{"id":17023,"date":"2015-08-21T16:52:31","date_gmt":"2015-08-21T16:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefranchiseking.com\/?p=17023"},"modified":"2025-06-02T16:00:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T20:00:54","slug":"a-sleeping-bag-was-my-bed-for-3-months-and-i-felt-like-a-rock-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefranchiseking.com\/a-sleeping-bag-was-my-bed-for-3-months-and-i-felt-like-a-rock-star","title":{"rendered":"A Sleeping Bag Was My Bed For 3 Months And I Felt Like A Rock Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a while there, my morning ritual started with The Unzipping Of My Sleeping Bag<\/em>-as opposed to just getting out of bed like most of my fellow earthlings. Most of the day was usually uphill after that. I’m grateful that I only had to do that-The Unzipping Of My Sleeping Bag<\/em>, for 3 months or so.<\/p>\n

\"sleeping<\/a><\/p>\n

And, no…I wasn’t homeless. (Thank G-d<\/em>)<\/p>\n

To West Texas, With Love<\/h2>\n

I lived in West Texas from 1979-1981. Andrews<\/em>, Texas.<\/p>\n

I moved there from Cleveland<\/a><\/strong>, a metropolis, to an area of the country known as the Permian Basin, for one reason, and one reason only.<\/p>\n

Love. I moved for love<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That’s right; love, baby.<\/p>\n

\"love\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I Was<\/em> In Love<\/h2>\n

If you’re thinking I moved to the tiny Texas town of Andrews because I was in love with a beautiful woman, you’d be wrong<\/strong>. But, I was<\/em> in love.<\/p>\n

\"andrews\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My love was so deep at the time, I was willing to do just about anything<\/em> to fulfill my needs. Whatever it was going to take, I was bound and determined to do it. This was my shot. It was a steppingstone to fame and fortune. It was my second<\/em> stop on the road to fame and fortune. It was a very exciting time in my young life. I loved<\/strong> it!<\/p>\n

It, being my new career<\/strong><\/a>. My new “Rock Star”<\/em><\/a> career.<\/p>\n

\"radio<\/a><\/p>\n

A Radio Star<\/h2>\n

Less than a month after graduating with a broadcasting degree, magna\u00a0cum loud<\/em>, from The Ohio School Of Broadcast Technique, I received a job offer from KOUR-AM<\/a><\/strong>, a radio station in the town of Independence, Iowa.<\/p>\n

Less than 40 seconds after receiving said offer, I accepted it. 3 weeks later, I packed my car up (a loud-on-purpose-very-fast yellow 1973 Dodge Challenger<\/em>) and moved to Iowa.<\/p>\n

My job title: Assistant News Director: Farm Bureau Director<\/strong>. It’s a good thing I had a plethora of agricultural experience.<\/p>\n

At 6:00 am Monday-through Friday, I got in front of the KOUR-AM Radio microphone and shared crop and livestock prices I had just collected from the Chicago Board of Trade teletype machine.<\/p>\n

Important figures like these:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Corn- 393 6\/8<\/p>\n

Wheat-\u00a0317.8<\/p>\n

Soybean Oil-\u00a028.11<\/p>\n

Live Cattle-\u00a0145.900.<\/p>\n

\"heifer\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Especially important: The 2-6 year-old heifers, which are going for $2,775 this week.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Whatever: I was on the radio!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then, 3 or 4 months later, (I don’t remember, exactly<\/em>) I was all of a sudden packing my car up. I guess it must have been a culture thing. More like a culture shock<\/em> thing. (For me, and probably for the farmers who were listening to me in the morning<\/em>) For the station manager, too, me thinks, because I was fired<\/em>, and I don’t even remember why. I do<\/em> remember being miserable there most of time, though. The radio station really sucked. It was off the air due to technical issues all the time. The town kinda sucked, too. What can I say? (My apologies to the town of Independence, Iowa- but I call em like I see em<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

“What does your really short-lived radio station job in\u00a0Iowa\u00a0have to do with your stint in West Texas-and a sleeping bag, Joel?<\/em>”<\/p>\n

A Sleeping Bag Was My Bed For 3 Months And I Felt Like A Rock Star<\/h2>\n

I did<\/em> feel like a Rock<\/a><\/strong> Star after only two months in Andrews. Texas-sleeping bag and all.<\/p>\n

A few months after getting fired, I received a call from Eric<\/a><\/strong>, who I had worked with at KOUR-AM. Like me, he was a graduate of The Ohio School Of Broadcast Technique. But, he wasn’t working in Iowa anymore. He was working at KACT AM-FM, a radio station in West Texas. As a matter of fact, he was the Program Director<\/em>. And, he wanted me<\/em> to be the 7-Midnight DJ on the FM side, K-105<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So, a one-way plane ticket (courtesy of Mom and Dad<\/em>) was purchased, and I headed to the Permian Basin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here I am on launch day-before I left for the airport.<\/p>\n

\"joel<\/a><\/p>\n

(The look on my face was probably due to having to take yet another<\/span> picture<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

The Permian what<\/em>?<\/p>\n

From Wikipedia<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Permian Basin gives its name to a large oil and natural gas producing area, part of the Mid-Continent Oil Producing Area. Total production for that region up to the beginning of 1993 was over 14.9 billion barrels (2.37\u00d7109 m3). The towns of Midland and Odessa serve as the headquarters for oil production activities in the basin.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The town of Andrews, Texas, is in the Permian Basin. So was KACT AM-FM.<\/p>\n

There<\/h2>\n

I didn’t have a bed. I knew I wouldn’t going in. Temporarily.<\/p>\n

That said, it was nice of Eric to put me up at his place, though. It’s not like I had brought thousands of dollars with me. I brought two suitcases and a nice pair of headphones. (That I’d soon be plugging into the radio studio board!<\/em>) I brought some other stuff, too. Don’t ask.<\/p>\n

\"rock<\/a><\/p>\n

The bottom line: I pretty much lived out of two suitcases and slept on the floor in a sleeping bag for a few months. Big whoop. It was so<\/em> worth it. Even with the carpet crawlers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"carpet<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s only one direction in the faces that I see;<\/em>
\n It’s upward to the ceiling, where the chambers said to be.<\/em>
\n Like the forest fight for sunlight, that takes root in every tree.<\/em>
\n They are pulled up by the magnet, believing that they’re free.<\/em>
\n The carpet crawlers heed their callers:<\/em>
\n “We’ve got to get in to get out<\/em>
\n We’ve got to get in to get out.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

-Genesis, Carpet Crawlers, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, 1974<\/p>\n