December 28, 2005
Dang, is this year almost over? In some ways it seems like it has flown by, in other ways it has seemed to drag on forever. A lot has happened in the last year, some good, some bad, some just downright sad. I would suspect I have talked about a bunch of it in here. When I wrote the first WWWs back in January I was privately afraid I would run out of things to talk about on a weekly basis. Well that hasn't happened yet, which may be a good or a bad thing. I trust most of you who read this on the web site or receive it in the mail find it interesting. Of course if you read it on the web site you can always scroll to the bottom-line, skipping all the bs (brussel sprouts) to find out who the spotlight artist will be. If you receive it in the mail and find it to be a waste of your time or just another piece of junk mail you have to pitch, don't hesitate to let me know and I can remove you from the list. I know what it is like to get mail that goes right to the shredder! In fact I am on some mailing lists I should really ask to be removed from. BUT if you find any value at all in receiving WWWs, then I will keep mailing 'um. Just my way of letting ya off the hook if ya want off the hook. I'd never make a fisherman, I can see it now, me on the bank of the pond asking the fish "Now are you sure you don't mind me keeping you and frying you up for supper?" Now what fish in their right mind wouldn't want to be taken off the hook and thrown back in? Now I ain't implying you all are fish, but I do bet there are some weeks you think there is something fishy about me.

I hope you each one had a Merry Christmas and were able to spend some quality time with the ones you love. With Kelly in my life my Christmas was almost perfect, the thing of course that kept it from being perfect was the fact two of my dearest friends were not here to enjoy it with me. I thought of the Ol' Clark Outlaw several times during the month. He was quite the character and we had some great conversations in the months before he died. He would have been devastated if Bronco had died before he did. I'll bet he was sure surprised on November 19th when Bronco came running up to him. I would say he and Bronco have had more than one conversation with the Big Man about the Broncos going all the way this year and winning the Super Bowl as the perfect conclusion to Bronco's life. Now you may think this is all a little farfetched, a man and a dog talking to God about a football team, but is it really? My inner child doesn't think so.

I was glad Kelly and I were able to go to Kirksville to be with my family on Christmas morning. I have made that trip so many times trying to imagine I had someone special with me, but this year it was not just my imagination. I really don't know how I lucked out to have such a sweet girlfriend in my life. It can't be my perfect livin', cause I am far from perfect. It can't be that I was so optimist that someone special would eventually come into my life, since those who know me well knew I was convinced I would be alone for the rest of my life. It can't be that God answered my prayers, since I figured there were a lot of people worse off than me who weren't getting their prayers answered, so it had seemed pointless to pray. The only thing I can figure is that it was the grace of the Good Lord who was tired of seeing me mope around. I do thank you Lord for Kelly, forgive my pessimism and lack of gratitude. Wait a second, this is WWWs not a prayer journal! Sorry…I still ain't got that there delete key fixxxxxxxxxxed. The good Book say it's not good for a man to be alone and I would say I am definitely the poster child for that verse. It was sure nice having Kelly in my life this Christmas. I seriously do not know if I would have made it through losing Bronco without her being there for/with me. I love you sweetie! Dang this ain't a love letter either, crazy deeeeelete key.

The Ol' Orange, White and Blue was flying proudly over Bronco's grave when Kelly and I stopped by on Christmas. I am, of course, referring to the Denver Broncos flag I had placed on his grave back on November 19th. It was good to visit with Bronco. He thought the Broncos shirt I had gotten for Christmas was pretty cool, He said he had been worried about me and the girls, but then the Ol' Clark Outlaw had taken him to the edge of Heaven and shown him how he could look down and see how we were. He said everyone in Heaven is getting Moses and the Ol' Clark Outlaw confused. I guess they both look a like and are always talking about the Raiders, Moses about the Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Ol' Outlaw about the Oakland Raiders. I can see how that could be confusing. Bronco said to tell you all hello, he said he had really wanted to come on the show before he died, but he was afraid the novelty of a talking dog on Midnight Country would put all the other stations out of business. He was an awfully thoughtful dog I tell ya.

Spring is still a long ways off, but the Blossom is out at Anna Rose's. As you know Anna Rose lost her dear cat Bootsie a month ago yesterday, on the November 27th, but Bootsie knew her momma needed companionship, so she arranged for spring to come early. Anna Rose is the proud mother of a new cat she named Blossom. I have had the privilege of meeting Blossom. She is definitely her mother's daughter, quite the character to say the least. Congratulations Anna Rose. My two girls, Mear and Goldie are both happy for you too.

So what New Year's Resolutions have you made? I've decided losing weight is definitely not one I will make. It seems whoever is responsible for making sure we keep our resolutions took their job a little too seriously this year when they took 75 lbs from my heart on November 19th. I don't do the resolutions thing much myself really. I figure any changes I need to make will be just as important in July as they are in January. So I try to be aware of these sorts of things all year long. God knows I don't need more reasons to beat myself up and un-kept News Year's Resolution just end up being that. If you're into that sort of thing I wish you the best. I do hope to continue making MC a show you enjoy listening to more and more, but I am always trying to do that, not just on January 1st. As always we are open to your suggestions as to ways we can improve the show.

Well it ain't gonna get more Country than this week's spotlight artist, Hank Williams, Sr. Fifty-three years ago this coming Sunday Jan. 1st Hank was double booked, he was scheduled to play in Canton, OH, but the great booking agent up above had him booked for a gig in Heaven. We all know that gig took priority. Unlike last year we won't be playing Hank for the entire show, but I do guarantee you will enjoy the 15-20 songs we do play between Midnight and 3:00.

I guess I have no idea what the new year will bring for each of us, but whatever it is I would say with the help of the Good Lord and real Country Music we will be able to deal with it. Thanks to everyone who helped me through this past year. I am afraid to try and name everyone who has been there for me 'cause I'll miss someone, but I do want to say Anna Rose and her sister Loretta, June and her daughter Susan have all gone out of their way to ease the pain I have been feeling. Thank you. I hope Midnight Country will meet a need in your life in the coming year.

Have a safe and Happy New Year's Eve, but don't stay up too late 'cause you won't want to miss Hank come Sunday night/Monday morning,
Woody

December 21, 2005
Well it wasn't that bad, now was it? The 5 ½ hours of Christmas Music that is. Will you be able to make it 51 weeks now until the next Midnight Country Christmas Special? A time or two I almost found myself getting into the Christmas spirit. It reminds me of the Earl Thomas Conley song "That Was a Close One." Ah well I must admit a time or two I have found myself singing a Christmas tune or two around the house. I figure I'd just as well admit it since Mear or Goldie might try to use it to blackmail me if I don't. Don't worry I won't start singing on the show anytime soon. (Anna Rose breathes a sigh of relief.) Christmas time is okay really; I just don't like society telling me how to celebrate it. It continues to become even more and more commercialized, if that is possible. Somehow I think the real meaning of Christmas gets lost in all of the hustle and bustle. I suppose some of it is okay, but I can think of better ways of celebrating the arrival of the only reason I have the courage to face each new day. As down as I can get at times of great loss, if I didn't have the hope found in the Christ child, well I'd ah probably hung it up long ago. I trust each of you can sort through all the stuff thrown at us religious or secular and find your own peace during this special time of year. I think I will get off my soapbox for now, it is too dang cold out here and my neighbors are looking at me kind of funny. I guess I could move my soapbox into the house, but then my cats would think I was losing it and when Kelly stops by well she might confirm their fears.

I think my favorite song I played this year was Waylon's version of "Away In A Manger." I could have set it on repeat, let it play for an hour on the show and not gotten tired of it. In fact while working on the computer last week I did let repeat several times. I think I will do that again now as I write this. Dang it is some good stuff I tell ya, nothing fancy just good pure Country as only Waylon and other real Country artists can do. I think I WILL move my soapbox inside…just a sec. I'm back, all right let me climb back up here. As you may recall I went to see Dale Watson in St. Louis on the 9th at a little place called "Off Broadway," nothing real fancy, bigger than Mojo's but smaller than the Blue Note. At the last minute Kelly had something come up and wasn't able to go. I figure it was a good thing though, had she heard "Live" Country in its purest form she would have wanted to move to Austin where Dale plays on a regular basis. As much as I love Dale's music I'm not sure I am ready to move to Texas (the home of the Dallas Cowboys). Anyway my sister Gelene who lives in St. Louis and I were still able to go. We got there early in order to get a front row table, in fact we were early enough I was able to park in front of the building. A couple hours later I got to thinking "I bet Dale would like to park all his tour buses in front." So I decided to go outside and see if he was there yet. Eventually the three eighteen-wheelers and two tour buses pulled up in front. They said Dale's private chopper would be landing in a bit. Ya know it is Christmas; I really shouldn't be lying to ya all. Let's pick it back up where I quit tellin' the truth…A couple hours later I got to thinking "I bet Dale would like to park his van in front." Sure enough in a little bit Dale's van pulled up with Dale driving. He rolled down his window and I offered him my parking spot. He said, "Are you sure man? That would be great!" So I moved the pickup and then helped Dale's band "The Lonestars" unload their amps and instruments from the back of the van. In no time they were setting up. They then proceeded to put on one heck of a show again like Waylon nothing fancy just good pure Country. Dale even stopped a time or two to talk to people who audience members had called on their cell phones. What a hoot. Not one person left thinking "Boy that Dale is really full of himself." People were lined up afterwards to talk to Dale and shake his hand. A man sitting next to Gelene and I was able to get Dale to sign his guitar. I heard Dale said, "Man that is a nice guitar, you sure you want me to write on it? If I'd known you had it here I would have played it, heck it is nicer than mine." Of course the guy wanted Dale to go ahead and sign it, after all, from talking to him he was a huge fan of Dale's. I even got another picture taken with Dale and will have it on the web site real soon. I joked with Dale's drummer Herb that it had been a tough decision to make as to whether to go to St. Louis to see Dale or to stay in Columbia and see Big & Rich who were at the Mizzou Arena the same night. Of course those who listen to the show know I didn't even have to think twice about who I would rather see. Back in the day I would have been impressed and blown away by a big fancy production but as I have gotten older I like it simple, real and as Ron would say "Just above the grass." I like real Country Music because it talks about stuff I can relate to, stuff I am going through or have gone through. I don't care too much about what the "Rich and Famous" are up to. Short of winning the lottery, which I have rarely ever even played, I will never know what it is like to have more money than I know what to do with. I'm not really even that envious of the "Rich and Famous" anyway. If I were one of them I can see it now on the front page of the National Enquirer, "Woody Takes Two Weeks Off, Is He In Betty Ford?" or on the front of one of those black and white tabloids "Woody's Dog Dies or Was He Really Abducted by Aliens?" I can live without being Rich or Famous and having all my life shared with the whole world. I can't live though without my weekly fix of playing real Country, real late, for real people who really enjoy it as much as I do. Before I get off my soapbox again let me finish by saying, if you like real Country do whatever you can to support it. Do like I did, choose to drive a little ways to support a real Country artist. Call commercial Country stations and request current Country songs that are traditional, thank them for the Classic Country shows they do have and tell them if they want to hear the kind of Country you really wish they'd play all the time to check out Midnight Country! Well you can skip the last one; they might tune in while this redneck hillbilly hippie is talking, think "Gosh he's awful" and never even hear the music.

