True confessions: The 3/50 Project, my life, and a CBS affiliate

This one, admittedly, warms my heart. You see, I grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska, where a field reporter from KOLN/KGIN TV (CBS) came to interview me about The 3/50 Project last week. Standing inside Conestoga Mall, the site of my first full time job (outside the family business), certainly brought on a couple of full circle moments...and a confession.*

Enormous thanks go to Sarah Geake for doing such a great job with the segment. Hopefully, a lot of folks back home heard our message, then jumped on the bandwagon to save the local independent businesses they don’t want to see disappear.

Here’s to big things ahead from home base!

Now, for the second full-circle-moment-slash-confession:

In the mid-60s, my grandmother worked at CBS affiliate KOLN-TV as the station manager’s secretary. This was during an era of children‘s programming at the local station level, typically in the form of cartoon-oriented shows featuring in-studio hosts. Every Monday through Friday, at 3:30 p.m., Sheriff Bob would welcome his after school audience to Cartoon Corral, airing on the station that, at the time, had the largest regional coverage in the country.

Each show featured an on-screen audience of grade school aged kids, one of which was celebrating a birthday. At the appointed time, the birthday boy or girl would clamor onto Sheriff Bob’s lap, visit with their rock star idol (this was pre-MTV, after all), followed by chorus of “Happy Birthday” performed by the kid-packed on-screen audience.

I got to be that lucky kid on my fifth birthday. One might assume I credit this moment as the start of my professional speaking career, yet it’s one I’ve been relatively quiet about. You see, there was a bit of a glitch at the ol’ hitchin’ post that day.

Sheriff Bob, in his typical warm manner, hoisted me up to his lap for a little on-air visit (How old are you today? What do you want for your birthday? Are your mommy and daddy planning something special to celebrate?). Along the way, I got it into my head this was my show too, and offered to tell a joke. Sheriff Bob lit up, agreed, and sat back to see what this little entertainment prodigy on his lap might have to share.

Well….let’s just say I delivered quite a show. Beaming from ear to ear, in full animation, I enthusiastically told a joke about Batman and Robin—a joke no one in my family had heard before—that included a punch line about someone “pissing in a cave.”

Not the kind of language the Baxter clan used around the dinner table. Or anywhere else for that matter.

And certainly not the kind of language considered acceptable on television.

This little extravaganza occurred prior to time delays or “live to tape,” so you can only imagine the reaction that came from the crew (and, no doubt, the station manager, and advertising manager, and compliance department, and legal department, etc.). Stifled gaffaws and abject horror were equally exhibited.

Thankfully, Grandma kept her job.

I however, was not invited back.

At least not until last week. Needless to say, I chose not to share fond memories of my KOLN debut until after the interview was over…

…while keeping all jokes quietly to myself.