about this, Reggie is the esteemed producer of the show, and we thought it might be kind
of a kick to do this once a week on Channel 21, and it's taken that long for me to memorize
the lines for the first show, but we are glad to have you.
For the last four years, it's been my privilege to be with you every morning, Monday through
Friday at 7 a.m. on Talk Radio Key, 12.30 a.m., and we've had a lot of success with that show.
You have shown me how important and how special Nacodotius is, and during the course of those
four years, our radio audience has become like a family.
Everybody knows each other, they visit each other, we even have picnics and parties and
special events.
For those of you who listen to the morning show, when I talk about my studio audience,
you probably thought all that time I was kidding.
I just want you to know that we do indeed have a studio audience, so group on the count
of three just make as much noise as you can.
You ready?
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like for you to meet the Norman Johnson studio audience, one,
two, three.
Hit it.
When I put you on for four years, you didn't think those people were really there in the
morning.
We're going to do some of the things that we do in the morning, and in a little while
we'll have the world-famous, ever-popular trivia quiz, but now I would like for you
to meet my co-host and my blushing bride, Lilla Johnson.
Good evening.
Hello, Norman.
Isn't this nice?
This is kind of like home.
It is.
It's great.
It's exactly like our living room.
It's not the things on the coffee table, the junk mail is not stacked up, but it's sort
of the same.
We're going to do a little segment at the beginning of each show every Wednesday evening
called Docious Doings, and it's an opportunity for us to let you know some of the things
that's going on in the Nacodotius area.
And I guess the biggest thing that's happening this week is the 15th annual Piney Woods Fair.
It is in full swing, isn't it?
It sure is.
They have a lot of events out there every day.
They have the Murphy Brothers Carnival on the Midway.
I love Carnival.
I do, too.
When I was a kid, I used to get excited when the Carnival would come and set up.
I mean, we would just go out and watch them put up the Ferris wheel and all the games
and everything.
I love to ride.
I like all of it.
Do you like to ride?
I like some of the rides.
All right.
What is your favorite ride?
I think my very favorite ride would be the Tilt World.
We'll have to go out this week and I'll get you on the scrambler.
Well, maybe.
We'll see.
And you can sit on the outside.
I don't know.
That's the secret to a Carnival riding the scrambler.
You have to sit on the outside.
But the Carnival, as I understand it, is the biggest they've ever had at the Piney Woods
Fair.
That's what I understand, also.
But you know, the Carnivals bring out the little kid and all of us, so all the adults
get to act like little kids and have fun and there's so many lights and it's a festive
atmosphere and it's just a great place to be.
Maybe that's why I like it.
I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
We have the Carnival.
What else is out there to shoot?
We also have the KJ103 petting zoo.
Yeah.
Now, you like that.
You like animals.
I love animals.
That's one of my favorite things of the fair, seeing the animals.
And this year, we will be out there with the animals, helping the little kids feed them
and passing out the food and that type of thing.
If you want to see a sight to behold, let's see, we're going to be there Friday night,
I believe.
From 7-10.
From 7-10.
Friday night.
I remember when I worked the KJ103 petting zoo, a pig got loose and I had to chase that
pig all over the Expo Center.
So this year, you'll be with me.
If anybody has to chase it, you will.
Well, I missed the pig chase last year, but I like to have seen it.
What else have we got?
Well, we have the Greg James horseshoe toss and that's always a big event.
I watched that last year and there are some A's horseshoe pictures.
What else have we got?
We have live entertainment each day and night on stage.
You're going to have singers and dancers and twirlers and cheerleaders and all kinds
of events.
And before we go into a break, we want to tell them about something that's coming up
quickly at the Fredonia Hotel this weekend.
The Noon Lions Club has got some swing music.
Yes, they do.
They are featuring the Sweethearts of Swing.
It's an all-girl dance orchestra and that's going to be in the ballroom at the Fredonia
Hotel Saturday at 8 p.m. till 11.
All right.
Thank you.
I'm going to go just a little bit over here, but I want to tell you we're going to do our
first trivia quiz.
You might take this phone number down, 5-6-4-8-3-8-6.