Well I am almost out of room so I'd better reveal this week's spotlight artist, huh? As I said on the show if there is a Christmas song or two you just didn't get enough of I will be happy to play it, if I have it course, but for the most part I am planning to get back into our usual routine. Of course that could all change if Anna Rose takes me hostage and forces me to play all Christmas music. From what she has said she is just getting warmed up with her celebrating Christmas. Heck if she kidnaps me we might still be playing Christmas music in July! Just kiddin' ya Anna Rose. This week I'm going to spotlight Red Sovine. He seems like the perfect choice for the day after Christmas. Turn the tree lights on, build a fire and cozy up with those you love and listen to some songs that are sure to bring a tear to your eye and a smile on your face.

Have a very peace and love filled Christmas, hug the kids, grandkids, dog/cats and tune in Monday morning as I play ya some real Country, real late that is real goooooood,
Woody

December 14, 2005
Monday after doing the show I felt kind of a letdown. Kind of like the day after a funeral when reality really starts to set in. I suppose at some point I will conform to society's norm and stop talking about losing Bronco, but it may not be any time soon. He was not "just a dog" to me, fortunately no one has made that comment to me yet. I'm afraid if someone does they may discover I am not always the mild mannered, easygoing guy people think I am. Ah well, what can you do? We as a society don't even value human life that much (unless it is our own or that of someone just like us), so why am I surprised when people don't value the life of a pet. I still just can't believe the conversation Kelly and I overheard at a flea market on the way to Kirksville a week prior to Bronco's passing. You may have heard us talk about it on the show. Some ol' feller was giving a woman a hard time about her dog; he said he was glad she hadn't brought it in that day. He even went so far as to say he would pay to have it put down. I don't know if Kelly heard as much of what he said as I did or if she was just feeling extra tolerant that day, but I kept expecting at any moment for her to verbally tear into the guy. It may have just been an inside joke between them, but from talking to the lady later outside of the guy's earshot she didn't seem to think it was very funny. Obviously the ol' fart never had a friend as good and faithful as Bronco was to me.

I know from talking to some of you the show was hard to listen to this week. Anyone with even half a heart would surely have been moved at times when listening to the show, then those who like me have lost a pet were not doubt moved to tears a time or two (at least). I held it together pretty well on the air I think, but trying to stay shutdown in order to suppress emotions probably led to my feeling depressed later on Monday. Last week in here I made the comment "Now days though if I am happy you will most often be able to tell it on the show or if I am sad, the same will be true." I do though try to show some restraint and not always let it all hang out. At times I am overwhelmed by the sadness of everything I know members of the Midnight Country are going through or have recently gone through. I believe though the Country Music we play on the show can serve as a healing balm on a broken or hurting heart. Growing up I thought any song that was not happy and didn't have you jumping with joy afterwards was not something the Good Lord would want you to listen to. Yet I have found that sometimes the best thing for a sad heart is a sad ol' Country song that gets the tears to flowing. Amazingly afterwards I feel much better, with a sense of peace I would never have felt if I had tried to deny what I was really feeling.

I sure do miss Bronco, yet I am so thankful for the seven and a half years we had together. I know I can go on because when I got home Monday morning two of the sweetest, most loving cats you could ever wish for were waiting there for me. I dread the day something happens to Mear or Goldie. I will, of course, want to share memories of them on the show, but unfortunately I don't know of any songs about cats along the line of "Old Shep" or "Tribute to a Dog". Dang it I wish I would have learned to play the ol' guitar when I was a kid. Back then I dreamed of being a singer/songwriter about as much as I dreamed of being a DJ. I have written some lyrics over the years, but not playing a guitar has been a real handicap. Of course back in the 70's when the end of the world was to happen at any moment according to my church, then learning to play a guitar seemed rather trivial and pointless. Ah well, what can ya do? I didn't get the nerve up to try radio until my late 30's, so maybe there still hope I could learn to pick in my 40's. In the meantime Mear purring in my ear as she lies on my chest or Goldie talking to me when I stroke her head will both be music to my ears.

Last week I mentioned the comment I had made to a friend, "at times I am not too crazy about being so open on the show and now having to talk about losing my dog." Yet after talking to so many of you who can relate to what I am going through I am glad (at least most of the time) that I do open up on the show. June and her daughter Susan have both been very caring and understanding, sharing my loss as if Bronco had been their own. Anna Rose has blown me away with the way she has been so concerned about me even while experiencing the equally devastating loss of Bootsie herself. So many have e-mailed as well to express their sympathy, such as Kevin, Rob, Scott, Chip and Sandy. The phone calls then from Grant, Matt, Harold, Cindy, Debra and Ron have meant more to me than you all will ever realize. The card from Mexico Mildred topped it all off. What a sweet lady and what a kind, caring Midnight Country Family I have been blessed with. Thank you each one. I just wish you each one could have met Bronco. He was good dog and a great friend.

I am sure from listening to the show it became rather obvious that one of the many things Kelly and I have in common is our love of animals. I want to say a big Thank You to Kelly for coming in and doing the show with me. God knows I've done some sad ones in the past when it was just me up there, but having Kelly with me made my Bronco Tribute so much easier. Thank you sweetheart!

This week of course there will not be a spotlight artist, but rather a spotlight theme. It will be (quiet down now Anna Rose) our annual Christmas Special! 5 ½ hours of nothin' but Country Christmas Music, if ya ain't got your fill of Christmas Music yet then this should do the trick! Someone asked me the other day what I wanted for Christmas and I said "A 7 ½ year old Golden Retriever named Bronco." I will try to get into the Christmas spirit this week, no promises though. This may be one of those weeks when I have to fake it a little. No matter how I might be feeling before the show, talking to you all always lifts my spirits though. I know I've said this before, but never hesitate to call the show, even if you don't have a song you want to hear, it always makes my night to hear from each of you.

One last Bronco story…for now. Before someone stole my big pet carrier, I would often take Bronco to Bear Creek Trail or other places in the back of the truck. Often Bronco would be so excited about going that he would jump right into the back of the truck, then of course start barking his head off when I closed the door to the pet carrier. Yet when it was time to leave wherever we had been, Bronco would be tired and I would often have to pick him up and put him in the back of the truck. After losing Bronco I have been like Bronco would be at the end of our walks, too tired to jump up in the truck. Thanks to each of you for picking me up. I hope then that I can return the favor when you need picking up by the music we play or something we might say on the show. Bronco wasn't heavy because he was my "son", you won't be heavy because you are my "family."

Have a good week and tune in Monday as we celebrate the hope Christmas brings,
Woody

December 6, 2005
I knew in the back of my mind that unless I went first I would one day have to deal with losing Bronco, my Golden Retriever. I had no idea it would be so soon. In light of the fact I took two weeks off from doing both the show and writing WWWs it is, I suppose, rather obvious the last 2+ weeks have been extremely difficult for me. For me to decide to not do two things I truly enjoy doing is not my norm. I take doing MC more serious than a lot of people take jobs they are getting paid to do. Yet losing my best friend was like getting hit in the gut or more like the heart with a sledgehammer and so I had to take some time off to at least partially try and recover from the shock.

Friday night Nov. 18th before going to bed I had my usual difficult time convincing Bronco to come in the house. He was playing with a basketball in the backyard and seemed to find that much more appealing than going to sleep. If only I had know it would be the last time I would be able to play with him here on earth. After telling Anna Rose that Bronco had gone home she made the comment that the Nov. 15th WWWs could have been written after Bronco's passing instead of before. I just, for the first time after Bronco's death, reread the Nov. 15th WWWs. Rather strange to say the least. Perhaps the Good Lord was preparing me for the coming loss. For some time now I have been aware of how fragile life is and so more often than not I have made it a point when leaving the house to tell each of my kids I love them. Every Monday morning after the show I would breathe a sigh of relief as I turned onto my street and saw my house still standing, knowing that inside my kids were safely waiting for me. In spite of this awareness I had, there were times I know I would not give them the love and attention they deserved. Yet for some reason, again perhaps God had his hand in this, in the last days prior to Bronco's death I made a point to show Bronco some extra attention. I suppose God knew I would beat the hell out of myself for not having done more with Bronco, so He wanted to make sure I would be able to cherish the memories of those last days.

I understand not everyone who may read this will be able to relate to where I am coming from as I grieve my loss and that is okay I suppose. I'm not going to spend time trying to convince anyone of anything or try and justify the deep grief I feel. I have spent too much of my life trying to mirror the emotions of those around me. Now days though if I am happy you will most often be able to tell it on the show or if I am sad, the same will be true. If you hear someone say, "This week's Midnight Country is a rebroadcast" well then you will know I am either really sick or so sad about something that I am not able to do the show. I suppose "so sad" is also the reason I have not written WWWs for two weeks. The first week I missed all I would probably have said in WWWs was "Why, why, why?" The second week "I just can't believe he's gone." The week after Bronco died I was talking with my friend John and I said at times I am not too crazy about being so open on the show and now having to talk about losing my dog. John said, "Yeah, but there are times you do enjoy opening up and sharing on the show." He was right. I will always cherish the show recordings of when I would talk about Bronco, Mear and Goldie. On the MC Family page the late great Clark Outlaw put it pretty well when describing why he liked the show. "I like Midnight Country because of the host first and foremost. I also like it because of the wide variety of Country Music such as anything from Honky Tonk drinking songs to Gospel songs. I also like it because you almost feel like you're part of Woody Adkins' family. You know about his pets, his ex-girlfriend, his childhood, his family and whether he had a good week or a bad week. All of this together makes for a really great Country Music show. I might also add that when one of his listeners is going through a hard time or is hurting; he hurts right along with them." Sums it up, huh? Not only is the music about real life, I your host share my real life as well, the good, the bad and now the sad. This reminds me of a story.

I made the Ol' Clark Outlaw mad when he was lying there in the hospital last summer. I had just met and started going out with Kelly. Being as close as we were I wanted my good friend the Ol' Outlaw to meet my new girlfriend. God knows he had heard me mope long enough about my ex on the show. Anyway he didn't want Kelly to meet him for the first time there in the hospital. Well I ignored that line of brussels sprouts and took her to meet him anyway. Again God must have had a hand in it, seeing as the Ol' Outlaw would never have met Kelly otherwise. I think Bob (the Ol' Outlaw) forgave me, if not he certainly has now, seeing as he has my son to play with up there in Heaven. I just hope he doesn't remind Bronco that his favorite football team is the Raiders.

I'm not sure I would have survived losing Bronco had it not been for Kelly's support. Immediately after realizing something was wrong with Bronco I called Kelly even before I called Dr. Hussey. I knew I would need her help. She met me at the vet's office shortly after I arrived. She knew the right questions to ask and understood the answers we were given. Though she had only known Bronco since May seeing the tears in her eyes you would have thought she had spent the last 7 ½ years with him as I had. After we lost Bronco she didn't even hesitate to change her plans and make the trip with me to Dad's farm to bury my boy. Since then she has endured listening to all the reasons I have theorized as to how I should/could have prevented Bronco's death. Thank you so much Kelly for being with me through this very hard time. I love you!

The third call I made that Saturday morning (after Kelly and the vet) was to my good friend and MC Family member Anna Rose. I asked Anna Rose to pray for Bronco. Anna Rose and I had been worrying the last few days about the deteriorating health of her cat Bootsie. Anna Rose was shocked to hear the news of what was going and then devastated to hear when Bronco didn't make it. For the next week she kept checking up on me while dealing herself with the uncertainty of her cat Bootsie's future. On Sunday evening of the 27th I got the phone call I dreaded receiving that Bootsie too had gone home. I had the chance to meet Bootsie a few times and I could tell that she meant the world to Anna Rose just as Bronco did to me. Perhaps there are guardian angels none of us can see, but I wonder if perhaps we have guardian angels we can see, but don't recognize as such because they are lying on our laps or at our feet in the form of a cat or a dog. They also may take human form as well. Anna Rose has gotten me through many nights when doing the show was hard. From the night I first heard Waylon had died, to going through a tough breakup and now losing Bronco, Anna Rose has been there. If she ain't angel, ya could have fooled me. Thank you Anna Rose! I want to say a big THANK YOU too to each of you who have helped me through this time.

