Ron & Jen’s Great Escape, August 30, 2023 – Ron St. Pierre and Jen Brien

by Ron St. Pierre and Jen Brien, commentary

WE LIVE IN STRANGE TIMES (PART 2)

Last week I laid down some issues, things going on in society that make zero sense. I tried to give you a snapshot of what I see out in the world and how I feel about things. This week …. part 2. I had a quote ready to go and the truth is, now I can’t find it. That quote was going to be part 2. Swell. It’s somewhere. OH, WELL. 

Such is the life of a 55 year old ( to be… BIRTHDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH ?… HINT HINT) after menopause. I literally forget everything. SO, I guess I’ll give you my thoughts AFTER the thoughts, instead of the quote I can’t find.

I’ve been really struggling as of late. Really going through so much people have no idea about or frankly care about. Everyone has their own challenges and crap to deal with, which is why I say that. Marriages, money, kids, careers, etc., etc.  For me, I’ve been watching my mother fade away for over 2 years now. Watching her struggle, struggling to reach her, wondering where my friend has gone. I see her just about every day (though I do need my own mental health days) and I have tried everything I know to chase the mom she used to be. I told her the other day, “mom, it’s like someone just took you away, and I can’t find you. I don’t know where to look for you or how to get you back”. It’s beyond heart wrenching and one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to face. Tougher than battling alcoholism. This is true. I tell you this because the part 2 part of this is – focus on the things that matter. I recognize we use news, sports, work as escape routes in life. Take up causes on the outside when there’s so much we should be doing on the inside. Much of my life is on hold at the moment because this is where God wants me. I surrender it. It is as it should be. I am sad, and despondent some days, and confused, but I know all of this is shaping me into the woman God has called me to be for him. 

Awards, stuff, titles are nice, but they don’t matter.

What kind of PERSON ARE YOU? THAT’S what matters.

Remember, we humans have a lot to deal with inside and outside. Keep what’s really important close, and let the rest of it go… Because in the end, you’ll have to live with yourself. You’ll have to look at yourself in the mirror, and you, and only you, will stand before the creator and give an account of your life. Well, if that’s what you believe in anyway. 

I certainly do. 

Love to all of you in your own battles. We will all be OK… and I Believe in you. I REALLY DO.

Till next week my friends,

Jen

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AND YOU WANT TO BE MY LATEX SALESMAN

An elementary school bus driver in Barrington got lost while bringing students home Monday. Barrington School Super Mike Messore sent a letter to families saying the new bus driver took a wrong turn crossing into Warren, significantly delaying students’ after school arrival times. The error prompted Ocean State Transit, which transports Barrington students to and from schools, to direct the off course driver to meet up with another bus. Ocean State Transit proceeded to transfer students from one bus to another, and releasing a number of them at wrong stops. To make matter worse, Ocean State Transit didn’t notify Barrington Public Schools of the switch. How in a world filled with GPS and cell phone communication, was this allowed to happen?

NOW THIS IS IRONY

Irony and coincidence are similar but different things. A coincidence is a random event, whereas irony typically involves some sort of reversal or unexpected turn. For something to be ironic, there needs to be a discrepancy between the expected outcome and the actual outcome. Often two terms are used incorrectly BUT there’s no question here. A Chicago TV news crew reporting on a string of robberies in the city’s West Town neighborhood became the story themselves while they were robbed at gunpoint this week.

A SURE SIGN OF FALL

The King Richard’s Faire billboards and TV commercials have started.

LABOR DAY FASHION FAUX PAS OR MUCH MORE TO  IT?

The “no whites after Labor Day” rule is a fashion guideline that’s been around for over a hundred years, but did you know it began in a snobbish way? The rule is thought to have originated from the upper class in America. The rule was designed to distinguish between the old money elitists and the new money folks (the bourgeoisie). It was a way for the “insiders” to keep the “outsiders” from attempting to join the millionaire circle by proving they knew the rules. One of these rules was not wearing white after summer.

HEY, LADY!

Labor Day weekend always meant the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. From 1966 until 2014, the telethon was an annual event growing from a single New York TV station to 160 stations in syndication by 2011. Lewis left the telethon in 2010 and four rather forgettable individuals co-hosted with shrinking airtime until it ended. Lewis also raised the ire of women’s groups over the years with several disparaging comments; in 1986 he mockingly noted a female reviewer’s menstrual cycle, prompting some groups to call for him to leave the telethon. Not all comedians were surprised that Lewis wouldn’t be continuing with MDA when he left the air in 2014. Lewis’ departure from the telethon raised many an eyebrow with the NY Times reporting in 2011:

“Lewis also raised the ire of women’s groups over the years with several disparaging comments; in 1986 he mockingly noted a female reviewer’s menstrual cycle, prompting some groups to call for him to leave the telethon.”

For me, it was an annual tune-in at the very end to see A) if Jerry’s hair was dry or was he “still combing it with the Exxon Valdez” (a line from MR. SATURDAY NIGHT) and B) would he cry singing YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE.” Lewis went to the big stage in the sky in 2017. He was 91.

• Ron

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Read all of Ron & Jen’s columns, here:https://rinewstoday.com/ron-st-pierre-jen-brien/

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 on NewsRadio 920 and 104-7 FM, Saturday morning, 7am!