5-6-4-8-3-8-6 tonight.
I'm going to give away to the first caller, just the first caller, lunch for two at Capelli's
restaurant.
So get on the phone right quick and call 5-6-4-8-3-8-6.
5-6-4-8-3-8-6.
And we'll be back with my special guest in just a moment.
Right after this word from some of the folks that make this broadcast possible.
Going out of town, huh?
Mousie, you licensed, ma'am?
Gonna do a little shopping, huh?
Is there an emergency, ma'am?
Did you ever think you could probably get just what you're looking for right here at
home?
Yes, ma'am.
Just your signatures.
Who knows?
You may even save more than time.
Thank you, ma'am.
And you drive carefully.
Next time, stop and think.
Shop here, we've got it.
People working closely together in a law office become a team.
Everything, saving us valuable time.
Fredonia Temporary sent someone who fit right in.
They handle payroll costs like workers' compensation and unemployment insurance also.
I really recommend Fredonia Temporary's to anyone who's thinking of hiring office help.
Hi, I'm Garth Brooks.
Wait a minute.
You're not Garth Brooks.
Yes, I know.
Aren't you Danny Merrill?
That's right.
I'm Danny Merrill.
Aren't you a DJ?
That's right.
Nine to noon weekdays at KJ103.
That's what I'm talking about.
No, no, no, no.
Get it right.
It's nine to noon weekdays with Danny Merrill on 12 in a row country, KJ103, and I'll play
a lot of Garth Brooks.
Arielle Blanc, gold medal, Los Angeles, 1986.
Arielle Rouge, as you know, wines are recognized by the medals they receive.
And as you'd expect, the same premium de-alcoholized wines served at the Nobel Prize ceremonies
in Oslo, Norway, is now a part of fine dining at Capellis.
Arielle wines maintain the flavor and bouquet of fine premium wine but without the alcohol.
The perfect compliment to a meal at Capellis.
A taste of something special, Capellis North Street, Nakedotius.
Welcome back, dear hearts, to the Norman Johnson Show.
It's good to have you with us.
And I understand that we already have a winner in the trivia quiz.
Somebody is going to be enjoying delicious food at Capellis.
And I don't have a name right now, but whoever you happen to be, if you are the winner,
we appreciate your calling.
And each week on the show, we'll be giving away some fantastic prize like that.
You can pick up your certificate for Capellis anytime tomorrow at the Key Studios at 910 North Street.
And maybe in a little while we'll find out who the winner is and we'll give you a rave notice.
About two years ago, something happened to me that's probably been a real turning point in my life.
And something I consider the most important thing I've ever done in my life.
I became involved with an organization called the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
And the function of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is very simple.
They interview children who medically certified have life-threatening illnesses.
They can wish for anything in the world.
They can wish to do anything in the world, to be anything in the world.
And those wishes are granted.
That may sound hard to believe, but it is absolutely true.
And we do it day in and day out.
A little bit later in the show, you're going to meet a couple of area-wish kids.
And you'll find out that they are very, very special.
Speaking of special people, I am delighted to introduce this gentleman.
I thank him for taking time out of a very busy schedule to drive all the way into Nacogdoches from Houston tonight to be on the show.
He's a gentleman that I have a chance to work with weekend, week out.
And I have come to respect him a great deal because he gives us some great leadership.
He is the president of the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Kent Graham.
Welcome. How are you? How was your trip to Nacogdoches?
Uneventful.
Isn't it beautiful up here?
Gorgeous.
Get away from all of that smog.
I thought as I drove into Nacogdoches, this would be a great place to live.
Perfect. It is absolutely the best place to live.
This is one of the few towns where people move into town and never leave.
And that's the way it should be.
I guess one of the things that people ask me most often about the Make-A-Wish Foundation
is when you say they can have anything or do anything or be anything they want, how can you do that?
Where does the money come from?
Well, Norman, it comes from a lot of places.
We solicit funds and do fundraisers.
We ask corporate donors for donations, foundations for donations, individuals, fundraisers,
like the one you're having out, I believe, at the fair.
We do as many different things as we can to raise money to grant these wishes.
And these wishes, they cost a lot of money, some of them more than others.