This week the spotlight will be on sharing my favorite memories of Bronco and playing some of my all time favorite songs. Parts of the show will no doubt be very sad, but at the same time parts will be very happy. Bronco, Mear and Goldie have all three brought so much joy to my life and though it hurts like hell to have lost my boy I still would not trade those memories for anything in the world. You cannot put a price on the unconditional love of a pet. I would also like to share on the show any memories/stories you have of your animal kids whether they are still living or have gone on. Just send me an e-mail or give me a call Monday morning.

Have a good week, keep warm and tune in Monday as I pay tribute to my dear Bronco,
Woody

November 29, 2005
Due to Bronco's passing there was no WWWs this week.
Woody

November 22, 2005
Due to Bronco's passing there was no WWWs this week.
Woody

November 15, 2005
Today is another rainy day, my kind of day. It allows me to work on the 'puter while looking out on all my leaves without guilt, knowing it is too wet to rake or blow them. Sometimes I wonder if I was adopted, seeing as my Dad and brother were always much more comfortable outdoors than I was. Yet as I have said before someone has to be on the other end of the radio that the farmers listen to while working. Going up to Kirksville always reminds me that I seem to have been cut from a different mold. I guess I take more after my Mom than my Dad. Mom was a schoolteacher all her life and so like her I am more comfortable working with ideas rather than implements. I was always and still am to some extent a big dreamer. As a boy I always liked looking at the JC Penny and Sears catalogs, particularly the Christmas ones. I tell you my mouth would water looking at all the toys I just knew would fit nicely into my imaginary world. Kelly and I were at Penny's a while back and I noticed they still had catalogs, even in these days of computers and web sites. Yesterday I got a Hewlett Packard catalog (computers, etc.) in the mail and while looking through it I was reminded of how excited I used to get. Now being an adult and no longer having parents to buy me things for Christmas, well reality sets in and I realize not everything I drool over today will be under my Christmas tree. Wait a sec, I have never put up a Christmas tree anyway. So perhaps that is the problem. Think if I decorate a tree I will then find a $2,000 laptop under it on Christmas morning? I doubt it, but that is okay. I have learned the saying is true, "The most important things in life are not things." Oh sure I'd like to have a top of the line laptop I could take to Ron's and I'd like to have a big fancy pickup custom painted with the Denver Bronco colors to drive over to Ron's, but the most important thing is that even when I drive my old Ford over there, when I get there I am welcomed by a good friend. I could have gone to Broadcasting school and spent a lot of money, but would still have walked away unable to "buy" real world experience and the friendship of a veteran DJ.

Anytime I am faced with a crisis I realize how important friends and family really are. Sometimes it is someone I love who is facing death, someone dealing with a broken heart or a lost dream, someone losing a dear friend who just happens to be an animal or an accident like I had with Kelly Saturday evening. At times like these you realize life is short and all you really have in life are those you love. Cars, homes, jobs, even dreams can be replaced, but lives can't be. I feel so helpless at times and that was never truer than Saturday evening. It hurt like hell knowing that I had injured an innocent animal and that I did not have an immediate way to put the deer out of its suffering. It hurt even worse to watch Kelly hurt. Unlike my computer or TV there was no button I could push to undo or redo what had just happened. How some people can intentionally be so cruel to animals I will never know. I know my three animal kids have probably saved my life or if not my life certainly my sanity. I have a quote on one of my computers that reads "They are our friends... partners...protectors...ever-loyal...all-forgiving...to their hearts' last beat...the least we owe them is to live a life that is worthy of their devotion" St. Roch, Patron Saint of Dogs. If you have ever had a pet you loved with all your heart then you know where I am coming from. If not, then I could write an entire book on the subject and you would still not understand the unconditional love of an animal. I have a listener to MC who has become a dear friend over the years. She is currently going through a difficult time as she watches her pet suffer. I ask that you keep them both in your prayers.

Sometimes I second guess myself and wonder what the point of Midnight Country even is. I was sharing this with someone last week and he said, "You touch people's lives through the show. Do you think most DJ's would care about a listener's pet being sick?" I said "Probably not." I suppose then the show is about much more than just playing music, but rather the way in which the music can touch lives. Whether it serves as a reminder of happier times or brings a tear to your eye as you recall someone who you have lost. My job is to be there to play the music that best represents whatever you are going through. Most weeks I think or at least hope you find some of the music relates to your life. When I was younger and used to go to a lot of Southern Gospel concerts with my Dad and Step Mom Virginia I found it rather annoying that so many of the songs were about going to Heaven. As I have gotten older and life has been hard at times, I see things from a different perspective. Today I think it is okay to find comfort in songs about Heaven and being reunited with those we lost. Even in the short time MC has been on the air we have lost many listeners or loved ones of listeners. It was two and a half years ago my great-niece Anna Belle was killed. She, as you may recall, had been on MC with me. It will have been two years ago this Thanksgiving night that Eleannor passed away. She had cancer and would often call me to let me know how she was doing and to request her favorite song "Nothing I Can Do About It Now." It was one year ago this Saturday that the Ol' Clark Outlaw lost his sister and Grandma South lost her daughter Mary Lou. Yet the Ol' Outlaw didn't have to wait long to see Mary Lou again. They were reunited then on July 2nd of this year. Don lost his dad and allowed me the honor of remembering his dad with some very comforting songs. Of course I have learned of some of the losses you all have experienced prior to having met you via the show, such as Ron losing Mary. The Ol' Outlaw's sister-in-law Missy Burns lost her daughter prior to my meeting her. In my own life I have lost my brother-in-law Paul and my step mom Virginia since doing MC. So maybe some of you younger listeners will find all my songs about Heaven annoying, but in time, like me, you will find comfort in those songs.

I know this weeks WWWs will probably not be adapted for the funny papers, but that is okay. Perhaps next week I will be in a different frame of mind when I sit down to write. Yet life is fragile and I was, of course, reminded of that Saturday evening when I hit the deer and later visted with Judy in the Hospital. Enjoy each moment of each day as best you can. God knows I know how hard that can be at times. If there is ever song you need to hear on MC to help brighten your night never hesitate to call. Ok?

Mear says "Hi". She just stopped by to get her head scratched. Kelly and I are planning to watch the CMA Awards tonight with my buddy Kevin Burns. Unfortunately I guess my nomination for "CMA DJ of the Year" was lost in the mail. Winning that award was a dream I had as a boy set up there in the living room playing DJ. Reality set in of course and I was lucky I ever got up the nerve to make that call to KOPN. My cousin Marvin who I talked about last week won the "CMA Small Markets DJ of the Year" once. Ah well I think I am at least Kelly and Anna Rose's favorite DJ, active DJ that is. I'll never knock Ron out of Anna Rose's #1 spot. Finally a smiley face. This week I will be putting you under my spell again as I spotlight Jean Shepard.

Have a good week and tune in Monday as I play second fiddle to an old guitar (the song that is),
Woody
Woody

November 8, 2005
Man oh man was this week's show cool or what? Everyone I've talked to really enjoyed my conversation with the legendary Ron Lutz. Even a KOPN Board member who had never heard Ron before e-mailed me to say it was quite a treat to hear my "famous" guest. I just got a call from Ron's agent and his appearance fee has tripled since Monday morning. Now I didn't tell his agent this, but if my math is correct 3 times zero is still zero. Hopefully they won't figure that out and we will have Ron on again real soon. I received an e-mail from a faithful listener to MC who said growing up he thought his folks' radio only got two stations, KMOX out of St. Louis and KFAL. He had some great stories about getting ready for school while listening to Ron on KFAL. From what I've heard some of you say, no one would have known I was nervous had I not said something prior to talking with Ron. I've never been very good at hiding things from you all. From crying on the air when Waylon died to laughing my head off while kidding Anna Rose, whatever I am going through will probably come out in some way on the air. Now how that radio guy in Jeff City could go on the air after poisoning his wife I will never know. If I killed an animal bigger than an ant I would probably have to tell you all about it. Well maybe not that extreme, but certainly the guilt of killing a person would eat me alive and so I would have to tell someone.

The cool thing about having Ron on MC will be all his stories from his 42+ years in Country Radio. I know I learned a lot just from the two conversations we had this week and I am looking forward to learning so much more. Notice I said "Country" Radio, though I've not ask Ron this yet, I would bet his love of Country Music came first and then his love of being on the air. Of course I can't speak for Ron, but this is certainly true for me at least. One of the reasons I have hesitated to pursue a career in commercial radio is because I would probably have to spend a lot of time paying my dues playing music other than Country. Ron has even pointed out that if I were to work on a mainstream Country station I wouldn't be able to even remotely play the kind of music I do on MC. I kind of wish things were like they were when Ron was still on KFAL. Now it seems more and more local stations are being bought up by the big broadcasting conglomerations and the bottom line is no longer what the faithful listeners from over the years want to hear, but rather how much money can be made, even if that requires changing formats. It is sad I tell ya. All the more reason a station like KOPN is so important to closing the gap between what you want to hear and what is actually on the air. It amazes me that Ron was at the same station for 38 years. This is almost unheard of these days. I've only got 33 more years to go to catch up with him, think Midnight Country can continue that much longer?

It is interesting how the Good Lord has put people in my life who inspired me in my pursuit of doing Country Radio. As you heard me say Kelly and I went to Kirksville last week with Bronco, Darth and Sarah (my k-9 son, her k-9 son and daughter). We ate supper at a place in Kirksville called Pancake City. As we went in to sit down I saw my cousin Marvin McClanahan, his wife and son. Marvin was the first person I knew who was doing what I dreamed of doing. Back in 1972 Marvin started on KIRX, an AM Country station in Kirksville. Since then Marvin and the Country format have moved to the FM dial and is called KTUF, but it is still owned by the company who owns KIRX. A short time before I started volunteering at KOPN I sat in one day with Marvin while he did his morning show. I shared with Marvin last week how he had been an inspiration to me over the years. Marvin then had a cousin on his dad's side Jerry Minshall, who was on the radio in Wichita and now is the News Director at a Country station in Nashville. Jerry and his family used to attend my church when I was a boy during their visits to Kirksville. I was always star struck. Jerry was closer to my brother Dean's age and they had been friends when they were younger. Back in those days both Marvin and Jerry wore their hair a little longer than average. So even though I always blame Ronnie Milsap for the long hair I have now, I think they are partly responsible too. Of course they have outgrown the long hair thing, so Anna Rose there may still be hope for me. By the way Anna Rose ain't too crazy about my long hair. Fortunately Ron hasn't held it against me, though he does like to kid me about it. As I said Monday I was glad Ron didn't tell me until after we had visited a couple times on the phone that he had been a Country DJ for 42+ years. If I had known I would probably have fainted or done what I said on the show. I still can't, well yes I can believe I said that. Of course I think it was fortunate as well that Ron had come to enjoy the show before he saw my long hair. Destiny is always a work, huh? Even my first contact with KOPN was a "God" thing. As you probably have guessed from listening to KOPN people who are into playing Country aren't exactly a dime a dozen at the station. Fortunately though they have taken me in and welcomed this redneck hillbilly hippie into their ranks, but still it isn't like a hundred people are just dying to replace my Country show up there. Anyway…(my mind wondered for a bit there, sorry) the first person I talked to when I called KOPN about volunteering was John Duncan. John had been in radio for a number of years and had worked at stations with various formats, including, you guessed it, Country! Though John is no longer at KOPN he served as a mentor and encouragement to me in my early days at KOPN as Midnight Country was just getting off the ground. John is still in radio and I run into him from time to time around town. I owe a BIG Thank You to Marvin, Jerry, John and now Ron for being there at different points along my path. So the next time you call Midnight Country and have that special song sent out to someone or in memory of someone, know that it is not by mere chance MC is on the air, but rather a result of the Good Lord's working through some pretty cool guys.

