"Good morning, you Night Owls out there," the low, soft rumble of a male voice poured through my woofers, "It's two o'clock on an early Friday morning, and I'm taking requests: 662-615-tripple 07. This is Daddy Bear--I'm gonna take you on home, tonight." While I laughed, I also wondered what this Mississippi DJ was all about. His music seemed to run the gambit from really, really old stuff like Janis Joplin and before, to the Dixie Chicks and Tom Petty. At one point, I heard him announce the weather: "Nothing but humid, hot, and muggy during the day, so now's the best time to be out and about, really. This is your Daddy Bear in your ear on WBER, Lake Sardis Shores. By the way, slow down if you're traveling up Highway 79, past the old grist mill near our station, here, you know how the Sheriff likes to hide behind the billboard as you're leavin' town."
Lake Sardis Shores? That was the next town I was coming to. I eased off the gas and began to thank the lucky stars above for the Daddy Bear and his warning as I passed a huge, painted Crown Victoria on a sign for a local car dealer with a matching Ford policecar behind it. Then I noticed the beacon in the sky. The radio tower was ahead, beyond a few wooded hills and pastures. I picked up my cell and called. No one picked up for the longest time, and I was about to hang up when that incredible voice came through my phone, "This is WBER, you got you some Daddy Bear here speakin'. What can I do for ya'?"
Lake Sardis Shores? That was the next town I was coming to. I eased off the gas and began to thank the lucky stars above for the Daddy Bear and his warning as I passed a huge, painted Crown Victoria on a sign for a local car dealer with a matching Ford policecar behind it. Then I noticed the beacon in the sky. The radio tower was ahead, beyond a few wooded hills and pastures. I picked up my cell and called. No one picked up for the longest time, and I was about to hang up when that incredible voice came through my phone, "This is WBER, you got you some Daddy Bear here speakin'. What can I do for ya'?"