People and their Passions, part 1

My neighbor John, something of a jack of all trades career-wise, has recently fulfilled a dream which has been dogging him for forty years. Lots of people have such a passion, that fondest desire residing in their hearts which refuses to diminish, but not everyone manages to turn theirs into reality, like John did.
"The first time I laid my eyes on radio equipment, I said, I gotta do that." Says John, recalling the time a high school buddy let him into KAND radio station, in Corsicana Texas, where the buddy worked. By his senior year, John was manning the boards as DJ every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at KAND. John had found his first love, and her name was radio. This was the old days, he explains, when every second while the songs played was spent scurrying to queue tapes and albums, rewind others, and shuffle equipment. The only thing that allowed him to use the restroom was "American Pie," or one of the few other long ballads.

After high school, John moved to Dallas, working at KMAP (105.3), KLIF (mighty 1190), then on to New Orleans at WTIX, WOLF, and WSMB.
By 1973, John had returned to Dallas, and switched to television, working for channel 4 (CBS). This led him into the movie business, where he worked as a production manager on movies like Home Alone III and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. During this time, he moonlighted as a reserve officer and police academy instructor. In 1997, to spend more time with his family, he left the movie business to be a full time Dallas constable, where he has been since, rising through the ranks.

Since he left radio in '73, John has nursed the idea of having his own in-home station, one with the old-school control board and tapes like he'd started with. Several months ago, he found a gentleman in Connecticut, who refurbishes just such equipment, and had a system ready to go. With the addition of an antanae, some turntables, CD's, and odds and ends, John's radio station WYNR 1390 AM was born.
He can be found at the controls every Saturday and Sunday night from 7-9 broadcasting hits from the 60's, 70's, and 80's for all of his fans in our neighborhood and the five miles surrounding it.

WYNR is an awesone station. It even has it's own authentic retro jingle from Pam's Jingle House. John is a regular guy in a regular house in the suburbs, only this guy has his own radio station.

I know there are stories like John's on every block. Stories of people who have managed to toss their lariat into the sky and lasso their passion. I want to tell those stories. If you have one, let me know.