I knew going in that this show could be a mess.
In addition to the requisite six pack, I’d asked our friend Brigid Mooney to come in and show us how to make her signature cocktail, the Dirty Mooney, which, as it turns out, is pretty much just straight gin with a hint of Sprite. And, on top of that, I thought that I’d bring a few bottles of champaign into the studio, just in case the rain cleared up, and people in the audience might want to walk down to the station and share a toast to marriage equality. [The last show, as you may recall, was broadcast the day after the historic Supreme Court decision.] Given the combination of things being consumed, I knew that bad things could happen. I don’t think, however, I appreciated just how far off the rails things could go. [To give you some sense of how bad things got, I have a vague recollection of talking with Beth Bashert and Eric Wozniac about what kinds of animals we’d like to marry now that we’d started down the slippery slope with gay marriage.]
For what it’s worth, it wasn’t my fault. My initial guests didn’t drink as much as I’d anticipated, so I ended up having to drink more of the six pack than I’d planned to. Then, Brigid Mooney refused to serve me any less than a full Dirty Mooney, which is essentially a pint glass filled to the brim with cheap gin. [She said I needed to experience the drink the way that it was intended, and wouldn’t let me take just a sip.] And, as the random gay listeners who I thought might stop by never materialized, either due to the rain, or because they had better ways to celebrate the momentous occasion than by listening to AM radio, I ended up drinking at least three-quarters of a bottle of champaign myself.
Given all of this, and the fact that a week has now passed since the show aired, my memory of what transpired is a bit foggy. So, I’m going to break with tradition and not post a full accounting of the entire show. Instead, I thought that I’d just share a few of photos taken by AM 1700 staff historian Kate de Fuccio, and the official synopsis shared on Facebook by station owner Brian Robb… Here’s how Brian summed it up.
“In the first hour, Laura Rubin from the Huron River Watershed Council comes by to chat about all the great microbreweries that get their water from the Huron River. Local landlord Hedger Breed pops in to declare Ypsilanti not dangerous enough anymore. In the second hour, Mark and Patrick Elkins read a radio drama that is clearly longer than six minutes. Then mixologist Brigid Mooney finally shows the members of the studio audience her Dirty Mooney. To cap it all off, in a special-edition third hour, Mark gets super-drunk in the name of marriage equality as he pops champagne corks with Beth Bashert and Eric Wozniak as they plot what’s next on the gay agenda.”
Our first guest, as Mr. Robb mentioned above, was Laura Rubin from the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC). I was, for the most part, coherent during our discussion… which was really quite fascinating. Here Rubin is telling me about the condition of the Huron River 50 years ago, when the HRWC first came into being, and all of the work done since to get us to where we are today.
Then, local landlord Hedger Breed dropped by to explain what he meant when he said publicly not too long ago that, if Ypsi continued on its current trajectory, he’d have to find somewhere less safe and boring and call home. If I’m not mistaken, this shot was taken just after our lengthy discussion of antique books, when he refused to divulge details about an epic Ypsilanti karate battle he’s rumored to have been involved in.
During the 7:00 hour, Patrick Elkins and Aimee Adams were supposed to come by to perform a radio drama about a fundamentalist baker who, forced against his will to produce a gay wedding cake, cried into his buttercream frosting, causing a chemical reaction to take place which resulted in dozens of gay wedding guests acquiring super powers. Plans changed abruptly, however, when Adams made the last-minute decision to honor a work commitment rather than climb the stairway to stardom on AM radio. So, instead, Elkins and I read an old play that he and Adams had written together. [For what it’s worth, I believe their play did more to cloud my mind than the Dirty Mooney to follow.]
And then Brigid came in to tell us how she’d chipped her tooth, and give us a lesson in how to properly mix and serve Dirty Mooneys.
Then, Beth Bashert and Eric Wozniak came in to partake in Dirty Mooneys, talk about marriage equality, and assist me in draining a few bottles of champaign. Calls were made and received, tears were shed, and much fun was had. One day I will listen to the recording, but I can’t now. It’s just too soon.
Here’s Bashert talking about the road to marriage equality, and all the victories and setbacks along the way, including our local battle against Dominos founder Tom Monaghan.
And here’s Wozniak sharing his thoughts on what the Supreme Court decision might mean to young LGBT kids coming of age today, even if they’re single, never want to marry, etc.
AND NOW YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE WHOLE LOVELY MESS YOURSELF… Just find yourself a nice, quite spot; pour a six pack, a bottle of gin, and a bottle of champaign together in a large bucket; hit play; and submerge your head.
Thanks, as always, to AM 1700 for hosting the show, Brian Robb for running the board and keeping the bills paid, and Kate de Fuccio for documenting everything that happens. [All the photos above come courtesy of Kate.]
If you like this episode, check out our archive of past shows at iTunes. And do please leave a review if you have the time, OK? It’s nice to know that people are listening, and, unless you call in, that’s pretty much the only way we know.
