Me and Joey

As I mentioned earlier this week, tonight I was a guest on The Joey Reynolds Show, syndicated nationally out of the studies of WOR 710 AM in New York City. The interview was pre-recorded and I am told the segment will be broadcast later this morning from 4:00 to 5:00 o'clock a.m. EDT. (That means you'll still be awake in California or Hawaii, if you want to listen.)

It was great fun. The guests were an eclectic bunch. The conversation began rather seriously, with a discussion of the economic, political, and religious situation in China, stemming from the presence of guest William Hanbury-Tenison, a Shanghai based consultant who helps millionaires (and billionaires) buy and sell fine art. He was accompanied by a Joey Reynolds Show regular, comedienne Esther Goodhart, the daughter of a Korean Presbyterian minister who is a convert to Judaism and who recently performed in a television pilot for a show called "Tramp," which is about a Korean brothel, with Esther as a yenta-like madam. (It's a comedy, of course.)

The other guest was Clayton Clavette, who -- to the surprise of both of us -- grew up in Milwaukee. When Joey introduced me as having come originally from Milwaukee, Clayton thought he was reading from the wrong notes. (It turns out that Clayton grew up in River Hills and attended University School, while I grew up in Wauwatosa and attended Marquette High School.) Clayton is now based in Miami, where he runs a business called Lavish Living, the purpose of which is to rent mansions, automobiles, yachts, and jets to extremely rich people. He and I enjoyed a couple of drinks after the show back at my hotel, comparing notes about our lines of work and realizing we may have some synergy in the future.

And, of course, Myra Chanin -- "Mother Wonderful" -- was there adding her own special wit and TLC.

Joey introduced me by noting that they found me because I complained about his show being taken off the air at WINA-AM in Charlottesville. I spoke about blogging, about my Jesuit education, about my travels and my profession. It all went so fast, much of it seems like a blur. I remember more about my fellow guests' remarks than I do about my own.

I was given a CD with a recording of the show on the way out. If someone wants to teach me how to post a podcast to this blog, please drop me an email. Otherwise, you may be able to listen (if you're not listening on the radio right now) at the WOR web site.

All in all, this was an extremely pleasant and worthwhile experience. The camaraderie that one hears on the air when listening to this show is just as genuine when you are there in person.

I hope this edition of The Joey Reynolds Show gets good feedback and I get invited to return someday soon. If nothing else, it's another excuse to visit New York and see a couple of Broadway or off-Broadway shows (which is on my agenda for Saturday afternoon and evening.)

(I did get a photo of me with Joey and Myra, but I'll have to post it when I get back home to my own computer. The hotel business center desktop I'm using doesn't have a port for my memory card.)