I think probably the thing that is the most impressive about our organization and the people who support it
is the amount of in-kind donations that we receive.
Continental Airlines and many other airlines around the country supply us free tickets to fly our wish children
to Disneyland or Disney World.
We have various vendors who give us VCRs, TVs, computers, whatever the case may be.
And we just try to maximize those in-kind and then those that we can't get in-kind,
we have to go out and beat the pavement and raise the money.
By the way, you mentioned the fair.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation has probably one of the biggest booths at the fair this year.
There's all kinds of things to do.
There's face painting.
There is a whole-in-one golf deal to wear.
I'm not sure what you win if you do all of these things.
They're having raffles for all kinds of great giveaways.
So if you get a chance, go by and visit them.
We have a team of 40 or 50 people here in Nacogdoches that work constantly on Make-A-Wish.
We have a new group in Lufkin under the leadership of Jerry Benson and Mark Conrad
that is just growing by leaps and bounds.
So whatever you do, be sure and go to the fair and be sure and go by the Make-A-Wish booth
because there's something for everybody there.
And hopefully we'll have a chance to make some money.
Absolutely.
What is the most interesting wish that you know of since you've been president of the chapter?
I think by far it was the wish that we just granted during the Olympics.
We sent a young gymnast to Barcelona.
His wish was to meet the men's gymnastics team.
And that had to be the most interesting wish that we've been involved with.
Our chapter has been involved with since I've been president.
That was a wish and that gives you kind of a sense of the kids.
The reason he wanted that wish is he wanted for the men's gymnastics team to gain more recognition.
He did not think they were getting the recognition that they deserved.
And he felt like if he went there to meet them through the media and all, they would get a lot more recognition.
So it was a very unselfish wish and it was really quite special.
Here in the Nacodotius-Lufkin area in the last two years, we've granted, I believe it's 14 wishes.
We have about three or four pending everything from trips to things as simple as a Nintendo game.
Now, I want you to verify the people.
We hear stories about groups from time to time that take advantage of a good thing.
Unfortunately, there are very unscrupulous people in this world.
And the Make-A-Wish Foundation is the original wish-granting organization founded about 15 years ago in Phoenix, Arizona.
And I have a chance to see our financial reports every month and the money goes where it's supposed to go.
Absolutely. In 1991, we had probably 78 cents of every dollar going directly to wishes
with 13 or 14 cents going to fundraising expense and 8 cents or so going to administration.
We're trying to do better in that 92.
In 92, we believe that we'll wind up with about 85 cents of every dollar going to the wishes.
And our goal is to keep moving that number up.
And I want you to explain to people how we get the money for wishes.
Here in the Nacogdoches-Lufkin Division, we are constantly having fundraisers and we are still not self-sustaining.
And we never turned out a wish because of money. The money is always there.
Why don't we ever run out of money?
Well, we're fortunate. The Make-A-Wish organization consists of about 78 chapters.
There's a national organization that acts as an umbrella and oversight organization for all the chapters.
And several years ago, the national organization set up a wish bank for chapters who ran out of money
that they could go to that wish bank and borrow money to grant these wishes.
You can only borrow money to grant wishes. You can't borrow money to pay staff salaries or anything else.
So, I mean, it's really a big help and we use it from time to time and we always pay off our loans.
And the money comes in. Sometimes it's just cyclical.
The thing that amazes me is the fact that the Gulf Coast chapter covers from here all the way to the Rio Grande Valley.
Now, similar organizations would have 30, 40, maybe 100 staff people.
Tell the people how many staff people we have.
Well, we have three.
And actually, I'm sure you would rather Terry Underpond had been here tonight. She's much better looking than I am.
She really is.
She's our executive director of our chapter.
And she's just a superlady and she's done an outstanding job since she's been executive director.
We have two other staff members and I think it's been the board's view that we are going to continue to run very lean in terms of staff
because we're not going to get ourselves in a situation where we're having to take money away from wishes to pay salaries.
In fact, we will not do that.
Now, one thing I'm a little disappointed in a couple of years ago, I was asked to go on the board of directors and make a wish foundation.
