Beth Bacall
WAWZ New York Star 99.1

Real Life “Rules”

It’s a common thread when prepping for a show, that “real life” rules.  These “topics” work best when the listener response is automatic rather than forced such as “What’s your favorite pizza topping?”  There’s a time and a place for this type of lead but emotional, unsolicited responses sound so much sweeter. When a listener hears us on their level, going through the same thing’s they face in everyday life, it’s a response waiting to happen. Recently pre-packaged, pre-washed bagged salad and how it made me punt for a new dinner-time veggie gave surprisingly great content on a recent radio show. Who would have thought that a short little vent about a bag of salad spoiling prior to its expiration date (along with a mention of a possible bacteria issue), could create such a response!  It was followed by a Consumer Reports statistic, proving this product unsafe for the family! Who knew a listener could be so passionate about lettuce! You would have thought I was at a nutrition conference, based on the conversations that were had. “The puffier the bag, the better the chance of bacteria”, claimed one caller.  “I love the Iceberg Buttercrunch blend”, said another. Some eat this everyday for lunch while others think this convenience is not worth the money, and opt to chop up and store their own in a bowl (which I learned you turn upside down with a paper towel, to absorb the extra moisture).  We are talking lettuce people, or are we?

Sometimes you just have to go with real life issues, which can take you down a path that gives you content you would never have dreamed of.  Take my word for it: I had a whole different direction planned for that show but once we got on the topic of lettuce, I decided to use my prior plans for a different day.  Women are wired differently; they can talk about pre-packaged food for half an hour, then segue into an intelligent political conversation all while wiping their 4 year-olds runny nose.  A similar incident happened after I accidently spilled a bottle of dark nail polish on beige carpeting (stay with me guys).  This superseded the time my daughter tumbled a pair of pants in the dryer, failing to remove her lipstick and crayons in the pocket. The resulting stain spoke volumes.  I am a klutz, was my first thought.  After searching the web for a quick fix, the only advice I could find was to use nail polish remover.  As if that thought never have occurred to me!  Lo and behold, the nail polish remover failed.  The stain was enormous and ominously dark, threatening my confidence in my domestic skills.  I decided to cover the stain with a towel and deal with it tomorrow.  Why did I cover it up, you ask?  Project Runway was on and I really wanted to see who won the challenge.  The stain wasn’t going anywhere.  The next day I took it to the air and there were many stain experts “in da house”.  I was led to a product called Spot Shout, available at my local grocery store.  To my amazement, after only one use, the stain was gone!  I seriously felt like Rachel Ray; able to give valuable information to large groups of eager listeners(who last time I checked, has pretty decent ratings with female demographics!). So go spill something or buy a bag of rotting salad, and have a  great show!
 
 

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