“Ron & Jen’s Great Escape” 8-11-2021 – Ron St. Pierre & Jen Brien

by Ron St. Pierre & Jen Brien

And You Want to Be My Latex Salesman?

The Rhode Island Democratic Party’s chief political strategist stepped in it ankle deep for a cruel late night tweet about GOP US Senator Lindsey Graham getting COVID-19. Kate Coyne-McCoy tweeted out “It’s wrong to hope he dies from COVID, right? Asking for a friend. #CovidIsNotOver #Lindsey Graham.” How cute… “asking for a friend.” After serious and justified social media criticism, Coyne-McCoy deleted the initial tweet (which was screen saved) and tweeted “I made a mistake. I used poor judgement which I obviously regret.” House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi responded “Kate Coyne-McCoy’s tweet from her personal account was offensive and it does not reflect my views or those of the RI Democratic Party. He then noted she had apologized. Go back and read her statement. Does that sound like an apology to you? If any of us in the private sector had shown such poor judgement and actually expressed hope someone would die from COVID-19, even if it was on our personal social media accounts, we’d be canned immediately.

UP, UP and Away

Is the wrecking ball warming up to take on Superman? Governor Dan McKee’s on record as saying if the historic “Superman Building” that defines the skyline of downtown Providence can’t be renovated, he wouldn’t dismiss the option of having it torn down. The 26-story office tower, christened the Industrial Trust Bank Building when it opened in 1928, has been dark without a tenant since Bank of America bailed on it in 2013. Four years ago, estimates to renovate the entire office tower were close to $140 million bucks. The building got its Kryptonian nickname from the structure used for exterior shots representing The Daily Planet in TV’s “Adventures of Superman” in the 50’s. That building was actually Los Angeles City Hall.

Apparently You CAN Always Get What You Want

Well, you can if you’re Robert Kraft. The Rolling Stones will be playing a private concert for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. The Stones will play for Kraft and about 200 guests at Gillette Stadium on September 20^th (Now THAT’S social distancing!). The Kraft family sent out Save the Date reminders about dinner and a private show with “details to follow.” We’ve yet to receive ours.

Here Comes Pumpkin Spice Everything

Pumpkin Spice will soon be rearing its tasty head again. Have we gone too far when it comes to pumpkin spice flavoring?  I thought pumpkin spiced spam sent it over the top last year but wait… as the late Ron Popeil would say… there’s more! Nissan Foods is celebrating with the introduction of a new, limited edition Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice flavor. It’ll be available exclusively at Walmart locations across the country starting in late October. Is it basically ramen with pumpkin spice? Not exactly. It’s not soup based like traditional cup noodles, but instead it’s saucy and made with a special pumpkin seasoning. Add a splash of water and microwave for 4 minutes and you’re good to go. We had our fill of ramen noodles in college, thanks. We’ll stick to an occasional pumpkin spice coffee and leave the noodles and spam to those more adventurous. 

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Ron St. Pierre is a veteran broadcaster whose career has spanned over four decades. Ron has programmed, performed on and managed WHJJ, WPRO, WWRX, 790 The Score in Providence, as well as WBZT and WKGR in West Palm Beach and WABC in New York City. Ron also anchored sports on WPRI Ch 12 in Providence. He is a member of both the Rhode Island Radio and Television and the City of Pawtucket Halls of Fame. He was born and raised in Pawtucket.

Jen Brien has over 20 years of radio broadcast experience having hosted shows on WPRO and WHJJ with Ron as well as her own shows on WRKO and WBZ in Boston, WXTK on Cape Cod and WHAM in Rochester, New York. Jen was born and raised in Woonsocket and served six years in the Army MP Canine Unit.

Hazel, Ron’s dog, makes regular appearances.

“Ron and Jen’s Great Escape” podcast, a more lighthearted reaction to the events happening around us, can be found on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes premiering Mondays and Wednesdays.