A lot of you listened to Ron when he was on KFAL and continue to listen to the Rooster Creek show ever week. Unfortunately for me I never knew Ron prior to his calling the show, though you know I would give my left pinky to have heard him all those years. Everyone though who listened to Ron has a Ron story and probably a question or two for Ron. Feel free to send me any stories or questions. I will be happy to share them with Ron and some of them will no doubt come up during our on-air conversations. To ensure I quote your stories or ask your questions correctly please mail or e-mail them to me. I've been known to get busy on the phone during the show and forget to remember something important.

This week's spotlight artist will come with a price, talk to your heart and see you want to accept my invitation to the blues, if not please release me from any obligation to spotlight Ray Price.

Have a good week and tune in Monday 'cause I'll be there if you ever want me,
Woody

November 1, 2005
I am starting this week's WWWs Monday evening. Bronco, my Golden Retriever, is lying on a rug by the office door with a football and mini basketball by his head. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye when I look at him over at him. Mear, my oldest cat is napping in a box on top of the bookcase. Goldie, my younger cat, is grooming herself in a chair beside me. It has been crummy outside most of the day, but I'm sure you already know that, huh? It sure got dark early this evening, but being an inside pup myself I really don't mind too much. Growing up on the farm I always looked forward to raining days since that meant I could stay inside and play with my toys, play radio, etc. I visited with Carl, a member of the MC Family, late in the show. He was talking about NASCAR and Carl Edwards. Carl said he had started following NASCAR for the first time this year. For some reason I've not gotten interested in NASCAR too much yet, though as a boy I loved going to Demolition Derbys and Stock Car races in Kirksville. I guess NASCAR is really just the fancy version of the Stock Car races I went to. The one thing though that my conversation with Carl reminded me of was when the Joey Chitwood Thrill Show would come to town, now that was cool! On those rainy days…(just a sec, Bronco has butted his head up under my left arm wanting some attention, I'll be right back)…he's gone now, guess my scratching his chest was what he wanted. Anyway…on those rainy days I loved to play Thrill Show with my Matchbox cars, but the name of my show was different. It was the Woody Adkins Thrill Show or WATS for short. I made ramps out of cardboard and decorated them with variations of the show name. It was a lot of fun, I could and did spend hours in my fantasy world. I even did some non-life threatening stunts outside on my Honda mini bike and then my motorcycle. They were neither one big enough to do anything too spectacular on, which is probably just as well or I might not have lived long enough to pursue in the real world my other dream, being on the radio. You can probably tell from reading WWWs on a regular basis that it doesn't take too much keep my mind occupied. It is like starting out on a trip without a map, you never know where my mind will end up. I doubt I would ever be very good at writing a long fiction book. By the time I was done making all my twists and turns I would have even myself confused. I guess I'd better just stick to writing these weekly short stories. Now don't get me wrong, it is not that what I write are "stories" as in "made up". Well at least not the first person stories I tell. As for the ones I repeat from lets say Anna Rose, now that is anybody's guess.

As always Anna Rose stood faithfully at her post throughout the night. Grant, Carl and Matt all called late in the show as well. As you heard me talk about on the show I had a fortune cookie from lunch on Sunday that read "You Will Sleep Well At Night", so I was a tad bit worried. I then got Anna Rose all worked up because she was afraid I take fortune cookies as the "gospel truth", my choice of words (gospel truth), not hers. I quickly put on my Dr. Woody (Phil) hat and reassured her it was just something to share with everyone and that I don't take fortune coo…zzzzz…zzzzz….zzz. Oops sorry I feel asleep I guess that fortune cookie was right after all! Just kidding Anna Rose! I had a surprise message on my cell phone late in the show as well. It was Kelly! She got tired of trying the station number and so she finally called my cell, but since was she was dog sitting for a friend and her cell phone was dead I didn't recognize the number and didn't answer anyway. So she just had to get back in line with the rest of ya. That'll learn her not to let her cell battery run down, huh? I had another surprise this week, but fortunately I didn't find out about it until after the show. I always know that God is listening to the show and though I didn't talk to him during the show, I assumed that Ron was listening at least part of the night as well. So to say the least I try and stay on my best behavior and do as good of a job on the air as this redneck hillbilly hippie is capable of…now hush up Anna Rose, it is OLD News that I am far from perfect on the air. Yet nonetheless I think I should get a T for trying. Well anyway I stopped by KOPN this evening and the station manager David Owens said "Great show, I was with you all night." Come to find out David couldn't sleep and unknown to me he was in the office working all night. I said "Boy it is good I didn't throw a party!" I'm almost afraid to listen to the show recording now, but I think he did say "great" show or wait maybe it was "grape" show in reference to the drinking songs I played. Doggone now I have that to worry about. There's always something to worry about I tell ya. If it ain't a hurricane it is the station manager hearing all the hot air coming out of my mouth. He has said in the past that he keeps the station on in his bathroom at home and has heard parts of the show. I was just hoping his low fluid diet kept him asleep most of the night. Naw, I ain't too worried I guess. I'm pretty proud of the show we do every week for the most part. Hey if Ron Lutz listens to it can't be all bad!

Speaking of Ron, the fan mail has already started and he's not even been on the show yet! I got an e-mail today from someone who said they were a faithful listener to MC. They asked if they had been dreaming or was it true that I had said I would be interviewing Ron on the show. Well unless I am just dreaming this whole Midnight Country thing myself, yes indeed it is true! Ain't that gonna be cool! At this point Ron and I are planning on testing the waters a bit and see how it all goes. For now I will be talking to Ron during the breaks 2-3 times a week early in the show via the phone. If the conversations are anything like the ones Ron and I already have off air, then you are in for a treat to say the least. The listener who wrote me said he had listen to Ron for as long as he can remember and right up until Ron retired. Well Ron it is time to pull out that old glove and bat, come out retirement and be a hit like you were for 38 years on KFAL! You all be patient with me now, it may take this T-baller a while to get in sync with a Hall of Famer like Ron.

I want to send a big hello out to all the readers of the paper version of WWWs. I was talking to Ruby this week and she said she enjoys reading the letters. Ruby's sweetie Chip even made sure she called "Woody" before they drifted off to "Sweet Dreams". It is great to have the two of you as a part of the MC Family. Tell Lucy Hi! M&M I hope I finally found the right cotton pickin' song for Missy. Of course M&M stands for the sweet listener I named "Mexico" Mildred. Loretta if Anna Rose ever starts acting up be sure and let me know, ok? Hey June, I missed hearing from you, Susan and Chris this week. Did Charles take away your radio privileges?

I'm gonna sleep on the spotlight artist (not literally now Anna Rose) and let ya know tomorrow who it will be…is the night really over? Dang! Well at least the four walls are still standing, no tornadoes or earthquakes overnight in my world. And the fortune cookie says…"Jim Reeves". Have a good week and call me Monday or I'll have to play "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight",
Woody

October 25, 2005
As I write this week's WWWs I am listening to a potential spotlight artist for the next show. I am almost 100% sure I will spotlight this person, but it will be up in the air until I actually post WWWs on the web site. So I am NOT going to tell you who it is until the end. Try to show some restraint if you can. I know Anna Rose has probably already skipped to the end to see who the spotlight artist will be. You obviously know that every week we have a spotlight artist on the show. I have been thinking that perhaps here in WWWs we should have a new feature every week called the spotlight error. It seems I often share with you in here a major blunder I made on the past show and so this week will be no exception. Have you ever, like I do, driven by a car wreck, a speeder pulled over or an ambulance at a house and wondered what happened? Well I figure you do the same with MC when an error occurs. Often the error is late in the show and so a lot of you probably never even hear it. Yet this week's error was hard to miss if you were listening to the show from the beginning. Nope your watches/clock were not running fast and yes MC did start several minutes late. Have you ever been on your way to an important appointment only look down at your gas gauge and discover you were about out of gas, then by the time you stop to get gas you get to your appointment late?! Well that is sort like what happened this week. I usually get to the station by at least 11:30 and get everything ready to go. There is a connection I make to the main computer and until this week it has usually worked just fine. I normally double check it well in advance of midnight instead of just prior to the show starting, which is, unfortunately, what I did this week, but as I said it usually works just fine and so…you guessed it, this week it wasn't working "just fine". Well B.G. Brown…(Mear just laid down on my left arm and so I will be right back). I'm back, my cat's needs always take priority over my writing B.S. in here. Get your mind out of the gutter now; everyone knows B.S. stands for brussels sprouts! Anyway…as I was trying to correct the problem B.G. Brown the host of the High Lonesome Sound discovered I was a sailor in a former life. I used words she rarely hears me use and words I would never use on the air. Finally I came up with a work-around solution and was able to get the show kicked off properly. Now ya know, huh?

As I am talking on the phone every week and I see other lines lighting up, I worry that those people won't keep trying. Then when the show is over I think of people I didn't hear from and so then I start to worry. I worry that they tried to get through, but I never answered and so they gave up. Or I worry I said/played something they took offense to and so they had stopped listening. I don't suppose there is an easy answer to either possibility. As for calls coming in I can't get to, I figure you are like me and you hate to be put on hold, so I just talk with the person currently on the phone and hope the other callers will keep trying. As for saying or playing something people find offensive, I do my best to put everything to the "Grandma" test. If I would be embarrassed for my Grandmas to hear something then I don't play it. Of course both of my Grandmas are in Heaven, which actually makes it even worse since if they are listening to the show up there that means the Good Lord might overhear the show as well. I also know I sometimes play artists who some people might not like for whatever reasons. For instance last week I played the Dixie Chicks and as you recall there was a whole "thing" with the Dixie Chicks a while back. I also play and read promos for community or station events and shows on KOPN some people might not agree with, but ya know the same country that allows me the freedom to do a Classic and Traditional Country also allows others the freedom to express themselves. I purposely do not take on controversial subjects myself on MC, but I do know I may offend some people unintentionally. I believe though that the world is big enough for different perspectives. One caller who pledged his support during the membership drive said he gets his news from Fox News and his Classic Country from Midnight Country. Others who listen to MC wouldn't watch Fox News if it were the only network on. Yet despite all of our differences we have in common a love for real Country Music. I'd better move on. Hopefully I haven't stirred up too much controversy by trying to make the point that I try to avoid controversy on the show. Anyway…I trust you enjoy most of the show most of the time. Keep callin', callin', callin' (I'll eventually answer!) and listenin' too!

