Ron & Jen’s Great Escape – 9-7-2022 – Ron St. Pierre and Jen Brien

by Ron St. Pierre and Jen Brien, commentary

OLD FART

A lot of people struggle with this whole aging thing and really I haven’t figured out why yet! I know it’s not pretty at times, and being young is wasted on young people, but each decade has its hardships.

First there’s “teen angst”, then there’s trying to figure out who you are in your 20’s and having the balls to live without judgement and find your way. Then the 30’s – where you may feel trapped in a marriage, overwhelmed with a family, or maybe you have no family yet and feel left behind…. the 40’s are fun but, you know, time is ticking till 50 and if you haven’t figured it out yet you could end up alone with cats… and then the 50’s. You have an excuse to be pissy as you suffer with regrets and broken dreams, drink too much, and go thru a “midlife crisis”. Of course, this has all been told to me by my friends both male and female.

Here’s the thing… I don’t buy all those generalizations! Life is short. Time is fleeting and with the snap of a finger, the curtain falls. Every person’s journey is unique and meaningful even if you got lost in yourself or your past. I have decided not to waste time on the past because it’s dead. It’s gone. I can’t go back, and life is still happening. All I can do is learn and grow and try and trust God. Stop deciding what each year means or should look like… just live. Let it play out, be the best you can daily and know… that in doing those things you’ll truly be alive. I should be dead. But yesterday I turned 54. I’m not sad!  I’m 54 and  IM THRILLED! My life has just begun. Don’t bury yours. If you woke up God has something for you to do.

How cool is that!???

Till next week friends, Jen

___

SILLY SEASON… END OF ROUND ONE

One week from the dropping of this commentary, the RI primary will be history (unless there’s a reason for a recount) and the match ups for the general election will be set. We’re not into predictions as we don’t claim to be the second coming of Nostradamus (NOSTRIL-DAMUS is more like it with the size of our proboscises) so let’s just look at races we find are interesting. Do most voters realize GOP gubernatorial candidate Ashley Kalus even has a primary opponent? She does and his name is Jonathan Riccitelli. The Democratic primary field is quite crowded with Governor Dan McKee facing four opponents in Secretary of State, THAT’S OUR Nellie Gorbea, former CVS honcho Helena Foulkes, Luis Daniel Munoz and former Secretary of State Matt Brown. A recent Ch 12 poll had McKee neck and neck, but it’ll be interesting to see if Gorbea’s recent media gaffes will allow Foulkes to come up on the outside. Turnout is always key and if it’s the usually small throng of voters, that favors McKee who will have union boots on the ground after the  “Christmas comes early” union gifts he’s given out the past year.

The other race we find curious is the Democratic primary for Congressman Jim Langevin’s soon to vacant seat. General Treasurer Seth Magaziner has a commanding lead over five candidates who most of you couldn’t pick out of a lineup. The Republican candidate, Allan Fung, is running unopposed allowing him to keep his coffers strong. Fung began TV ads just this week. There is an INDY, Bill Gilbert, whose best hope is to be a trivia question in the RI version of Monopoly.

___

BEST AND THE WORST TV ADS SO FAR

The WORST by far has to be Matt Brown’s TV ad where his daughter, and the daughter of his running mate, Cynthia Mendes, tell us why we should vote for their parents while Brown plays air drums in the background and Mendes dances to her ear buds while in the kitchen. If Brown’s big hope is to sway last minute undecided voters, then he’s accomplished his mission. They’ve likely decided your campaign’s a joke. A close second is Republican Ashley Kalus boxing commercial showing her working a bag while we’re told she’s a “golden gloves” champion. How this plays into why someone would vote for her escapes us.

The BEST? That’s easy… NONE

___

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

So the DUNK is no longer. The new naming rights for the once Providence Civic Center belong to Amica Mutual and the facility will go by the name The Amica Mutual Pavilion…. or the acronym THE AMP. “Pavilion?”…that’s a stretch. So, how long do you think it’ll take the average RIer to stop calling it THE DUNK? Ron’s still trying to get used to the mass being changed from Latin to English!

___

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 look at the events happening around us, can be found on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes premiering each Wednesday and listen to Ron and Jen’s Great Escape call in radio show Friday afternoons 2 til 4 on 101.1 FM, 1540 WADK and streaming everywhere on WADK.COM.

___