Wednesday, July 22, 2009

More Women's Health Issues

One hallmark of the show was our dedication to health issues. This show comes to mind, let's go to the tape...

Jen: And finally in the news this hour, Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music.

Mack Man: Whoa, whoa, whoa! A what??

Jen: a breast implant that can store and play music. The iBooby will cost from $499 to $699, depending on cup and speaker size.

Mack Man: Incredible!

Jen: Yes, this has been hailed as a major social breakthrough, because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

Mack Man: Continuing with our medical theme this morning across the way there Ceri is with Dr. Joe Mengele, a local gynecologist.

Ceri: Thanks, Mack Man. We are emphasizing women’s health issues this month, and I want to thank Dr. Mengele for being with us this morning.

Dr. Mengele: Thank you, Ceri. As my grandfather, Dr. Josef Mengele used to tell his patients back in Germany, at the Auschwitz Clinic, this is for your own good and won’t hurt a bit.

Ceri: This is a very important issue, isn’t it?

Dr. Mengele: I cannot stress the importance of women’s health issues enough, Ceri.

Ceri: But a lot of women are really afraid to come in for their exams, aren’t they?

Dr. Mengele: Yes, they are but they shouldn’t be! It’s like the case of one of my patients who was having a problem and was very scared about it and quite concerned but when she finally came in we were able to figure it all out without a lot of trauma.

Ceri: What happened?

Dr. Mengele: Well, a middle-aged woman came in for her appointment, and she was very sheepish.
“Come now,” I told her. “You've been seeing me for years! There's nothing you can't tell me.”
“Well,” she told me, “this one's kind of strange Doc.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” I said.
“Well,” she began, “yesterday I went to the bathroom in the morning and heard a plink-plink-plink in the toilet and when I looked down, the water was full of pennies.”
“I see,” I said.
“That afternoon I went to the bathroom again and, plink-plink-plink, there were nickels in the bowl!”
“Hmm. Go on,” I bade her.
“That night,” she continued, “I went again, plink-plink-plink, and there were dimes and this morning there were quarters!” She began getting really agitated at this point. “You've got to tell me what's wrong with me! I'm scared out of my wits!”
“There, there, it's nothing to be scared about,” I assured her. “You're simply going through the change!”

Chrisman, Jennifer Mack Man and Ceri: the Radio Show That Saved Humanity. New York: Random House, 2031

Monday, July 20, 2009

When The Riots Began

American society was just going down the dumper. Everything was spiraling out of the control. But hey...it made for some exciting radio! One instance that comes to mind are the Missouri Southern State University riots...


Mack Man: Welcome back to the Mack Man and Ceri show.

Ceri: Hello!

Mack Man: Our own Jennifer Chrisman is in the field, reporting live on the riots at Missouri Southern.

Ceri: Jen! Are you there!

Jen: (audio recording reveals that Jen is literally shouting over the noise of sirens, what sounds like gunshots, some explosions and people screaming and shouting) Ceri! I’m here on the campus of Missouri Southern State University, where the riots are in full swing! (sound of a helicopter gunship flying low overhead) You’ve never seen such a commotion!

Mack Man:
Why is this happening?

Ceri: What happened to spark these riots??

Jen: Believe it or not, it started in an economics class!

Mack Man: What??

Jen: Yes! Dr. Duane Britski, of the University’s Economics Department, conducted an experiment to see if socialism works. With me now is Dr. Britski. Good morning!

Britski: Good morning, Jennifer! I have to admit that flak jacket and helmet look good on you!

Jen: Well, thank you, Dr. Britski. I thought they were a little large on me, but the accessories seem to be working.

Britski: Indeed they are! (a loud explosion is heard)

Mack Man: Hey! Forget the fashion show!! What in tarnation started this riot??

Jen: Oh, yeah. Sorry. So what was it you did, Dr. Britski, that started the riot?

Britski: Well, Ceri, I was trying to teach the class the basic elements of Capitalism, but I was getting a lot of flack from the students.

Jen: Flack? What, they don’t like Capitalism?

Britski: No! They insisted that Socialism was the wave of the future. No rich, no poor, everyone the same it would be the great equalizer of society.

Jen: So what did you do?

Britski: I said, Okey dokey, we will have an experiment that I call “Obama’s Plan.” What we did was we averaged everyone’s grade.

Jen: What? You averaged everyone’s grade??