It was great to hear from Mexico Mildred this week. She is Missy Burns' mom and of course Missy is the Ol' Clark Outlaw's sister-in-law. Mildred, though I've never met her in person, seems to live up to the initials of the name I just gave her M&M, a real sweet lady and very generous too I might add. Not only did she support MC during the Membership Drive, but she also recently gave Missy a book to give to me. It is called "The Country Music Book of Lists" and it is a very handy tool I use to prepare for the show. Thank you so much Mexico Mildred! I'd loan the book to Ron to read, but I'm afraid he would never give it back. Just kidding! Ron is a person I would trust with anything I own and is certainly one of a very, very few people I would trust to do Midnight Country. Some programmers on KOPN rotate week to week; others have subs they use on a regular basis. I do neither, because like it or hate it I want you to know what to expect every week when you tune into the show. Now if Ron were to ever host the show you would never be able to tell it wasn't me from the music being played since we have such similar taste, but when the music stopped and the DJ came on, well that would be a whole other story. Ron would do such a bang up job that you would think you had died and gone to Country Radio Heaven. You would definitely not want to come back to earth and hear me again. Short of Ron hosting an entire show, which unfortunately for you may not happen, we hope to start talking with Ron on the air by phone in the very near future. You think it is hard to get through now, just wait until the thousands of Ron Lutz fans hear that he can be heard from time to time on MC! The PowerBall odds might start looking pretty good in comparison to getting through to MC. I do want to clarify one thing, I won't be able to take your calls on the air as I am talking to Ron, but you will certainly be able to call me after we are off the air and I will be able to relay your messages to Ron. Come to think of it you can do that already, since I'm always telling Ron something a caller has said. I hope to pull this off very soon, but you may not have any warning, so keep listening!

Now that you've read the wonderings of a middle-aged crazy man it is time to tell you that this week's spotlight artist will be…aw I think I will wait until another place, another time. Just kidding! Calm down and don't get your chantilly lace all messed up. Jerry Lee is who it will be!

Have a good week and tune in Monday for your favorite thirty-nine and holdin' DJ,
Woody

October 18, 2005
As Mear (my cat) lay on my chest Monday morning as I was waking up, I kept saying "Conscience, conscience, conscience…" and believe it or not it was coming out correctly. If you were listening between 4:00 & 5:00 you heard me trying to say I had just played Carl Smith's song "Guilty Conscience." I have learned a lesson the hard way many times on the air. If there is a word you have to really concentrate on to pronounce correctly, trying to say it on the air is a sure fire way to guarantee you will blow it. Just further proof I'm not ready for primetime, huh? Don't you say a word Anna Rose; I know what you're thinking. I know I'm breaking another rule by pointing out my error by writing about it here where the whole world can read it. I've heard a couple people talking recently about Mac Davis' song "It's Hard to Be Humble." I tell ya there's no danger of that becoming MC's theme song anytime soon. I'm still humbled and blown away by all the support MC received during the Membership Drive. If that cocky little Woody who used to play DJ in the middle of the living room floor was still around he might get the big head. Yet life slowly sucked all that cockiness out of him and so you are left with me. I have a bumper sticker on my pickup I bought at the Peace Nook that reads "Those Who Abandon Their Dreams Will Discourage Yours." A lot of truth to that I tell ya. I try, though not always successfully, to listen and take seriously young people as they share their dreams. If we stop dreaming at any age we lose that zest for life. It is better to pursue a dream in an imperfect way and to even fail than to never pursue it at all. I grew up believing God expected perfection and the people who taught me that notion hid behind a front of supposed perfection. I have my doubts today that they were perfect. Notice I'm still not totally convinced they weren't perfect; they did such a great job of snowballing me. Anyway in this context growing up I was afraid to pursue my dream of being a DJ. It was before Christian radio was as big as it is now. Of course many frowned upon Country Music and I suppose some of their points were valid. Yet I was afraid to pursue what today I see as a way God can use me to touch people's lives. Country Music pretty much lays it all out there, the good, the bad and the ugly. Kind of like the Bible does too, huh? It is kind of weird I suppose that at times I turn WWWs into a personal journal where I struggle with my own "issues". There ain't no waitin' until I'm dead and buried, you get to read my journal NOW! What is my point in all of this? Well I'm not sure I had a point when I started writing, but I think it all boils down to one thing. If you have a dream of doing something, anything really, well anything legal, moral, etc. , don't let the notion that you need to do it perfectly stop you from even trying. God knows I haven't let it stop me from doing MC! I put a ton of time into preparing the show and it never fails that every week I make some blunder I am embarrassed by. Yet I am pursuing my dream and slowly but surely I am making improvements, though perhaps only baby steps.

I hope that the Cardinals are still alive by the time you read WWWs. Boy that was something else Monday night, huh? I had the thought while Pujols was on deck "Ya know he could hit one out" and sure enough he did. I'm gonna kind of miss Ol' Busch Stadium, even though it has been years since I have been to a game. It is, after all, the only Cardinals ballpark I have known. Granted the old Busch Stadium formerly known as Sportsman's Park was still in use when I was born in '63, but I wasn't into baseball until after the new Busch Stadium opened. I always thought it was cool that they moved the big section of seats next to the field around to the side in order for the football Cardinals to play. Now I'm kind of a spring and fall Cardinals fan, with the seasons so long it is hard for me to stay focused, but come September that little Woody I mentioned earlier starts to get excited if the Ol' Redbirds are in the runnin'!

It was great to get back into our normal routine this week. Between Kelly answering the phones and you all coming through big time with your support of MC, the membership drive was a whole lot less stressful than normal. Still it is nice to have that behind us for now, of course come February…better start your "Save the Country" fund today. Be someone willing to give a dime for your Country! Remember…"A Dime a day…" Anyway it was great to visit with everyone who called this week without the added stress. I am a little bit worried about Anna Rose. She said she had a bad leg this week. I tell ya if I were her I would not get chicken at that place anymore! Oh wait…it was her own leg, not a chicken leg. Anna Rose has been enjoying this stretch of me being giddy after I met Kelly. Anna Rose had quite a job on her hands nursing me back to health after that there breakup back in '02. Ron and Anna Rose have both met Kelly and given their stamps of approval. Now if I could just convince all Kelly's friends to do the same, nah…I just kidding, they all seem okay with her seeing me. Kelly's three dogs love me, so does it really matter what the "humans" think? It was great to hear from June this week along with her daughter Susan and Susan's fiancé Chris. I didn't get to talk to Charles though; he must have had enough sense to not stay up half the night listenin' to the radio! Of course he needs his rest in order to keep an eye on June. She's a character now! Little Woody never dreamed it could be so much fun getting to know listeners who called in. Of course back when he was "playing" radio he didn't get any calls and his only requests were to move all that "radio playing" stuff out of the way. The Ol' Clark Outlaw's brother Harold called the show this week. He requested I play some songs for his mom Grandma South. He and a buddy were listening to the show on the Ol' Outlaw's stereo; they said the show was sounding "goooood"! Dang I miss Ol' Bob the Outlaw. Every time I play Marty Robbins I think "I hope the Ol' Outlaw ain't listening up there tonight." For some reason he didn't care too much for Marty's songs about women and getting shot. Perhaps the songs hit too close to home, he liked his wild women now. It was nice to hear from Ruby and Chip again this week. Ruby requested I play "Let Me Call You Sweetheart", though I don't know Chip and Ruby real well, the song seems rather fitting for them as they seem to be real "sweethearts". They are a really nice couple who I met while eating at Lucy's Corner Cafe here in Columbia. And…of course…Chip knows all about Ron Lutz and KFAL! I'm starting to wonder who hasn't heard of Ron. Boy little Woody doesn't realize how lucky we are that Ron listens to MC! Kevin Burns, his son Kaleb and I consider ourselves quite lucky to have sat in on a Rooster Creek show last week. Thanks Ron! I hope I didn't blow the Taco Bell commercial; I was just speaking the truth though. I done run out of room again, dang it. Whatcha say we spotlight the "Gentle Giant" this week, Mr. Don Williams? We're gonna keep playing this good Ol' Country 'til all the rivers run dry!

Have a good week and tune in Monday as I pray "Lord I hope this show is good",
Woody

October 11, 2005
Major League Baseball may have their MVP Awards, but they ain't got nothing on us 'cause here at Midnight Country we have the VGL Awards. What the heck is that you ask? It is the "Very Generous Listener" Awards." And this Fall's winners are…(drum roll please)…Don, Anna Rose, DeeAnna, John & Missy, Mildred, Brenda, Carl and Grandma South! Goodness gracious you all made my Fall. A Big Thank You to each of the VGL Award winners for supporting Midnight Country during the Membership Drive! The Ol' Clark Outlaw would be proud of each of you and would be extra tickled to know that his mom Grandma South, his brother John, John's wife Missy and Missy's mom Mildred all gave to support what had become his favorite show on the radio. I remember when the Ol' Outlaw first learned I was doing a radio show he was blown away and thought it something else that he personally knew someone on the air. As time passed I think he was less impressed as he realized I am just your everyday guy who happens to be lucky enough to do something I love. Yet something else changed over time as well, the Ol' Outlaw and I became very close friends AND he began to play an important role in shaping Midnight Country. So needless to say he would think it is great that John & Missy pledged their support to MC in honor of the Outlaw and his sister Mary Lou. Thank you to each of you for supporting MC from yours truly AND the Ol' Clark Outlaw who is no doubt there in spirit with me every week as I do the show. Three cheers for all the VGL Winners!

I thought Anna Rose and I were going to have an argument over the phone this week. She was trying to convince me I had written in WWWs that I would be spotlighting "Don" Watson on the show. I think what happened was she confused Dale Watson with Don who I thanked in WWWs for doing his part to keep Classic & Traditional Country alive and well on MC. I can see how she could get that mixed up though because from what I know about Dale Watson and from what I am learning about Don, it seems they both firmly believe in doing whatever it takes to "Save the Country." Now I'd better watch it or I'll get myself confused, I can just hear myself saying on the show "That was Don Watson going out by request to Dale." Anything is possible on MC, apparently I had my mental clock set on Bronco, I mean Mountain Time, when at 3:35 AM I said it was 2:35 AM. Thankfully Kelly was there to correct me. I am still always afraid I will give the numbers wrong, like the night I combined the toll free number and the e-mail address. I give the numbers so often and without thinking that it is a wonder I don't do it more often.

Something else happened this week that is just further proof of the fact anything is possible on MC. If you had told me a few months ago that come October I would have a new girlfriend, that she would come up and answers the phones for me and that she would talk with me on the air I would have said "What in the heck have you been smokin'?!" Well needless to say you would have been right and I would have lost my shirt had I bet ya. Monday evening I was talking with John, the Ol' Outlaw's brother and he was asking how much we ended up with $ wise. When I told him he said, "Dang, sounds like you owe Kelly big time!" Well John's right, you all came through at the tune of $125 more than during the last membership drive! I think all the credit on this side of the microphone definitely goes to Kelly. Kelly not only was a hit with all of you who called in and enjoyed visiting with her, but she also did a darn good job talking on the air with me. Who knows next Membership Drive we may need a couple of people to answer phones while Kelly and I talk on the air! Now I should make one thing clear, all the nice things Kelly said about MC were her ideas, they were not scripted and she was not paid to say them. I know, like you, I find that hard to believe. For a second I thought she must have been talking about another show. I thought to myself, "Dang I wonder when that show is? It sounds like a good one." How I ever lucked out and met a gal who enjoys Country Music I will never know. I'll bet Ron's wife Mary must have pulled some strings up there in Heaven to make it all happen.

Speaking of Dr. Lutz, Ron did another fine job of helping me select the spotlight artist music this week. Ron was not particularly familiar with Dale's music except for what he has heard me play on MC, but that, of course, doesn't matter when you have an expert ear for real Country Music like Ron does. I hope when all is said and done I end up knowing 1/100th of what Ron knows about Country Music. It was so neat on Saturday after Ron and I were done going over Dale's songs and we were about to hang up I said "Hey Ron (my redneck hillbilly hippie way of addressing the Doctor) you got another second?" I then ask if he was familiar with Joe Maphis. Duh that was a dumb question, like asking a Cardinals fan if they have ever heard of Stan Musial. Anyway in two minutes time I read Ron the list of Joe Maphis songs from the CD I have and without even hearing any of the songs Ron told me the best ones to play, along a couple stories about Joe. Amazing, huh?! Then this week at 5:25 AM as I was wrapping up the show I got a call from Grant, a faithful listener who is a college student. He said he had been listening all night as he studied and that the show had been great. Ron is such a goldmine of information and so I really just see myself as bridge between generations as I seek to pass Ron's wealth on to young people like Grant.

