Part 57 The Whistle In a previous installment, I mentioned, that when I returned to Southern California radio at KASK, I started to refer to myself as The Helmsman. Helms Bakery trucks would go up and down residential streets, selling bread, doughnuts, cookies and other products. The driver would blow a whistle, alerting patrons of his arrival. Ive learned that some people would display signs in their window, indicating that they wanted to buy something. So, when the driver saw a sign, he would make a stop. One night, when I was doing eight to midnight at K/men, I received a call from a young girl. She told me to watch my mail, she was sending me a surprise. Ive always liked surprises, so I was very curious. Within a few days, a package arrived. It was from Lisa Edwards, the girl that phoned me earlier. I had no clue what was in the box. When I opened it, I saw a strange looking whistle. It was unlike any, I have ever witnessed. It was large, with three chambers. Inside the box was a note from Lisa. She explained, it was a turn of the century German train whistle and if you covered one of the chambers, it sounded exactly like the whistle the Helms trucks used! She was right! I started using it in conjunction with my show. I covered one of the chambers with tape and voila! I would blow it on the air and say, Helmsman delivered to Sandy Evans of Rialto, via the hit-lines, or something similar. That one little item made a connection to the audience. I felt indebted to Lisa. I wanted to reciprocate. I called her, went to her house, met her family and gave her some keepsakes from K/men. That started a unique and lasting friendship. She was only thirteen at the time and attended junior high school. As she grew up, we remained close. She had no brothers and started calling me Big Brother. I had no siblings and referred to her as, Little Sister. We remained close. When she went to college, out of state, we wrote each other and stayed in touch. The last time I saw her was back in the eighties. She found out that I owned a business in Orange. She dropped in to say hi. Little Sister had grown up, complete with children and a husband. Two photos: A shot of Lisa and I when she starred in a high school play. (Lisa is wearing a crown). Also, a picture of a German train whistle from the early 1900s.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:01:05 +0000
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