Britski: Yes, everyone got the same grade. We averaged it, so no one would get an “A” but also no one would fail.

Jen: So what happened?

Britski: So we had the first test, and all the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.

Jen: So I’ll bet everyone was happy about that!

Britski:
Well, to tell the truth the students who hit the books and studied hard were, well, kinda upset while the students who sluffed it off and studied very little were quite happy. Jen: So what happened next?
Britski: Well, so here comes the second test. The students who had studied little, studied even less this time and the ones who had studied hard decided it was time for their free ride so they studied little and everyone got a D! Nobody was happy! (the audio tape has the sound of a helicopter flying close overhead) So when the when the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

Jen: Whoa!

Britski: The scores never increased as the bickering, the blaming, the name-calling and finger pointing all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. I flunked the whole dang class. I told them that’s how their precious socialism works: it punishes those who work and redistributes their wealth to the lazy and undeserving. And that’s when the riots began...

Chrisman, Jennifer Mack Man and Ceri: the Radio Show That Saved Humanity. New York: Random House, 2031

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Promoting Women's Issues

These were good days for the show. Each morning we would greet the new day with news and information that was useful to the listeners in the Fourstates. I recall that, back in the day, MSSU President Dr. Meahn Julio Dahnbuydeskolyard was a favorite guest. Here is the transcript from one of his visits. He came on just after I wrapped up the news.

Jen: And finally in the news this hour, I have to tell you about the sad and sordid story of a young husband who was tired of constantly being broke and who was stuck in an unhappy marriage. He solved both problems by taking out an unusually large insurance policy on his wife and then arranging to have her killed. A friend of a friend put him in touch with a nefarious underworld figure, who went by the name of Artie.

Artie explained to the husband that his going price for whacking a spouse was $5,000. The husband said he was willing to pay that amount, but that he wouldn't have any cash on hand until he could collect his wife's insurance money. Artie insisted on being paid at least something up front, so the man opened his wallet, displaying the single dollar bill that rested inside. Artie sighed, rolled his eyes, & reluctantly agreed to accept the dollar as down payment for the dirty deed done dirt cheap.

A few days later, Artie followed the man's wife to the Wal-Mart store, there off of Rangeline and 15th. There, he surprised her in the produce department and the villain proceeded to strangle her with his gloved hands. As the poor unsuspecting woman drew her last breath and slumped to the floor the manager of the produce department stumbled unexpectedly onto the murder scene. Unwilling to leave any living witnesses behind, ol' Artie had no choice but to strangle the produce manager as well. However, unknown to Artie, the entire proceedings were captured by the hidden security cameras and observed by the store's security guard, who immediately called the police. Artie was caught & arrested before he could even leave the store.

Under intense questioning at the police station, Artie revealed the whole sordid plan, including his unusual financial arrangements with the hapless husband who was also quickly arrested. This morning in the Joplin Globe the headline says it all: “ARTIE CHOKES 2 for $1.00 AT WAL-MART!”

Mack Man: Thank you, Jen.

Ceri: With us this morning is Dr. Meahn Julio Dahnbuydeskolyard.

Meahn Julio: Good morning!

Mack Man: Meahn Julio is the President of Missouri Southern, and I believe you have an exciting announcement for us.

Meahn Julio: Yes, I sure do! I am here to announce new Summer Classes for Women at Southern.

Ceri: This is so exciting! What classes do you have?

Meahn Julio: Let me run down the list: Class 1: Up in Winter, Down in Summer - How to Adjust a Thermostat Step by Step, with Slide Presentation. Meets 4 wks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hrs beginning at 7:00 PM.

Ceri: Sounds like some lessons that we gals need for sure!

Meahn Julio: Class 2: Which Takes More Energy - Putting the Toilet Seat Down, or Griping About It for 3 Hours? This is a Round Table Discussion.Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Jen: I may sit in on that one...no pun intended!

Meahn Julio: Class 3: Is It Possible To Drive Past a Wal-Mart Without Stopping?--Group Debate. Probably our most controversial class. Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Mack Man: My mother in law definitely needs to attend that one!

Meahn Julio: Class 4: How to Ask Questions During Commercials and Be Quiet During the Program. This includes Help Line Support and Support Groups.Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Ceri: This is getting seriously into women’s issues! That class is going to be a hard one! But it sure is one that soooo many women need!

Meahn Julio: Class 5: Health Watch--They Make Medicine for PMS - USE IT! Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Mack Man: That is the most important class! This is the class that might actually save lives!

