Work Crew Not Working

I’ve long wanted to get together with my morning men and their spouses, and we did so at our place on Saturday night.

And we didn’t talk about work. It was wonderful.

Ken and his wife Nora, producer Ryan and his wife Wendy, joined us for a casual burgers-and-salads BBQ. Except for a brief spit of (not forecasted) rain, the weather was darn near perfect. We were so far out of work mode that we didn’t even take pictures, so this artist’s interpretation will have to do.

four old Italian men and three old Italian women posing at a restaurant table

There seems to be an extra man He was, um, the butler, yeah, that’s right.

They’re an interesting crew. Ken is a triathlon competitor. He and Nora have been together since high school and they somehow raised a family on a radio newbie’s salary. Wendy is Editor of the Dorchester Signpost and Ryan tells some of the best stories you’ll ever hear; from hanging out with Willie Nelson (whenever Willie’s within driving distance) to finding the severed tail of his cat (and keeping it for party tricks) to the annual bashes they host in his ultimate man-cave garage (we’ve been – they’re big fun).

Why do hosts make too much food for guests? I was left with a vat of rotini salad and lots of everything else. Each couple was forced to take a container full of salad home. What’s left won’t go to waste but dinners will be a little repetitive this week.

Derek took some good-natured ribbing about his wood hoarding and our many sheds. (We have three, plus the giant garage. Last winter, the 1961 Rambler sat on the driveway under a tarp because there was no room in the inns!)

In my experience radio people – and maybe all people – either make family out of their colleagues or keep the two life tracks completely separate. I’m hoping that as we continue to work as a team,  we’ll land somewhere in the middle in our personal lives.

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