Now for the rest of last week's story, as I was saying…There was a gentleman standing there waiting and he said "How you doing this morning?" I said I was all right and that I had just gotten done doing a Country Music show on KOPN. He said, "I have that station on a radio at home." After we each ordered our food I asked if I could join him. Being a friendly sort of guy, not put off by my redneck hillbilly hippie look, he said "Sure." We had a great conversation; I learned his name was Larry and that he had lost his wife three years ago. Of course then as we talked about MC I had to do a little name-dropping and you guessed it, Larry had his own "Ron Story." He said "I remember seeing him at a concert with some woman." I asked "Betty Sue?" "Yep that was her", he said. Of course Betty Sue was Ron's sidekick on KFAL. Dang it I'm out of room again, but I look forward to sharing many more "Ron Stories" as I continue to meet people who have known Ron. I was too pooped this week to hit McDonald's on the way home, but hopefully I will run into Larry again and enjoy another interesting conversation. Who knows he may tune in to MC sometime, of course I gave him a card.

Now that the hurtin' of the membership drive has passed, whatcha say we spotlight Connie Smith just one time? Sounds like a plan to me!

Have a good week and tune in Monday as I cry, cry, cry that Kelly's not there,
Woody

October 4, 2005
Well once again I got all worked up and worried myself sick for nothing. As always you all came through for me. On this week's Edition of Midnight Country we exceeded our first week goal by $15, ending up with a total of $175. A BIG Thank You should go out to Anna Rose and Don, both went above and beyond what I ever expected. Anna Rose had even jumped the gun by mailing her pledge of support ahead of time! Wouldn't it be cool if someday so many of you sent your pledges in early that the station said "Woody, don't even worry about asking for support because you've already exceeded your goal and the Membership Drive hasn't even started!" Perhaps that day will come if I can get better at selling everyone on the importance of supporting a show like Midnight Country. I know that an extra $40 can seem like a lot to fork out at once when times are hard and money is tight, but I would say most of us can afford $.10 a day. Do you have an old, empty piggy bank setting around? Maybe you could set it by your change pile and then once a day drop in a dime. This time next year then you will be just shy of the $40 membership and you won't have even missed the share change. Perhaps a good label on the piggy bank would be "Save the Country Fund". It seems like a cute little saying but it may be more serious than we realize. My buddy Don takes keeping Classic and Traditional Country on the radio so seriously that he pledged $100! I tell ya now that is some serious believing in the cause of keeping real Country alive. Thanks so much Don! Don has been telling me about his friends Bob and Julia who live in Nashville. He has been telling Bob about Midnight Country and is working on a tape to send him that will let Bob hear what we are doing on the show. Bob is frustrated with the direction he sees Country Music taking. I hope by hearing the tape he will be encouraged to know that at least here in Mid-Missouri Classic and Traditional Country is alive and well on the radio. It would have to be frustrating to live in the Capitol of Country Music and not be able to hear much real Country. The few times I have been to Nashville and scanned the dial I have found it interesting that I can pick up more Country stations here in Columbia than I could down there. I'm not just talking about Classic Country radio either, but that includes any Country radio, even the pop stuff. Ok I'll pause for a few minutes while you go dig out an old piggy bank and write "Save the Country Fund" on the side….Are ya back yet? Dang what took you so long? I didn't mean you had to fill it up right now. Seriously I think I am going to do this myself. I understand what it is like, the Membership Drive rolls around before I know it and then I find myself scrambling to come up with the cash or available credit on my cards so that I can practice what I preach. Believe you me if I didn't love Country Music I would not stay up all night playing it for ya all, I wouldn't care how much you liked it. They couldn't even pay me to play a lot of the so-called Music or even so-called Country Music that is out there!

On a less serious note, a BIG Thank You needs to go out to Kelly, my girlfriend, for all her work Monday morning answering the phones. Some of you who know me pretty well, know how stressed out I get prior to the first weekend of a Membership Drive. There are so many questions running around in my head, like what if no one calls at all, what if no one calls with requests, what if no one pledges their support, what if I miss a call from someone wanting to pledge a $100,000? Well the last one is a bit of a stretch, but I think you get my point. So I tell ya having Kelly there to take your pledges was such a great relief. I was then able to concentrate on taking your requests, visiting with you, getting your requests worked into the show, and figuring out new creative ways to stick my foot in my mouth! Thank you Kelly! I love you sweetheart and not just because you're one hell of a worker, but 'cause you're cute too…oops this isn't just going to Kelly, huh? Dang I need to get that delete key fixed. Aw well, we're all family here, right? I don't seem to hide my feelings in here very well anyway, do I?

This week we will be spotlighting a newer artist, one who you will never hear on a Commercial Country station, at least not anywhere in these parts. He is definitely doing his part to save the Country and keep Traditional Country alive. You are already familiar with this person because we play him every week. Yet perhaps a song here and there hasn't really allowed you to get a sense of how good he really is. I wish I could say I am spotlighting him because he is coming town, but unfortunately that is not the case. Still I do have a great offer for you, for a pledge of only $20 you will be able to go to London England via a CD and hear him "Live". I'm talking of course about Dale Watson and his "Live in London, England" CD. This will allow you to support Midnight Country at a reduced amount from the $40, get a great CD and still get to select a half hour of music for a future show. Also this will get ya off the hook this membership drive for only 20 bucks and then this time next year your "Save the Country Fund" will have built up to just shy of $40. What a deal?! I have a limited number of these CD's so you will want to call Kelly early to take advantage of this special offer!

Yesterday I watched more of the ceremonies I had recorded that were held on Sunday at the last regular season game played at Busch Stadium. Jack Buck's widow talked for a bit and she was telling how that every time she goes to Busch someone will stop her with a "Jack" story. Well something similar happens to me every time I tell someone about MC. Often in the conversation I will mention that Ron Lutz listens to the show and helps with the song selection. I can't count all the times the person will say "I know Ron or I remember listening to Ron or is that Rooster Creek Show still on?" Well this Monday morning was no exception. At 6:00 AM on my way home I was sitting at a red light that just wouldn't turn green for me, I was getting irritated 'cause I was heading to McDonald's to get some breakfast. I'd already been to one McDonald's and the drive through had been closed due to the delivery truck being in the way. The light finally turned green, then when I got to McDonald's they hadn't opened the door yet. There was a gentleman standing there waiting and he…Ya know I've run out of room and so I'm gonna make you wait until next week for, as Paul Harvey would say "The rest of the story."

Don't forget to start your "Save the Country Fund", remember "A Dime a Day Keeps the Pop Away!" Have a good week and don't miss Dale's music and the chance to chat with Kelly again,
Woody

September 27, 2005
I'm having a little trouble concentrating on WWWs at the moment since I am watching the Broncos/Chiefs pre-game show on TV. I will probably need to write this in a couple of settings. I hope no one holds my love of the Denver Broncos against me. It is probably good that I am doing the show here in Columbia and not closer to Kansas City. The Broncos are really the only sports team that I follow closely. Even though I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan, it seems easier to keep up on twenty football games that occur once a week than to keep up with and watch 162 regular season games that the Cardinals play from April to October. If you can't figure out how a native Missourian came to be a Broncos fan then you might want to read the August 8th WWWs in the Archives.

Well I didn't make it very far in writing WWWs. I got all caught up in the game and never made it back to the 'puter Monday night. The Broncos did win the game 30-10, but I have learned the hard way over the years as a Broncos fan that it is not wise to get too cocky after a win like this. The Broncos have been known to whip up on a team in their division early in the season only to have the favor returned later on in the same year. What does all of this have to do with Country Music, nothing really, but it is just what was on my mind as I sat down to write WWWs last night and whatever I am wondering about at the time even if unrelated may slip by the censors into WWWs.

I hoped you enjoyed Conway this week. My buddy Don said just when he thinks a spotlight artist can't be topped I pull another great one out of the bag. I have a feeling I will run out of material long before I run out of people I should spotlight. I think I ended up playing a little more of Conway than I intended to and more than I might normally play of a spotlight artist, but good grief he has so much great stuff. It is kind of like going to Golden Corral or the like and trying to only eat one plate. I have a feeling I am in for another grand buffet this week to try and choose from. I am going to go ahead and reveal this week's spotlight artist. I know doing so early in WWWs may throw Anna Rose off since she said she likes to skip to the end to find out all the good stuff, like the spotlight artist and whether I talk about her. Well tough Anna Rose, remember you are on my naughty list after not reading WWWs last week. It cracked me up when Anna Rose called just before the show started and requested "The Rose", not knowing that Conway was the spotlight artist. I guess it just blows the notion that "if you write it, they will read it", at least in a timely fashion. Anyway sit down and grab the nitro glycerin, this week I am spotlighting none other than Porter Wagoner! How can I ever top that one? Wouldn't ya know I'd spotlight someone like Porter during the membership drive of all weeks?! Now you're gonna have to listen to my pleas for your support in order to hear Porter. How will ya ever deal with the guilt of not becoming a member of KOPN? Well a simple call to me or Kelly and just over $.75 a week will buy you 52 weeks of guilt free listening to Midnight Country! What a deal! We had a very successful membership drive on MC back in May. I hope to have another good 'un this fall so that after the next two weeks we can get back into the routine of concentrating on playing great Classic and Traditional Country and not worrying if we met our goal.

The calls were steady this week and included three first time callers, pretty cool, huh? One of the calls was from someone I had told about MC while eating lunch at a local café. The second I did not find out how they happened to call (I can hear the Ol' Outlaw saying "Shame on you"). The third caller said they were just "scanning the dial", heard something they liked and kept listening. Sounds like how the legendary Ron Lutz discovered the show. I wonder if he would have ever called the show had he known I would rope him in and plunder his vast storehouse of knowledge. Yesterday I was so full of questions and wild ideas that I couldn't wait until evening when my cell minutes are free and so I just about talked his leg off during the day. Just imagine if you were a wannabe scientist and Albert Einstein called ya up and said he found something you were doing interesting, then he made the mistake of giving you his home number. Welp that would pretty well describe my relationship with Ron, except for the fact I have the wild Einstein hair instead of Ron. I guess until Ron changes his number I'm gonna keep calling. Of course Ron will probably think as he reads this "At least I answer the phone when you call." Yeah I know it is sometimes hard to get through on the show, just don't give up ya all. Maybe we should bring back the old party lines so that I could talk to everyone at once, though I don't think that is how the party lines worked. You'll just have to do like Anna Rose and get a phone with redial. Poor Anna Rose is always having to call back because I am getting another call, but she is a trooper and made it clear to the end again this week.

