Dave Richards for November 28th
--The Milk Fund Radio Auction is in full swing for another year each weekday morning from 8am to 9am on our radio station, our streaming TV channel and also live social media. I am more grateful than I can adequately express here for the generosity displayed in the variety and quality of the items which have been donated to our auction. There’s a child’s bike, a baseball autographed by Boston Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski, household appliances, holiday decorations and boxes full of gift certificates of all denominations. This year’s first auction yesterday morning brought in more than twice the phone calls and more than four times the dollars than the first auction day has in past years. We are very encouraged by this strong show of support. I hope you’ll tune in and help us raise money to buy milk for local families next year.
Milk Fund Appeal Chair Lisa Carcifero got a late start last year, joining the effort in November 2016, but this year she’s had months to ramp up the effort and she’s seeing immediate positive effects. In a visit to the first Milk Fund Radio Auction yesterday, Lisa was delighted to stand up and accept two $1,000 donation checks from the Pawtucket Royal Arch Chapter #4 and the Holy Sepulchre Commandery # 8, all Masons, when Rick Picard dropped by the radio studio. Additional checks totaling $70 plus the proceeds from the “Walk-Run-Drive” event put on earlier in the month by The Gym, LLC totaling $900 were also received. Wow. I hope we can keep this pace for the entire Milk Fund Appeal.
--I know this is a busy time of year, but some things I think you just have to make time for. One such event is the Main Street Holiday Stroll this Saturday from 2pm to 7pm. The committee has been very hard at work to stage this 9th Annual Stroll for many months and the early weather forecasts predict perfect weather for “Strolling” this Saturday. There are more events going on at one end of Main Street, Woonsocket, or the other than I can mention here. It is safe to say The Holiday Stroll rivals the venerable Autumnfest celebration for its far-reaching community participation. From our elementary school students to our local business community, everyone is pitching in to make it a memorable break for all who come. I hope you do.
--Before we get too far into the holiday season and I get all bubbly with the Christmas Spirit, I just want to get something off my chest. That’s right, it’s time for this week’s rant. I’d love to spout off on the ‘all Christmas Hallmark pay-cable channel’, but the Fabulous Denise loves those tear-jerkers so I’d better be careful what I say. Instead I will zero in on something which bothers me year ‘round………Half-hour TV shows that occupy one whole hour of time to broadcast. You know the ones I’m talking about. They come back from a three to six minute commercial break and literally spend the next two to four minutes repeating word for word what happened in the segment before the break. Then they’ll give you a few minutes of new material and then repeat that stuff after the next break. The result is if you’re interested in the subject matter, you are becoming increasingly frustrated with the constant repetition and the slow pace of the program. I think you are lucky to get 25 minutes of actual information out of a one hour TV show. Ugh!
This phenomena of ‘watering down the content’ started years ago with the daytime dramas, commonly called “soap operas”. They needed to make their plot lines last for months, so they had different characters repeat what happened to other characters. A lot. Then the reality shows found they failed to shoot enough footage to fill up their time slot. No problem. THEY started repeating. Before you knew it, even scripted shows were repeating their material to cut expenses and increase profits because, “hey, people are used to it, right”? It’s a shame, but they know that people like me who want that 25 minutes of material will be forced to record the whole show and fast-forward through the repeating of old information.
But what you do if you want to watch the show without recording it? You, friend, are out of luck. I found myself in this same situation this past weekend. The Fabulous Denise was recording another of her two hour ‘weepy wonders’ on Hallmark Channel and I wanted to watch an historical show. Double UGH! And, in case you are wondering or in case TV producers are reading my words……….. yes, I did shut off the TV and I did do something more productive with my time.
The last words of the late singer/actor David Cassidy, according to his daughter were, “So much time wasted……….”. I refuse to waste my time here on earth. And, I call upon TV producers to respect the time of the people in their audiences.
--That’s what I think. What do you think? Comments to: dave@onworldwide.com or postal mail to Dave Richards, WOON Radio, 985 Park Avenue, Woonsocket, RI 02895-6332.
Thanks for reading, and thank you for remembering The Milk Fund.
--30—
