US101 winning a Country Music Association award should hardly come as a surprise to anyone. The on-air personalities and the station itself win all the time.
But getting a personal phone call from Garth Brooks to tell you that you won is something different. That's what happened last week. Brooks called the station to let Gator Harrison, Greg "StyckMan" Owens and "Cowboy" Kyle Croft know they'd been named 2016 CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year in the medium-market category. They're part of the "Gator & StyckMan Program," which airs weekdays from 5:30 to 10 a.m.
Barry CourterWUSY was named Radio Station of the Year in the same market category. Brooks also called the winning stations in Houston, Cincinnati and Springfield, Mo.
* One of my favorite scenes from the television show "M*A*S*H" involved characters Margaret Houlihan and Frank Burns enlisting the help of a Korean woodcarver for a project. To prove his skills, he proudly holds up what is obviously a 2x4 piece of lumber and says, "Used to be round."
Burns says, "It looks like a 2x4."
Beaming, the guys says, "Thank you."
I was reminded of the scene over the weekend while showing off the work I've been doing while creating a master bathroom in our house. I've noticed that people come in, give it a cursory look, say nice things and then move on.
It's not like I expect an award or a parade every time someone checks out the work, and the truth is I suppose I should take these reactions as a compliment because really what they are saying is that it looks just like a room.
I mean, I get it. It's not finished, so it's not very glamorous or glitzy yet. It has four walls, a ceiling with some lights that work, some outlets and switches in the right places and a plywood subfloor. It's a room. It would be surprising if someone walked in and said, "Those corners are really square, and it's amazing how those lights come on like that when you flip this switch. Truly amazing."
But, to me, it is kind of amazing. Those lights and those switches weren't there a month ago and, given my limited intellectual capacity, it's stunning that they do come on. When I look at the space, I see all of the wiring and the planning and the thinking and the sweat and the drywall tape and mud and the sanding that went into every square inch. Like the woodcarver, I know what it took to get it to the shape it's in now.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.