And I had always heard about these big charity groups and the guys on the board getting to go to lavish parties and expense paid trips and expense accounts and everything like that.
I hadn't got a penny yet.
I'm sorry.
It doesn't happen, does it? We pay our own weight.
I mean, you are one of the people who sacrifice probably the most in that you have to drive from Nackadoches to Houston once a month for a board meeting and you're not reimbursed for any of that.
Such is life, my friends, but believe me, it's worth every bit of it.
Now, when we come back, I'm going to give you a chance to meet two youngsters who have already had wishes granted in our area.
And there are a couple of my favorite people and I think you're going to like them a whole bunch.
So this is going to be an opportunity for those of you, most of you for the first time, to meet some youngsters who have actually had their greatest wish come true.
And when that happens, that is the most satisfying thing you can get.
And before the show is over with, I'm going to tell you how you can participate in this great adventure.
We'll meet a couple of great wish kids when we return right after this word from some of the folks that helped make this show possible.
Thank you, ma'am, and you drive carefully.
Next time, stop and think. Shop here. We've got it.
People working closely together in a law has become a team.
Thank you for saving us valuable time. For Donutemporaries sent someone who fit right in. They handle payroll costs like workers' compensation and unemployment insurance also.
I really recommend for Donutemporaries to anyone who's thinking of hiring office help.
Hi, I'm Garth Brooks.
Wait a minute. You're not Garth Brooks.
Yes, I know.
Aren't you Danny Merrill?
That's right. I'm Danny Merrill.
Are you a DJ?
That's right. Nine to noon weekdays at KJ103.
That's what I thought you were.
No, no, no, no. Get it right. It's nine to noon weekdays with Danny Merrill on 12 in a row country, KJ103, and I'll play a lot of Garth Brooks.
Arielle Blanc, Gold Medal, Los Angeles, 1986. Arielle Rouge, as you know, wines are recognized by the medals they receive.
And as you'd expect, the same premium de-alcoholized wines served at the Nobel Prize ceremonies in Oslo, Norway, is now a part of fine dining at Capellis.
Arielle wines maintain the flavor and bouquet of fine premium wine, but without the alcohol.
A perfect compliment to Amelia Capellis, a taste of something special. Capellis, North Street, Nacodotius.
Talking about a sense of power, I can't think of a greater experience in the world than to be able to go into a home of a youngster and say, okay,
if you could have anything in the world you want, be anything you want, do anything you want, and they tell you what that is, and then be able to say, you got it.
It's that simple.
I'm going to let you meet a couple of youngsters now that this has happened to, and this guy over here is so special to me.
This is Jason Vance. Jason is from Lufkin, and about a year ago we got a call that he qualified for a wish, and we went down for a visit with Jason.
First of all, Jason's had a run of bad luck. He's 14, and for about the last, what, 11 or 12 years, you've had that run of bad luck, haven't you?
You might tell folks what happened to you when you were little.
We lived out in the country, and we were having problems with snakes and rats in our barn, and my parents were putting out rat boys and snake boys to kill the rodents.
And I somehow got loose and was eating the two poisons as fast as I put it out.
And that was not a good thing to do, was it?
No.
And you have continued to have problems more and more so all the time.
And the beautiful thing about Jason, and this is something about all of the wish kids, is they have this marvelous, marvelous attitude about their situation.
And boy, you make every day count, don't you?
Yes.
In fact, you make not only your days count, but you make my days count, too.
Now, I want you to tell people, okay, get a load of this.
Remember, they can have or do anything they want.
Tell the people what you wanted to do.
Go to South Carolina.
Jason wanted to go to South Carolina, to the beach, and hunt sand dollars.
Isn't that a little strange? Now, there was another problem. That was in, like, December of last year.
Sand dollars just don't come out every day of the year.
Going about the middle of July is when you find sand dollars, I understand.
So during that period of time, you were in the hospital about three or four times.
You were in intensive care, on up until just a couple of weeks before you got to go.
You made it to South Carolina today. What all did you do?
Went to Ladies Island, Hunters Island.
We spent the whole day at Hunters Island going to the beach.
We found a sea turtle nest.
We saw the eggs and everything.
