and the shock was subsonic 
and the smoke was deafening 
between the setup and the punch line 
cuz we were all on time for work that day 
we all boarded that plane for to fly 
and then while the fires were raging 
we all climbed up on the windowsill 
and then we all held hands 
and jumped into the sky

and every borough looked up when it heard the first blast 
and then every dumb action movie was summarily surpassed 
and the exodus uptown by foot and motorcar 
looked more like war than anything i've seen so far 
so far 
so far 
so fierce and ingenious 
a poetic specter so far gone 
that every jackass newscaster was struck dumb and stumbling 
over 'oh my god' and 'this is unbelievable' and on and on 
and i'll tell you what, while we're at it 
you can keep the pentagon 
keep the propaganda 
keep each and every tv 
that's been trying to convince me 
to participate 
in some prep school punk's plan to perpetuate retribution 
perpetuate retribution 
even as the blue toxic smoke of our lesson in retribution 
is still hanging in the air 
and there's ash on our shoes 
and there's ash in our hair 
and there's a fine silt on every mantle 
from hell's kitchen to brooklyn 
and the streets are full of stories 
sudden twists and near misses 
and soon every open bar is crammed to the rafters 
with tales of narrowly averted disasters 
and the whiskey is flowin 
like never before 
as all over the country 
folks just shake their heads
and pour

so here's a toast to all the folks who live in palestine 
afghanistan 
iraq

el salvador

here's a toast to the folks living on the pine ridge reservation 
under the stone cold gaze of mt. rushmore

here's a toast to all those nurses and doctors 
who daily provide women with a choice 
who stand down a threat the size of oklahoma city 
just to listen to a young woman's voice

here's a toast to all the folks on death row right now 
awaiting the executioner's guillotine 
who are shackled there with dread and can only escape into their heads 
to find peace in the form of a dream

cuz take away our playstations 
and we are a third world nation 
under the thumb of some blue blood royal son 
who stole the oval office and that phony election 
i mean 
it don't take a weatherman 
to look around and see the weather 
jeb said he'd deliver florida, folks 
and boy did he ever

and we hold these truths to be self evident: 
#1 george w. bush is not president 
#2 america is not a true democracy 
#3 the media is not fooling me 
cuz i am a poem heeding hyper-distillation 
i've got no room for a lie so verbose 
i'm looking out over my whole human family 
and i'm raising my glass in a toast

here's to our last drink of fossil fuels 
let us vow to get off of this sauce 
shoo away the swarms of commuter planes 
and find that train ticket we lost 
cuz once upon a time the line followed the river 
and peeked into all the backyards 
and the laundry was waving 
the graffiti was teasing us 
from brick walls and bridges 
we were rolling over ridges 
through valleys 
under stars 
i dream of touring like duke ellington 
in my own railroad car 
i dream of waiting on the tall blonde wooden benches 
in a grand station aglow with grace 
and then standing out on the platform
and feeling the air on my face

give back the night its distant whistle 
give the darkness back its soul 
give the big oil companies the finger finally 
and relearn how to rock-n-roll 
yes, the lessons are all around us and a change is waiting there 
so it's time to pick through the rubble, clean the streets 
and clear the air 
get our government to pull its big dick out of the sand 
of someone else's desert 
put it back in its pants 
and quit the hypocritical chants of 
freedom forever

cuz when one lone phone rang 
in two thousand and one 
at ten after nine 
on nine one one 
which is the number we all called 
when that lone phone rang right off the wall 
right off our desk and down the long hall 
down the long stairs 
in a building so tall 
that the whole world turned 
just to watch it fall 

and while we're at it 
remember the first time around? 
the bomb? 
the ryder truck? 
the parking garage? 
the princess that didn't even feel the pea? 
remember joking around in our apartment on avenue D?

can you imagine how many paper coffee cups would have to change their design 
following a fantastical reversal of the new york skyline?!

it was a joke, of course 
it was a joke 
at the time 
and that was just a few years ago 
so let the record show 
that the FBI was all over that case 
that the plot was obvious and in everybody's face 
and scoping that scene 
religiously 
the CIA 
or is it KGB? 
committing countless crimes against humanity 
with this kind of eventuality 
as its excuse 
for abuse after expensive abuse 
and it didn't have a clue 
look, another window to see through 
way up here 
on the 104th floor 
look 
another key 
another door 
10% literal 
90% metaphor 
3000 some poems disguised as people
on an almost too perfect day 
should be more than pawns 
in some asshole's passion play 
so now it's your job 
and it's my job 
to make it that way 
to make sure they didn't die in vain 
sshhhhhh.... 
baby listen 
hear the train?

Neat Story

At 32, I know I don't have the life that everyone would want.  I've lived all over the country, striving for something that I don't know I'll ever achieve, hundreds of miles from my family.  

It's really hard to follow your heart and chase your dreams.  So when I hear of someone else who is doing that....well, I'm really proud to know that I'm not alone in my pursuit of something that isn't easy.  

Meet Adam Dawson.  I wanted post his email that he sent to me cause I think it's awesome what he has done.....

Hey Matt

My name is Adam Dawson, I'm from Omaha and listened to you the entire time you were in town.  I've emailed a couple times in the past, pretty much just as you were leaving town to wish you luck.  Seems like things are going well at KXNO, hope you're happy with where you're at.  I listen to your new podcasts as much as possible, I'll miss all the Creighton talk once the season starts up!

I'm bothering you today because I landed my dream job this week, I'm now fully involved in the world of professional sports.  About a month ago I decided I was going to follow through with my dream of being a tour caddie.  I've played golf for 15 years and love the game more than most I know, I named my kids after DLIII and Kaari Webb for example.  I hated the job I've been doing for the past four years and needed to make a change, now seemed like as good a time as any.  The fact that the Nationwide Tour was coming to Omaha and after Columbus the following week it's in Wichita, Springfield and Overland Park gave me a good chance at trying it out for a month.  Tournament week for the COX Classic came and I went to the volunteer caddie meeting up at the course.  I was first to arrive but last to pick a number, that valuable #1 position was waiting for me in the end.  My player showed up at 11:30 on Monday morning after five hours of waiting, his name is Steve LeBrun, a guy with lots of potential who has been struggling hard this year coming off of a shoulder surgery, I know of someone else who had something similar ;) .  Steve and I hit it off almost immediately, he liked my ambitious attitude and the fact that I had plans to be out on tour for a while.  By the end of Tuesday's practice round I had the job through the Overland Park tournament and at the end of round two I was offered the full-time gig!  Things like this just don't happen to people, I'm not religious but something is happening this week with all the breaks I've been getting.  The World Herald is running a front page story this weekend on caddies at the tournament and I was one that was picked for that, should have my picture on the front page which is cool.  

I'll wrap this up, I tend to go on forever about this.  I have a blog that I'll use to keep people posted as to what's going on with me and Steve in the weeks to come.  I figured you might think this is kind of a cool story and like to take a look at it.  I'm at http://caddieadamdawson.blogspot.com, my twitter updates are linked up to that too.  

Thanks for what you did while you were in town Matt, we miss you!

Adam Dawson

Omaha