I was sitting at a stoplight this morning and saw a sign about a lost poodle. It said the dog was greatly missed and there was a $300 cash reward. I have always dreaded the day and hoped I would never see the day when one of my animal kids was lost. I would never be able to offer a reward equal to what they meant to me. How could you put a price on unconditional love? It got me to thinking though and I hesitate to make this comparison because I know Midnight Country could never mean to you what my animals mean to me. Yet what is MC worth to you every week? Is it worth the price of two candy bars per week at Wally World? Or a Happy Hour draft beer? Or a cheap hamburger? If MC were no longer on, would you miss it just a little? Now we're not going anywhere and so I'm not going to pull an Oral Roberts on you and threaten that God will take me home if you don't call and become a member of KOPN, but it is something to think about. $40 a year is not a lot when compared to being able to hear real Country for 5 ½ hours every week, knowing too that there is a live DJ after midnight just a call away who will do his darnest to get your requests on. With the exception of some Saturday morning Commercial Country stations' shows, you would be hard pressed to find another local DJ with the freedom to play any Classic Country tune you want to hear. Please know that I understand that some of you truly cannot afford $40 or even $5, but some can and so think about what you can do to help us reach our goal during the Membership Drive. As much as I enjoy writing WWWs the words from Porter's song comes to mind, "I've Enjoyed as Much of This as I Can Stand," so I'd guess I'll quit in case I hear Kelly call my name. Besides I need to go eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow I'll cry…I mean I'll start my dyet (diet).

Have a good week and as always we will be playing all your requests come Monday morning, but if you don't call I may just play Porter's "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" over and over ,

Woody

September 20, 2005
Another good one I tell ya, a lot of interesting calls and several songs never before played on Midnight Country. The Ol' Clark Outlaw would have gotten a kick out of hearing Carl Story and The Maddox Brothers & Rose CD's he had sent me way back when. The process I go through to get a CD ready to play on the show always fascinated him. First I have to load the music on my computer and then put all the song titles in a database. I typically have a backlog of several dozen CD's in need of processing to get ready to play. I could type the song titles in from scratch during the show like most other programmers do, but I would much rather copy and paste requested song titles which is much less time consuming and thus be able to visit with everyone who calls. I do my best to use technology to my advantage as I seek to keep Classic and Traditional Country on the radio. On a typical week we play an average of one song from CD and then type the title into the playlist from scratch, the rest have been entered before hand. The picture on the Contact page here on the web site is a good idea of what I look like throughout the first half of the show, a phone in one hand, a computer mouse in the other and a big smile on my face as I talk to all you who call. I can't recall who I was talking to when my sister Colene took that picture, but if I were a betting man I'd bet it was Anna Rose. She's a hoot now, but I think I've already told ya that. I'm getting' a little more worried about her though I tell ya. It was one thing for her to talk to the groundhogs, but now she says they are talking back! Sounds like a story for Animal Planet, huh? Of course I told ya about Bronco talking to me in a dream I had awhile back, so maybe I have no room to talk.

Another big thanks to Ron for his help selecting the music from the spotlight artist this week. Ron said one of his granddaughters who is a big fan of Patty Loveless helped him with the selections and so a big thanks to her too. I told Ron you all would be surprised if you knew everything that goes on behind the scenes to get ready for MC. I had two callers tell me they thought the show was sounding better since Ron has been working his magic on the song selections. At first I was a little worried about that giving Ron a big head, but then I recalled what a humble, down-to-earth great guy he really is. He welcomed Kelly and I with open arms Friday night for a spur of the moment visit. Well actually Kelly got the open arms (hugs) and I got a rather firm handshake. I tried to squeeze back, but…anyway I do have an appointment with a doctor this week. The doc at the ER thought I will be able to use my hand again after much physical therapy. I should have been more careful since it just stands to reason that a powerful man like Ron is in Country radio would then have a powerful handshake. It was great to visit with ya Ron.

How'd ya like the latest feature on MC, the Ol' Midnight Country Depot? A great idea I think. Like giving the weather it will take me a while to get all the kinks worked out, but we'll get there. Thanks to Chip for the suggestion and for providing us with the Arrival and Departure info each week. We're still working on getting some good sound effects to play as an intro and outro to the segment. We are always open to comments and suggestions about ways we can make the show better. There is always room for improvement, but with Chip's, Ron's and all your help we just might turn this into the best Country show ever, second of course to Ron's Ranch when it was on KFAL and the Rooster Creek Show still on KFAL. Hey being third place behind those two shows would suit me just fine!

Speaking of arrivals at the Ol' Midnight Country Depot, it will twenty-one years ago on Friday Sept. 23 when Anna Rose's sister Loretta was born. I'll bet they tie one on Friday night now that Loretta will be legally old enough to drink. Oops there I go making up tales again. I think Loretta has already been twenty-one a year or two at least. A BIG Happy Birthday Loretta! I hope you and Anna Rose don't get into too much trouble celebrating. On a somber note it was 60 years ago yesterday Sept. 19 that my Grandpa Diehl, my Mom's Dad, passed away. I suppose it is rather obvious then that I never met him, but it is kind of sad that none of my Mom's kids met him either. My brother Dean was not born until the next month of that year. We're supposed to be having a big BD party for Dean's 60th Birthday next month. As you may recall my Dad's dad died when Dad was 16, so I never met either of my grandpa's.

Anyway…Bronco, the girls and I survived the storm yesterday evening. My street looked like a river for a while. Kelly and her crew survived too, a couple of her dogs Sarah and Darth are terrified of storms and so Kelly always likes to be at home with them when it is like it was last night. It seemed to go on forever, one biggie passed and then another one moved through. Hopefully Kelly and her animal kids were able to get some sleep. I mentioned on the show that I think Kelly is going to help answer the phones for me during the membership. It was funny when Ron called he said "I figured you'd get Kelly worked into that somehow." Yep he was right. She had offered to help during the drive back in May, having just met I thought that would be asking a lot, but now…well. Here's something to think about between now and the drive, is Midnight Country worth $.77 a week to you, particularly when you throw in the opportunity to call and talk with Woody's new girlfriend? Welp if it is then be sure and call during the membership drive, the basic KOPN membership is only $40 a year which works out, you guessed it, to less than $.77 a week! You'd be hard pressed to find a jukebox that would play 85 Classic and Traditional Country tunes for just over $.75! If you do call be nice now and don't tell Kelly all your dirt on me, we want her to stick around!

Speaking of my jeans fittin' a little tight due to Kelly's good cookin', I can't believe we haven't spotlighted this guy on the show yet. Yep you're right Darlin' (or Dude in the case of you fellers), we're gonna spotlight Conway Twitty on this week's MC. If Anna Rose gets to tellin' me about her talking groundhogs I'll have to play Conway's "It's Only Make Believe" for her. You won't want to miss the magic that Ron works on this week's playlist and of course I'll be playing all his great selections, after all "That's My Job!" Don't forget to tell everyone you know about the show and the web site. A lot of people have computers these days and so it is as I always say "A quick and easy way to tell someone about the MC." www.MidnightCounty.org

Have a good week and don't forget to send me your birthdays for the Ol' Midnight Country Depot Arrival board,

Woody

September 13, 2005
My buddy Ron pretty well described this week's show when he said, "Ol' Johnny's sounding pretty good tonight". If you missed the 3rd Annual Johnny Cash Tribute I feel for ya. Did you run out of coffee? Were you out of sick days? Did you forget to set the recorder? Well what can I say, there is always next year I suppose. The good news is that we play Johnny just about every week on the show anyway, just not nearly as much as you did hear or could have heard on this week's show. Thanks to Ron I played several songs I would have normally overlooked, lesser-known gems of Johnny. Thanks Ron.

Normally I would not say this, but I hope most of you didn't listen to the whole show this week. During the last stretch of songs I made two major errors, which totally messed up the ending of the show. Of course if you didn't listen to the whole show now you wish you had so you could have heard my blunders. First of all I did not have the songs in the same order on the computer as they were in the list I read prior to kicking off the last set of songs. Second I disconnected an external hard drive from the computer which I should not have done considering the music I was playing was coming from it. Normally this would have been okay, but when I had moved my last set of songs from the external hard drive I had copied>pasted, instead of cut>pasted, so I then got confused and was playing from the wrong folder. I know that all these details may not mean much to you, but I was rather embarrassed particularly since I had just had a first time caller prior to this happening. What can ya do? It is just further proof that Midnight Country is "live" and subject to human error. Every week when preparing for the show we shoot for perfection hoping that by doing so we will only miss the target by a few hundred yards and not thousands. It is all right though; I'd rather readily admit I am not perfect than to be like some of the people I knew growing up who thought they were.

You may have heard me mention on the show that Kelly and I went to Wooldridge Saturday evening to the Steam Engine show. It brought back a lot of memories and no I'm not old enough to remember using steam engines, but as a boy we did often go to Mt. Pleasant IA to the Old Thrashers Reunion. The highlight of those trips and the one thing I remember most was when I saw my hero Ronnie Milsap in concert. I talked with a guy Saturday evening that is a part of the Mt. Pleasant Old Thrashers Reunion and he said they still have the Country concerts as a part of the Reunion. As for all the steam engines and old farm implements, I recall not being as interested in that aspect as my Dad was. Of course he grew up using a lot of what we saw and so it no doubt meant more to him than it did to me. Now that I am older though I find myself much more interested in these sorts of things, but unfortunately Dad is no longer here to explain what different things were and how they worked. As a boy when we went on vacation Dad used to not understand why I would rather nap than look at the scenery. My favorite line would always be "Are we there yet?" Of course now as an adult I want to revisit all those places we went to as a family. I used to beat myself up a bit for not having been more interested as a boy, but I've come to realize that it was probably just a normal phase I was going through. As you get older your interests and priorities changes and that is okay. I had Kelly take my picture sitting on an old Allis Chalmers tractor. It reminded me of the John Deere MT we had when I was a boy. As I recall it rode rough and the gears were hard to shift, but it may not have been that bad, I was just pretty small when I first drove it. The John Deere 630 we had seemed like a Cadillac in comparison, but it couldn't even compare when we started having tractors with AM radios on the fenders. It was then that I started dreaming of being on the other side of those radios.

On Saturday night Kelly and I also watched the Iron Weed Bluegrass Band play there at Wooldridge. I felt kind of like a big shot radio man when Jane Accurso with Iron Weed told the audience about Midnight Country. My head shrunk back down to normal though when the break came and went and only one person came up to talk to me about the show. Ah well, it would be hell if I were good lookin' and famous both, I'd never be able to go out in public. Come to think about it I don't have to worry about the good lookin' part either. Fortunately for me Kelly sees a diamond underneath this ol' chuck of coal, either that or she is in serious need of glasses. I was devastated to learn this week that I can't sing. I was trying to give Anna Rose surround sound by singing along with Johnny on the phone while talking to her, but not being one to beat around the bush or to sugarcoat the truth, Anna Rose let me know a singing career would not be in my future. So much for the other dream I had while driving that ol' MT. On a side note, I think Mear, my oldest cat may be part goat, she just walked up and butted my hand wanting me to pet her and of course I did. My animals know what they want, when they want it and how to get it. Oh yeah, the one person who did come up and talk to me about MC was a friend of and listener to, yep you guessed it, Ron Lutz. I hope when I retire from Midnight Country that 1/1000 of the people who I run into that know Ron will have heard of MC and Woody Adkins. I hit the jackpot when I lucked out and Ron became a regular listener to MC. I tell ya people perk up and take me serious when I say Ron Lutz listens to the show!

I talked to June this week and she said her granddaughter in Florida is doing much better and going to computer repair school. Carol, June's sister-in-law, is also doing better. As for Charles, well June said he is still a hand full, but she's keeping him in line, most of the time that is. Whoa, wait a second now, I just made up the part about Charles, June didn't really say that. The trouble with the truth is I sometimes forget to tell it or like to stretch it. Speaking of an artist with a song named "Trouble With the Truth", we're going to spotlight Patty Loveless this week. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much good traditional Country she does.