Meahn Julio: Class 6: I Was Wrong and He Was Right!--Real Life Testimonials. Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined. Also this year we are adding Class 7: How to Parallel Park In Less Than 20 Minutes Without an Insurance Claim. We will, of course, feature Driving Simulations...4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours. There will be an elective to that course, which is Learning to Live--How to Apply Brakes Without Throwing Passengers Through the Windshield. If you enroll for that, it meets Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined. And finally Class 8: How to Shop by Yourself. Meets 4 wks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Mack Man: Our thanks to Missouri Southern for its great service to the Fourstates and to mankind!


Chrisman, Jennifer Mack Man and Ceri: the Radio Show That Saved Humanity. New York: Random House, 2031

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Let the Episodes Begin!

We use as our source, of course, Jen's great book. Here is a quote:

And then who can forget that one time when, well, I think we all got in a spot of trouble over this one. The Mack Man had really been a grouch all morning long. Grumpy and hyper! Well, finally the dam burst. I think the official transcript tells the story best:

Mack Man: With us this morning is Lisa Davis, one of our more popular guests here on Mack Man and Ceri. Lisa, since she was forced into retirement after the “Microwave Cooking Scandal” has become a consummate gardener, and she is here to share some insights with us. Good morning, Lisa!

Lisa Davis: Good morning, all!

Ceri: What do you have for us, today? Something that will put everyone in a good mood I hope and pray!

Lisa: You betcha! But I’ll have to tell you I did have a spot of trouble this week.

Mack Man: Really?

Lisa: Yes, I was trimming my hedge there in the front yard. I did not realize that my cat was hiding in the hedge and I cut off her tail with my hedge trimmers!

Ceri: Oh, no!

Mack Man: That’s terrible!

Lisa: Yup. So I picked up my cat and her tail and I rushed them both to Wal Mart.

Mack Man: What?? Wal Mart?? Why did you take them to Wal Mart, for cryin’ out loud??

Lisa: Well, Wal Mart is the world’s largest retailer...

(the official sound track records the sound of snorty laughter, followed by the sound of two gunshots and then the sound of a body hitting the floor. There was a few seconds of silence, which was broken by Ceri)

Ceri: No more caffeine for you!!


Chrisman, Jennifer The Mack Man and Ceri: the Radio Show That Saved Humanity. New York: Random House, 2031.

Friday, June 19, 2009

A quote from Jen's book

Ceri’s post:
The dentist decided to get an alarm system after we were broken into (the source of many of my recent headaches) a few weeks ago. Of course, a local company with connections to our office was his first choice. So my Jason found himself there last Friday to install our new system. The office manager sent me a text partway through the morning: Only ur husband. I was confused and asked her what she meant. "I meant," she said, "only your husband would fall through the ceiling." Yup, sure enough, I saw the giant hole myself. He fell into the room our new dentist was working in. I asked the doctor how it went, and he calmly said, "I had the needle in the patient's mouth and just as I was administering the block, I heard a little kaboom, and then a louder kaboom, and I looked up to see long legs dangling from the ceiling."

The quote from the book:

It all came home to roost for Ceri the day that she saw her husband’s legs dangling through the roof of the dentist’s office where she was working. She left radio to come to the simple life...for this?? For this?? Her beloved Jason was risking life and limb...and she could do naught but stare in horrified fascination. Ok, so she may have had a laugh or two. It was kinda funny, she had to admit. But nope, she reasoned, life has to be more than this. Perhaps it was time?
For Mack Man (or was it McMahon?? Even those of us who worked on the show weren’t sure...) the realization came when he was working on a newspaper rack, and the dang darn hood of the heavy metal device came slamming down on his hand.
He may have said a bad word or two as he was jumping around, holding his bleeding appendage, the pain shooting through his body.
He left radio to come to the simple life...for this?? For this?? His beloved hand was throbbing in pain!! Pain, I tell you!! It was lucky his fingers hadn’t been shorn off!! Perhaps it was time??
It was he who remembered that one of his favorite groups, the B-52’s, was formed after a drunken night at a Chinese restaurant.
Well, there wasn’t any drinking going on, but the calls were made and there was an evening at Del Rio’s.
The rest, as they say, was history....

Chrisman, Jennifer Mack Man and Ceri: the Radio Show That Saved Humanity. New York: Random House, 2031.