And we went shell hunting, sand dollar hunting, walked along the beach.
And after that, everyone got pre-batch sunburns.
So we left and everything went on a ferry ride.
And the seagulls were very playful.
My little brother was throwing breadcrumbs and chips up, and they would swoop down,
not even a foot away from his head, and they would grab it.
It was neat.
Yeah, they would grab it.
And make a wish from beginning to end, handle every bit of it.
As I understand, the hotel even had your name up when you got there.
Welcome, Jason, and all that sort of thing.
Fruit basket and everything.
Fruit basket.
Didn't tell me about that.
Brought me a sand dollar, but you didn't bring me a banana, did you?
And I'm the biggest monkey you know.
I want you to meet another one of my wish kids right now.
About 80% of our wishes, as I understand it around the country,
is to go to see Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck at Disney World.
And this lady lives in another room right now,
so I can tell you she's one of my girlfriend.
You ready?
I would like you to meet this lady.
Angela, come over here.
I love this hairdo.
This is absolutely magnificent.
Come here, dear.
How you doing?
Gosh, you look pretty.
Your hair is growing out, isn't it?
Last time I saw you, you didn't have any hair.
Now you got, look at that, look at that, look at that.
This is Angela Pace, and Angela wanted to go to Disney World.
Did you get to go?
All you had to do was to call us.
It's that easy, isn't it?
What all did you do at Disney World?
Well, I visited with Mickey in his room,
and it was a pink one,
and we just had to...
Wait a minute, you went to Mickey's room?
That's incredible.
What did he do?
Well, we hugged and stuff,
and we had a great time there.
You did?
Mm-hmm.
What all did you do at Disney World besides that?
You didn't see any shows or anything?
Well, we went on this ride with Dumbo and stuff,
and it was so fun because it had these little buttons,
and you could push it up and down,
and you would go up and down.
That's remarkable.
That's my kind of ride.
See, Leo's kind of a wimp.
She doesn't like rides like that, but that's what I ride.
Maybe you can ride a ride with me out at the corner.
Well, Rick, you could do that.
Wouldn't that be fun?
Now, I want you to know, I'm always looking for good singers.
I mean, I can't think of a better singer than Angela,
and I wonder if you would sing for me.
Would you do that?
Mm-hmm.
What are you going to sing?
Mama told me something.
All right.
Well, just have at it.
Mama told me something I little girl should know.
It was all about the devil,
and I learned to hate himself.
She said he causes trouble, so if you let him in the room,
he will never, ever leave you.
If your heart is not in tune, so let the sun shine in.
Face it with a grin.
Smilers never lose,
and funners never win, so let the sun shine in.
Face it with a grin.
Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.
When I forget to say my prayers,
the devil jumps quickly,
but he feels so awful, awful,
when he sees me on my knees.
So if you're full of troubles
and you never seem to win,
just open up your heart
and let the sun shine in.
All right.
I think it's good.
Yeah.
Very good.
Very good.
See, folks, when you hear the show on the radio,
you don't know if I'm telling you the truth or not.
You don't know if these things really happen,
but now we've got living, visible proof of all of that.
So I think that is absolutely great.
Sometime we'll have you back on the show,
and you know all kinds of Bible scripture, don't you?
We'll do that sometime.
That'd be kind of fun, wouldn't it?
By the way, Jason, I want you to tell people
what's coming up at your house on Halloween real quickly.
We're having a carnival.
It's for Make-A-Wish.
It's for kids helping kids.
All the proceeds will go for Make-A-Wish wishes,
and the money will go to help kids grant their wishes.
That's great.
What's your address?
713 Clark, Lufkin, Texas.
713 Clark in Lufkin.
Angela, Jason, as always, it has been a blast.
Kent, my friend, I appreciate you coming up,
and you're doing a super, super job.
And again, if you would like to be a part
of the Make-A-Wish Foundation,
you can give us a call at 564-WISH.
Or you can come by and visit us at 910 North Street.
That's in the key KJ103 studios.
And we will see you back here next Wednesday evening at 830,
and we'll see you tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. on Talk Radio K.
Until then, bless your house, dear hearts.
Thank you.
