Spring is in full bloom, and the trees are no exception. Bright new buds are blossoming, and the treetops are filling out again. I'm really enjoying all the different seasonal colors, from light pink to neon yellow and more. 

Whether we climb them, build with them, eat from them, burn them, use them for shade, or simply just breathe the fresh air they provide; trees are a huge part of all our lives. So, let's take a moment to appreciate them here with my top ten trees! 

10. Blue Spruce

9. Apple

8. Weeping Willow

7. Dogwood

6. Buckeye

5. Japanese Maple

4. Ironwood

3. Cherry

2. Giant Sequoia

1. Birch

Side note: Aren't Bonsai trees the coolest? I think so. Apparently you can use the technique on most any type of tree or shrub with the proper methods, but I've heard it's not easy. I'd like to have one, but and I'm worried it wouldn't survive under my care and they're typically not cheap to come by. To get one established myself from a seedling- that's even tougher, I'm sure. 

Every Thursday, you'll find a new top ten list here as my blog for the WQMX website. They're usually my favorite to do, and the best part is when I get your feedback! I love hearing how my favorites compare to yours when it comes to these various topics, and if you've ever got an idea for a future list, I'm always open to suggestions. 

Till next time! 

This Saturday from Lyon, France WWE Backlash will take center stage at 1pm EST.

I am not really a fan of the early starts but oh well...

The fall out from Wrestlemania and the WWE Draft are set to kick in Monday...  Remember SummerSlam is coming to Browns Stadium August 3rd as well...  Tickets go onsale Friday at 10am thru Ticketmaster.

Backlash Card:

Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles -  I think Cody Rhodes will carry the gold until SummerSlam for sure...  AJ Styles is phenomenal but I think Cody gets the win Saturday....

Damian Priest vs. Jey Uso - This one seems too early for Priest to drop the strap.  Jey Uso will pick up the World Heavyweight Belt.

Bayley vs. Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton - I think Tiffy is a rising star...  It's Tiffy Time all the time for me, except with Bayley and Naomi being friends it maybe an uphill battle for her.  I say Bayley continues her reign as WWE Women's Champion...

Asuka and Kairi Sane (The Kabuki Warriors) vs. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill - Look for Bianca and Jade to pick up the belts.  Even with help I think the Belair and Cargill Team will win WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

Randy Orton and Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga) - I hope the Team RKO-KO win but there seems to be a push to make The Bloodline relavent without Roman Reigns.  Even though they the 1's and smell like 2's..  I think somehow The Bloodline pulls this one out..

Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan - Becky is the next stop on Liv's Revenge Tour...  This one is a toss up for me.  I will say Becky but could see it going either way.

Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable - Gable is looking to make his way out of jobber status and become a champion... He is a great wrestler and deserves a belt at some point.  I just don't think he will be getting the Intercontinental Championship on Saturday.  If he does WWE Universe will be happy for him but can't see it happening...  unless he drops it on Raw Monday Night. 

Remember these are just my thoughts and guesses... there is no science or knowledge that goes into these just what I think will or might happen.

She's beauty. She's grace. She's my 1981 Chevrolet El Camino, Eleanor. 

Eleanor found her way to me a few years back, and the moment I saw the truck, I knew I needed it in my driveway. I'm a car guy, simply, and I've always owned something interesting. 

I've had a Monte Carlo SS, a Camaro, and an old Valiant sedan as summer cruisers in the past, but my El Camino takes the cake. Sure, there were things about those cars I really miss: my Camaro had T-Tops, my Monte Carlo was fully optioned with leather heated seats and all sorts of nice features, and a sweet little blinker on the fender would light up when you used a turn signal in the Valiant, for example. 

Still, there's nothing like Eleanor. 

Take a look at this picture I took of her yesterday, and that alone should tell you why. After the first carwash of year, it was photo time, and wow! This might have to be my new screensaver.

I love my old Chevy, and I'm so very excited for car show season to be back around. It's awesome that there is such a strong presence of car enthusiasts here in Northeast Ohio with so many events to go to. I attend as many as I can, but always seem to miss a bunch too! 

Sooooo, if you know of any family-friendly car meets going down in the Akron area this summer, please let me know! Whether it's a one-time deal or a weekly show, send all the info on the WQMX studio text line, sponsored by Toth Buick GMC, at 330-370-2000. Maybe we'll get a list going. 

Whether or not you've got a show-worthy ride, that's okay. Hopefully we'll bump into each other at some show, and I'll let you check out what's under the hood!

Have a special day coming up... or a just because?  Don't go with a P-Lainey Card...   Make a great impression with a Lainey Wilson one.  Not only will she be bringing Bell Bottom Country to The Country Fest in June.  But Lainey is coming to an envelope and a card for your next special event as well.

Click Here to see how you can get the Lainey Wilson - American Greetings CreataCards Smash-Ups!

 I can't remember the exact date, but it's May - and in May of 1981 I walked into WLRO AM 1380 Radio in Lorain, Ohio in a short sleeve dress shirt, dress pants and tie to apply at my first radio station as a "professional."  It was about one o'clock in the afternoon.  I had my reel-to-reel 5 minute audition tape and typed resume, such as they were. I was unannounced, had no appointment, it was a cold call.  I was a few months short of my 20th birthday, and it was a day that changed my life, 44 years ago this month.

I finished my education in Broadcast School the day before and this was the first radio station I applied at. I walked in this very small building on Broadway in Lorain and handed my packet to the women sitting at a very humble front desk area.  She asked me to wait and to please sit down and I did. She took my materials down a hallway that I couldn't see well.  In a few minutes a very nice, well dressed woman, named Joan Lowery came out and shook my hand and asked me to come back to her office.  We talked for a few minutes and she asked me to wait while she talked with another employee named Pat.

