JAMES DEAN - AN UPDATE ON THE ANNIVERSARY

James in "Rebel"

Well, on this day, in 1955, James Dean died in a tragic car crash. Pop culture-ologists proclaim that James Dean was the inventor of "being cool".

After celebrities die, sometimes, they become bigger than life.  Like Elvis. Like Marilyn. Like Jim and Janis. His face is recognized in mass marketing, more now, 60 years after his death. Not bad for a guy who only made three movies.  Three. That's it. Two of them released after his death.

In two of the movies he played a character, very close to his own personality. He was unloved by his father, or so he thought. "Rebel Without A Cause" is thought to be the first major movie about teens, for teens. In that movie he wore a red jacket, not the black leather jacket we tend to associate with Dean. Watch the clip - check out the nagging wife!

Indiana - the marker has since changed.

In "East of Eden" there's a fabulous scene of Dean playing the son, trying to bless his father with money he earned, that his father won't accept. Classic, tormented scene, recreated very well when James Franco played the role.

In "Giant", I love the classic scene is of Dean striking oil and watching the oil geyser spray into the air and soak him, drop by drop.

Then, in 1955, he drove his Spyder racing car into another driver, killing himself. He was 24.

I've visited the James Dean Museum in Indiana. I've been to his very modest gravesite and last summer - 2016 - I visited the crash site in Cholame, California, at the junction of Route 46 and 41.



The junction - from my vantage on the side of the road.

It wasn't marked well. It's not preserved for any organization, so you're on your own to find it. But having researched the location I knew alot about it and I knew what I was looking for.

The highway was extremely busy with speeding transport trucks that made it difficult to cross to get to the exact location. The fact that James was killed in traffic made the whole experience a bit creepy.

I was travelling with my family in an RV - we pulled over to the side of the road on a busy interstate. I got out and walked around in search of the fence with the plaque.


A humble memorial - not sure who
maintains it.

I crossed the busy interstate and spotted a small American flag draped over the fence and ran over to get a selfie. I wasn't there more than 30 seconds but it was dangerous to leave the RV parked at the side of the road.

I ventured across the first two lanes of northbound traffic. I peeked to see oncoming traffic and WHOOOOSH!  A car raced right passed by my nose!  Man, that was close! I almost got killed on the same road as James Dean!
Well, now my James Dean journey is complete. From movie location, to gravesite to crash site.

If any of this has you curious, rent the movie "James Dean" starring James Franco. Franco is amazing in the role.

Today, September 30, is the anniversary of the death of James Dean - and the beginning of "cool".

ANXIETY - STOP THE WORLD FOR A MINUTE!

For some people, anxiety is a mental disorder and they need meds to keep the anxious feelings under control. I get that. I'm on meds for depression and sometimes anxiety triggers the depression.

When I get anxiety, I start cancelling things. It's like a mild panic and my (irrational) reaction at the time is to bail out on whatever the plans are. Even activities I was looking forward to!

I hate it when people bail on me. It's a trigger for depression. When people cancel on me, it's probably too late for me to do something else. I try to remember that when I cancel my plans that involve other people.

Another trigger for anxiety is being too busy. I'm generally quite organized but too many activities gives me anxiety. I get cranky and sweaty and negative.

My psychologist showed me that I need to pace myself. "You can't handle the busyness now, like you used to."  So, now I do three things to attempt to control a busy life. (If you have anxiety with life's activities, one of these things might work for you.)

1 - When I schedule I make sure I don't have too many things night after night. I need a night off. If I'm out of the house Monday and Tuesday nights, I need to leave Wednesday open.

2 - But sometimes I can't control everything. Say, a concert Monday, a family dinner Tuesday, a business meeting Wednesday, an out of town appointment Thursday, a friend visit on Friday, a station event Saturday and a Sunday church speaking engagement. (This is an actual example).

When this happens I look at each individual activity and remind myself, "Ya, I really want to do that on Monday, and see them on Tuesday."  If I look at each activity by itself, I don't panic because I chose to do each for a reason.

3 - Lastly, as often as possible, I avoid planning anything on Mondays and Fridays. They tend to take care of themselves.

These things work for me. How bout you?

 

ANXIETY - STOP THE WORLD FOR A MINUTE!

For some people, anxiety is a mental disorder and they need meds to keep the anxious feelings under control. I get that. I'm on meds for depression and sometimes anxiety triggers the depression.

When I get anxiety, I start cancelling things. It's like a mild panic and my (irrational) reaction at the time is to bail out on whatever the plans are. Even activities I was looking forward to!

I hate it when people bail on me. It's a trigger for depression. When people cancel on me, it's probably too late for me to do something else. I try to remember that when I cancel my plans that involve other people.

