Radio Maverick

It’s another year, and I found myself once again at work with the sudden realization that we’re only days away from Christmas. Holy cats! It was just Halloween! Wait. Did I miss Thanksgiving? When we were kids, it took forever for Christmas morning to arrive! But as adults?

I know what you’re expecting me to say in this article. And you’re right. I’m going to state the two obvious places everyone says they would like to come to Wenatchee. But first, I want to give you some other food for thought. And perhaps some ideas for those who want to start a new business.

The days of national chain shops like The Warehouse, Licorice Pizza, and Tower Records are long gone. Ironically it’s the mom and pop record shops that have either survived the new way of buying online or listening via Spotify, or have suddenly sprung up due to the new interest in holding and owning physical vinyl. The closest record shop we found was in Ellensburg. We’ll visit this one here in a bit as we go in search of some of the great record stores in Washington.

Every year there’s a list of the hottest Christmas gifts from toys to the latest tech gadgets. And it didn’t surprise me seeing items like Marvel action figures and the Bluey Playhouse, to Google smart speakers/displays and iPads. But one product that I saw on quite a few lists this year, took me by surprise. Well, sorta surprising. Because now that I think about it, I could easily see this on several of my friend’s Christmas list. Heck, I wouldn’t mind unwrapping one of these on Christmas morning.

Well, tis the season for radio stations to flip formats. From secular songs to sacred sounds. And every year these stations dust off the ol usual suspects from Bing Crosby’s, White Christmas to Mariah Carey’s, All I Want For Christmas Is You.

This year, I’m not able to make it to Vegas (for Thanksgiving), for a lot of reasons. Let’s just say, forgive the pun, I have a lot on my plate. Plus there’s the lack of flights out of Pangborn Airport. So what’s there to do for a single guy who’s relatively new in town? I know. This sounds like a set up for a romantic Hallmark Christmas movie, right?

As I tossed and turned, I looked directly into the darkness of the open closet. Suddenly, there was a slight glow of an elderly woman sitting on a rocking chair. My mind must have been playing tricks on me. But then I heard her voice softly ask, “Having a hard time sleeping again?”

The radio announcer broke the frightening stillness of the airwaves. “Ladies and gentlemen, due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to continue the broadcast from Grovers Mill.”

So doing these special events like the Military Appreciation Campout fundraiser, isn’t something out of the ordinary for Dave Rayfield. And this particular event is something he started because it was on his heart. Knowing it takes the community to help make it successful.

I asked the Wenatchee Wild head coach about how the team has started off this season. Sometimes it’s a slow start, sometimes it’s greatness right out of the gate. How are we looking compared to some of the other teams?