Have a good week and tune in as I sing "Here I Am", wait a sec, that will be Patty singing "Here I Am" (Anna Rose just breathed a sigh of relief),
Woody

September 6, 2005
If you read WWWs on a regular basis you know that I will sometimes complain about the weather when the temperatures are at one extreme or the other, but yesterday was just right I tell ya. You couldn't have asked for a nicer Labor Day. I actually got out and enjoyed it for a bit myself and I hope you all did too. Kelly brought two of her dogs, Darth and Sarah, over to play with Bronco for a while. As hot as they got you would have thought it was 105 degrees. Broncos doesn't get the chance to play with other dogs too often, but when he does he definitely takes advantage of the opportunity. In the past I have thought I should get him a playmate, but now that I've met Kelly who has three dogs I don't think that will be necessary. Bronco will be doing good to recover from Darth and Sarah's occasional visits, I'm not sure his heart could handle another dog to play with full-time at this point. We'll have to get him built up to that.

I didn't talk a lot about Katrina on the show. Just about every news channel on cable has been talking about the tragedy nonstop. I figured we could all use an escape from thinking about it for a while. I know I can drive myself crazy thinking about something I am powerless to do anything about. For some reason it seems when you see a tragedy like Katrina on TV it can sometimes seem unreal, like a movie or something. I cannot even imagine the devastation and what everyone is going through down there. There are opportunities to help starting to surface though and I am sure we will each one do what we can. I have a friend who answered phones on Monday at the Red Cross, talking with people who were trying to locate loved ones. Last night on the St. Louis TV News they were telling about an old jail that had been converted in the last few days to house families and children displaced by Katrina. I also just got an e-mail about the need for people to take in animal victims (cats, dogs) of the hurricane. And I had just said I was holding off on getting Bronco a playmate …maybe someone reading this will be able to help a needy animal? One of the many sad stories I have seen was about a woman waiting to be rescued. When help finally came they said she would have to leave her dog behind. I understand the importance of saving human life first, but I cannot even imagine being faced with that decision. You never know what you would do until you are actually in the situation, but I would say I would have to stay with the kids. The human death toll is still something I find hard to think about. I guess you get used to hearing about tornadoes or even hurricanes killing 5-10 people here in this country, but 10,000? God have mercy. And New Orleans is just a few hundred miles from Columbia. It is all hitting pretty close to home, isn't it?

If you were listening during the first hour of the show you heard me say it was eight years ago on Sunday that my Dad Harold Adkins passed away. I sure miss him. Due to a hernia he had to sleep most nights in his lazy boy chair and he would often have the radio on. If I had been doing MC at the time and had KOPN reached to Kirksville, I think Dad would have enjoyed listening to the show. A while back a regular listener said MC helped him make it through the night as he was going through a very difficult time. I hope Midnight Country does the same thing for many, many others of you listening. I also like to think I would have helped Dad had I been on back then. In the middle of the night before Dad died he had my step mom Virginia put a Bill Gaither Music video on, one with a bunch of Southern Gospel artists singing. Later that morning Dad passed away in his chair that faced the north and looked out the east window of the home where I grew up. You only have one Dad and I just wish mine would have heard me on the "real" radio instead of just set up in the middle of the living room floor in everyone's way "playing" radio as a boy.

On a lighter note, it was a treat to talk to Anna Rose's sister Loretta this week. Loretta and her daughter Lora Lee were staying with Anna Rose and Loretta was finally able to hear the show. She has been reading WWWs for a while now, but is not able to pick us up in Salisbury. It cracked me up when Anna Rose called later on in the show and was whispering. She was trying not to wake up Loretta who had gone on to sleep. If you knew Anna Rose you would know that her whispering is like me singin', it just rarely happens. The calls were steady this week, but they once again dropped off after 3:00. I need to figure out who is up from 3:00-5:30 and start marketing the show to them. I'm afraid I will burn Anna Rose out having to keep me awake in the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately Carl usually calls around 5:00 and gives Anna Rose a breather. It was pretty neat that we had a first time call from Larry in Columbia around 4:30. He wanted to hear a couple songs by Red Sovine, which we were able to get on.

This week's spotlight artist should be no surprise, you've only known who it would be for a couple of years now. Just in case though you've been on another planet, this week will be our 3rd Annual Johnny Cash Tribute. Of course Johnny passed away two years ago on…Mear is sitting on my mouse at the moment. I hope she doesn't suffocate it! I need my mouse to run my computer. Perhaps she is protesting the fact I am busy typing and she can't lie on my arm. Welp there she went, now she's going to groom on the other desk. Anyway it was September 12th when Johnny passed away and once again we will be paying Tribute to the Man in Black for the entire show. You won't want to miss it and this would be the perfect opportunity to tell someone else about MC!

Writing this week's WWWs has been a bit of a struggle, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps it is Katrina weighing on my mind or missing my Dad. I don't know what it is. I do know life is short and can be shorter still when a tragedy hits. Just live and enjoy your life each day as best you can. I know from experience that a lot of circumstances such as a loss, depression or an illness can make enjoying life a struggle. Hang in there through it all though and never hesitate to call the show just to talk or to request a song that brings encouragement to you. Midnight Country is about real people, dealing with real life, listening to real Country, played by a real…whatever I am.

Have a good week and tune in Monday for all Cash, all night and no I don't mean we'll be giving away cash all night, unless Anna Rose sends me some ,
Woody

August 30, 2005
Well if you listened to the show this week you heard Midnight Country history in the making. After too many moons of crying in my Diet Dew with a broken heart, your host Woody Adkins finally hit the jackpot, won the lottery and had Ed McMahon show up at his door. The first words out of Ed's mouth were "It's a girl!" Well actually a grown beautiful woman, named Kelly. I had been convinced I would never meet anyone again, but thankfully I was wrong. I first met Kelly on April 29 this year. She was volunteering at KOPN when I happened to stop by that afternoon. We next met again at a park 15 days later after several e-mails and calls. At that time Bronco met Sarah one of Kelly's three dogs. Fortunately for me Kelly was much more excited to see me again than Sarah was to meet Bronco. As we sat and talked Bronco barked his head off while Sarah sat with her back to him ignoring his pleas to play. That day was the first of many meetings and fortunately for Bronco, Sarah has warmed up to him a bit more. And so as they say the rest is history. There are a lot more stories to tell, but I will save them for future WWWs and the show. It took me awhile to open up on the show about this newly found treasure named Kelly. After having gone through a devastating breakup three years ago and after some time had passed talking about it on MC, I wanted to be sure Kelly was the real deal and wasn't going to run screaming from the state after discovering what a redneck hillbilly hippy I am. Well as amazing as this may sound the more she gets to know me the less likely it seems that she will hightail it and run. And the more I get to know her the more I start to wonder if she might be my "Mary". Now who's Mary? Well it was two plus years ago I first heard about Mary, Ron Lutz's dearly departed wife of 53 years. The more Ron talked about Mary, the more jealous I became, wishing I could meet someone like her. Welp it may have done just happened. Can ya tell I'm still a little nervous? Being an eternal pessimist it takes me a while to be convinced something is for real, but by talking about Kelly on the show and here in WWWs I would say I have taken a BIG step toward being a believer. And get this, a side benefit to Kelly's being beautiful, sweet and so se…(oops I'd better not say sexy had I? ), is the fact that she loves to listen to the show and to Country Music. Dang have I hit the jackpot or what!

It was another busy night during the first three hours of the show this week. I sometimes wish we had voice mail so I'd know if I am missing any calls. I know a lot of you keep trying, but I am afraid there are some who may try and then give up. MC Family member and my buddy Carl who stopped by this week will tell ya that more than once I was talking to someone and another line or two was ringing. It doesn't surprise me really that so many people have been calling MC lately. Well that is not totally true; my little inner DJ is still not convinced the show is actually going out over the air. Anyway the reason this doesn't surprise me, the big adult DJ, is because according to a Tribune article in the business section on Thursday Aug. 18, 2005 the number one station in Columbia is Country AND get this KOPN's listener-ship is up a whopping 80% over one year ago! Now who really knows how many people are listening to MC, but I'd say a bunch! If we ever have a Midnight Country Family get-together we might have to rent the Paige…oops I mean Mizzou Arena! I've always heard that fast-food restaurants like to build across the street from other fast-food restaurants. I guess a new one will then feed off the overflow and exposure of the original one. Well with mainstream Country being so popular and a Country station being number one according to the Arbitron ratings quoted in the above-mentioned article, then I would say the same illustration could apply with MC, with one slight variation. Midnight Country is NOT a fast-food restaurant built across the street from another fast-food joint. We are a steakhouse with a ***** (five star) rating, serving the thickest, juiciest, most tender melt-in-your-mouth T-bone steaks you would ever want to sink your teeth into! So the fast-food joint across the street may get people in the area and exposed to MC, but once they dine on fine Country Music, they will never want to go back to eating cheap ol' $.99 hamburgers I tell ya! I can just see the Ol' Outlaw grinning from ear-to-ear and saying "Now I told ya a lot of people like the show, but you wouldn't believe me." Dang I miss the Ol' Outlaw.

Now is the time when my face turns beet red with embarrassment. Last week I asked you here in WWWs to pray for Anna Rose's sister Loretta who I said had been sick. Oops, my mistake, it was instead, Anna Rose's niece Lora who had been sick. Anna Rose is (fortunately) letting it slide THIS time since the names Loretta and Lora Lee could be confused. Perhaps I should start recording my conversations with Anna Rose, this could serve a twofold purpose. First, I could prevent errors such as I made last week and second I could retire to Florida from all the money we would make selling CD's of our phone calls. Let just say Anna Rose and my visits on the phone would make the Blue Collar Tour guys (Jeff Foxworthy, etc.) seem like some long boring college algebra class. She's a hoot, but do NOT and I repeat do NOT tell her I said that.

I do know this for a fact (or at least I think I do) when June called this week she said she has been feeling under the weather lately. So keep her in your prayers. Also I would appreciate you praying for Kelly's step mom Royanne as she and her family deal with the tragic loss of her brother Henry who died in a car accident on Friday in Illinois. I think too, it would be appropriate to ask you to pray for everyone in areas hit by the hurricane.

I hope you are not feeling too low from your anticipation blues, but I am finally about to reveal this week's spotlight artist. It will be TEF, sounds like a rapper, huh? I bet Ron will enjoy that! Actually Ron is a big fan of TEF and sounds a lot like him when he raps, I mean sings on the Rooster Creek Show. Just messing with ya Ron. Actually Ron already knows that this week's spotlight artist will be Tennessee Ernie Ford. Ron will be up early all week dealin' with the milkin' blues as he skims off the cream and churns up some sweet Ol' Tennessee Ernie Ford for me to spin on Monday. Don't miss the next two shows now; remember it'll be all Johnny on the 12th!

Have a good week and tune in Monday morning for TEF, that is if I can recover from the exhaustion of loading sixteen tons of CD's in the ol' pickup to play for ya,
Woody

August 23, 2005
Being one who is obsessed with small details at times, I am making a couple changes this week. First, as you heard me mention on the show I have pushed back the time that WWWs and the Playlist will be posted on the web site. It seems I rarely have it posted by Noon on Tuesday and I am tired of that nagging voice that says "Liar, liar" everytime I say on the show when it will be posted. So the new time to watch for it is 2:00 on Tuesday, PM of course and Central whatever-time we are on during the summer. For those who might hit the web site from other countries, look at just about the center of a map of the US, find Missouri, then look at the center of the map of Missouri, find Columbia and then figure out what time 2:00 PM my time is where you are. I have no idea if any