She returned and asked me if I would like to do the 2PM news on WLRO.  I said yes.  She took me to a studio looking into the main studio that had a blue table and a microphone. She handed me the news copy and gave me her headphones to use and I did the news cast on the air.  Same thing at 2:30.  She then asked if I could start the next day doing the afternoon show as my first job.  I again said yes.   I started for $3.35 an hour, and I was allowed to work 25 hours a week.  A few months later they moved me to mornings, and a raise to $4.00 an hour and 30 hours.

WLRO in those days was a "day-timer" and they don't really exist anymore.  We "signed on" at 6AM, and turned off at sunset which depended on what season it was.  In the morning I would walk into a dark building and use a rotary dial phone to turn on the transmitter at 6AM - then play the National Anthem and we were on the air for the day.  It all sounds so ridiculous now, but it's all true.  I worked there for about a year, then I was hired at WOBL in Oberlin and that was my first country station and I've been country ever since.

WLRO is now WDLW and is owned by WOBL and the studios have been moved to the wonderfully famous WOBL farmhouse on Route 20 in Oberlin. Hard to believe that's been 43 years ago and I have worked in radio every day since.  So this month I begin my 44th year. I owe Joan Lowery a lot, and even tough I have not seen her in decades, I love her very much as she was the first one to believe in me.  Same with Doug and Lorie Wilbur and Dave Lenahan at WOBL who thought I'd make good country on air personality, and I love them too.

WOBL Days  - Shortly Afterwards - 1982

I will never forget the first day I talked on the radio as a professional after broadcast school and working in college radio at Baldwin-Wallace while in high school.  I will also never forget how lucky and fortunate I was to be hired at the very first station I ever applied at.  The next day was my first "show" on WLRO, and the first song I played was a 45 rpm "record" , "Just The Two Of Us"  by Grover Washington Jr, with Bill Withers singing.  (It won a Grammy that year). Not a bad song to break in with. 

Thanks for listening and reading! Here's to many more years!

Something small (for now) but also huge, is happening in my life at the end of this week. It's a long time coming, and I can't wait to share it with you!

Stay posted!

They say lightning doesn't ever strike twice the same exact spot, but when it comes to my boat; well, I guess it's the exception. I mean, it was never bound to work from the start. The hull sat untouched for over a decade in some back yard, the motor was a total roll of the dice, and I'm surely no marine mechanic. We've been very lucky with the boat, BUT... it wasn't just luck.

I dedicated much of my Friday and Saturday to getting her back up and going again. It was the worst! Remounting the motor and everything that comes with that is a total pain, and I faced a bunch of hurdles. Most notably, the throttle just isn't working out. We need about four inches of travel to fully open up the carbs, and we maybe get half of that. Additionally, there's currently no such thing as reverse, ants are everywhere, and all the other issues we overlooked previously remain. 

For example, our horn is tooting great, but we have no lights. They ought to work; it's just a matter of figuring out the wiring again. Of course, I didn't label anything, and I totally forget how we had it. 

What else...

The transom is rotted out and barely holding on, the interior needs some major loving, the whole hull is in need of refinishing, and our electric start is electric stopped. In a lake full of fancy boats and clean white shorts, I'm out there in greasy blue jeans pull-startin' and puffin' two-stroke. That old Magnolia is a basket-case, but she's mine- if it's floating, I'm boating! 

So, that's exactly what I did! I hobbled it all together, got it running at the house, then immediately took it out to the lake. The one thing I should have checked before leaving was the weather. I got soaked! When the sky is darkening and everyone else is loading up their vessels as I'm unloading... well. 

All things considered, I love my boat. As much as it frustrates me, there's hardly anything better than a day out on the Portage Lakes, in my book. All I need is WQMX on the Bluetooth and a fishing pole in my hand! 

Thanks for reading this blog, and let me leave you off with this advice: don't buy a boat. Instead, make good friends with somebody who's got one! 

Drew Parker stopped by before his show Friday Night at Thirsty Cowboy!  Such a down to earth, genuine guy!  He talks about music new and old, his come up, Luke Combs and more...  Check it out.

The Mega Star Series continues this week, as we look back and celebrate Randy Travis who's is celebrating a birthday this Month.  He is one of the most important stars we have every had, read and find out why.

Mega Star Series - Randy Travis

Patty Loveless  - How Can I Help You Say Goodbye  - 1993

 This is one of the most loved songs of the 1990's or heck any decade.  Patty Loveless had a long line of very big hits for a number of years and I feel this overall is her most loved song.  The exceptionally poignant video too was a real factor in this song.  Also, sometimes the right song finds the right artist and the marriage is perfect.  When I hear this song, I'm not so sure this is as big of a song in the hands of another artist.  This song needed Patty Loveless.  This also has a very interesting story.  It was written by a great songwriter named Karen Taylor-Good and guy named Burton Banks Collins. The latter had never written a song, ever, but the signature line was something his grandmother said as she passed away.  The song struck a lot of people where the live, and in the end was a #3 hit and became synonymous with Loveless.  How this wasn't a #1 is beyond me.  It has been recorded by others, but Loveless' version is the staple. This is universally loved by most country fans, as it's a song that talks about the inevitable powerful moments we all have as we go through, and eventually end our life.  This song moves everyone that listens to it deeply. This is a work of country music art.

Last Week's Selection

My Full Profile On Patty Loveless