The Stan Milam Show: A Buddy Movie

Lethal Weapon. 48 Hours. Turner and Hooch.
Hollywood likes to bring us movies featuring characters with different personalities thrown together by necessity and circumstances beyond their control. They clash at the beginning of the story, but by the end credits, they have come to a mutual respect for each other. It's an interesting, exciting, and sometimes heart-touching ride.

Having said that...
I'm not sure Stan Milam and I exactly "got along" when we starting working together five and a half years ago.
For one thing, I wasn't asked to be his producer so much as I was told I was going to be. My resentment was obvious... and misplaced.
For another thing (and I'm not sure you were ever aware of this by listening to him), he was opinionated and sometimes cranky.
He'd never been a radio talk show host. I'd never been a talk show producer. Neither of us had any good idea what the other was expecting.
"Is he done talking so I can take a commercial break?"
"Is she giving me a look because I said something offensive?"
He had interviews he needed to focus on. I had a show I had to make sound smooth.
We spent a great deal of time orbiting through our own universes of radio broadcasting even as we sat in the same studio just feet from each other.

I think the turning point came along with the complaints. Yeah, hard to believe, there were a few.
At first, I tried to placate the callers off the air, told them I understood, transferred their calls to program director Tim Bremel. But when the same people continued to call with the same complaints, I started to question if some listeners could ever be pleased.
One woman's call in particular struck me as odd. I questioned her subject matter and learned she was determined to say something on the air that, while well-intended, was going to be insulting. I explained why I was not going to put her on the air and offered to transfer her to Stan's or Tim's extention instead. She declined and proceeded to argue with me over her right to be on the air.
She was not listening to me, and I was not going to ever put her through. There was nothing left to discuss. So, I hung up on her. She then called back to get my supervisor's name... and to hang up on me.
Within days of that call (which Stan and I had never discussed), Stan began mentioning me by name on the air, giving you the impression that I was "in charge".
And I got the impression he was grateful to have me there.

Through the years, through the Stan Milam Show, I've had the priviledge of meeting many influential people. Senators, congressmen, local leaders and business owners, all the movers and shakers. By far, however, my favorite part of The Stan Milam Show has always been Open Mic.
Open Mic is a funny beast. Predicting what will spark calls is impossible. The government could be taxing families out of house and home and there would be no calls. But, the day a kangaroo was spotted wandering loose on Madison highways, the phone never stopped ringing!
On days when Stan has topics that should generate calls but don't, we joke that we need another "kangaroo".

And I have a confession, folks.
The week leading up to the 2010 Rock County 4H Fair, I heard Bob Dailey and Stan Milam discussing the choice of Micro Wrestling on the grandstand schedule. It was a brief conversation, but it caught my ear. So, when I entered the WCLO studio, I simply asked Stan, "What's wrong with micro wrestling?"
Let me tell you. He and I debated back and forth through 6 minutes of CBS news and 4 minutes of Southern Wisconsin news. By the time I opened Stan Milam's microphone, he was wound so tight, he hit the air with both barrels, and he let you have it.
That was my fault. I didn't mean to do it.
But, I think we can all agree... that was a really good show.

Somewhere along the line, Stan and I figured out how to communicate in the studio.
There's something I do that tells him I'm ready to take a commercial break. Neither of us knows what that thing is.
There's something he says that tells me he's about to wrap up a thought and it's time to roll the bumper music. Neither of us knows what that thing is, either.
We just know. It flows.
You dance with someone for five and a half years, you eventually get to know their next step before they take it.

Now, the Stan Milam Show comes to an end. As the credits roll, I sit alone in the dark theater hugging my empty popcorn bucket. I swallow past the lump in my throat, and I think to myself, "Damn. That was a really good movie."

Best wishes, Stan, my friend.
Your buddy,
~Rose