Another trigger for anxiety is being too busy. I'm generally quite organized but too many activities gives me anxiety. I get cranky and sweaty and negative.

My psychologist showed me that I need to pace myself. "You can't handle the busyness now, like you used to."  So, now I do three things to attempt to control a busy life. (If you have anxiety with life's activities, one of these things might work for you.)

1 - When I schedule I make sure I don't have too many things night after night. I need a night off. If I'm out of the house Monday and Tuesday nights, I need to leave Wednesday open.

2 - But sometimes I can't control everything. Say, a concert Monday, a family dinner Tuesday, a business meeting Wednesday, an out of town appointment Thursday, a friend visit on Friday, a station event Saturday and a Sunday church speaking engagement. (This is an actual example).

When this happens I look at each individual activity and remind myself, "Ya, I really do want to do that on Monday, and see them on Tuesday."  If I look at each activity by itself, I don't panic because I chose to do each for a reason.

3 - Lastly, as often as possible, I avoid planning anything on Mondays and Fridays. They tend to take care of themselves.

These things work for me. How bout you?

 

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT

Moments before leaving Nashville. The tears aren't visible.

Wow, it's been 19 years since I moved to Barrie!

I had been working in the U.S. at the Christian radio station that, some say, pioneered the way for future stations. Truly, WAY-FM was an innovator and the company President was a visionary.

Working in Nashville at WAY-FM was my dream job. It's where I learned how to do Christian radio, and listener supported radio. Living in Nashville was more than wonderful and the day we packed up to return to Canada, I cried like a girl. It was a great city; I had made good friends; it was an exciting place to live; O'Charley's Restaurant, Cool Springs Mall - arrrrg - I could go on and on.

In September 1997, it was like God was dragging me out of the country with me kicking and screaming. As I crossed the border from Tennessee to Kentucky I felt like I was leaving everything good behind. It was a horrible, long drive back to Canada. At the time I thought that no radio station would be more fun than WAY-FM and now that I had lost it, nothing good would come from it. I screwed it up. I had no idea that WAY-FM would be the catalyst for LIFE 100.3.

I moved to Barrie for one reason only - I had nowhere else to live. Coming back to Canada was the last thing I wanted to do but I spent all my money in the U.S.  My parents brought me and my family to Barrie to live with them. It was a humbling time - having a wife and kids, no job, no prospects of a job and having to live off my parents.

I remember picking up three part-time jobs and grossing $12,000 in 1998!  I was lucky I could put gas in my car and pay my insurance.

Dad and me, about 2007.

This was a career valley in my life. I was fed up with secular radio and the sexy rude music, which was less rude in 1997 than today. With my daughter being a new teenager, I missed the (Christian) songs that proclaimed virtues like trust, honour, purity and love.

While living with my parents in their basement I continued to attend church, pray, seek God and ask people for advice.

One day I was leaving my parents house to go to my part-time weekend job and my Dad was in the driveway. I was totally forlorn at my hopeless situation. I stared at my Dad, my eyes welled up and I grabbed him for a hug. He patted me on the back, like a father and told me everything would be alright. I know he felt my pain.

Living with my parents in their basement lasted a year a half. I often was angry at my parents about my situation. As if it was their fault that I got fired. I am embarrassed to say that I was ungrateful for their generosity and hospitality, blind to the fact that they fed me, clothed me, paid my dentist bills while I searched for the next chapter in my life.

Most people think that starting a Christian radio station was my lifelong dream. It wasn’t. It just happened. The CRTC had changed the broadcast rules and were awarding licenses to full-time Christian stations and I wondered what might happen if I combined my faith and experience. So, I sent in a pitiful application that not only won me the license for LIFE 100.3, but skipped the entire hearing process. We got a rubber stamp approval.

Now LIFE 100.3 is here. LIFE celebrated its 17 anniversary last August and today I continue to lead this radio ministry. Most of my days are fabulous. Radio has changed alot with new technology but I still love this business and I've come to believe that wherever God has you, that's the best place to be.

The advice I got along the way:

Pastor Ian McLean told me “you have to give up your idols before God will reveal the next plan”. What’s your idol? Figure it out and surrender it.

Rebecca St. James told me “God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.” While I had a substanial amount of radio experience, it was God who led me to the people who cheered on my vision and supported me.

Pastor Kevin Bushey told me “God gives grace to the stupid”. I interpret that as meaning, I knew programming but not business, not engineering and not fundraising and so God gave me a shortcut before I gave up.

Bob Augsburg, the President of WAY-FM told me “To whom much is given, much is required”.

If you’re stuck in a valley - seek God. He will bring you out of it.