I (Bobby) had a great conversation with Steve Gradick this evening after the show.   For those of you don't know, Steve is the owner of a conglomerate of radio stations including the wonderful WKNG.  Steve is very wise when it comes to the world of radio, and he was giving some very constructive advice regarding the Bobby and Dana radio program.   One of the most poignant remarks Steve made was that a radio program should not only entertain, but also make a lasting impact on the listener.
Far too many aspiring radio DJ's just want to be on the air to be adored and worshipped by their listeners.  It actually should be the other way around . . . you the listener should be the primary focus of any radio program. 
Our conversation tonight brought up one of the most cherished memories that I had while working in radio back in the 90's.  We were doing a remote broadcast at Buster Miles Chevy dealership in Heflin, Alabama.  A grandmother and her portly five-year-old grandson came up to me.  This little kid had a hand-painted coffee mug filled with candy and with the biggest smile, he held it out and said this is for you! 
As I hugged him and thanked him, the grandmother told me the story about this precious little boy.  He had been having a rough time on the school bus and at school.  For those of you who were overweight as a kid, you know the school bus kids could be vicious.  The other kids would make fun of this little boy because of his weight.  She told me about how he would come home and cry in the afternoons after school.
One day, he was listening to me on the radio and he heard me tell the story about how the school bus bullies would cut-up my report card and steal my Weekly Reader books out of my book bag and call me fatso.  I had gotten the money from mama and daddy to order a couple of books out of the Weekly Reader.  Boy, was I excited when the order came back.  I couldn't wait to sit down and read about the latest antics of Curious George.  As I got off the bus and started walking up the steep hill to my house.  I still remember the laughs from the older teenagers as they waved the books they had stolen from my book bag out the school bus window.  I never got my books back.
Anyway, the grandmother said that this kid related to my story and that he had listened to my radio show ever since.  She told me, "Bobby, you give him hope."
Never had anything so moved me.  All I did was talk on the radio.  As Steve Gradick's dad would say, "A @#$% monkey could do this job!"
He is so right.  But, this little boy and so many other wonderful people who took the time out of their hectic life to listen and become a part of our radio family with this grown-up fat kid blathering over the air is the very reason this "@#$% monkey" wants to do this job.
Dana and I would like to thank each of you for listening and becoming a part of our world.  Life is hard . . . and if we can make you smile and laugh and provide for you a temporary retreat from the troubles and burdens of this world, then we will have accomplished our goals. 
Please accept this invitation to be a part of our radio family every Thursday from 5 - 6 PM on WKNG, AM 1060.
Ya'll be blessed!
Psalm 75:1

I recently fired my telephone company.  I just knew I could survive without them.  I really thought it would be easy -- not so.  My encounter with Magic Jack was totally unsuccessful.  Ditching my local telephone service and talking for virtually free over my DSL connection seemed like a great idea.  Unfortunately, each call that I made sounded like I was talking to Charlie Brown's teacher on the other line. 

The call echoed and "froze up" on numerous occasions.  While this might be convenient when I'm talking to my mother-in-law (just kidding, Carol), it certainly isn't acceptable on a daily basis.  Now, I'm going to try to hurry and ship my Magic Jack kit back to wherever this device came before my free trial period expires and my credit card is charged $96.30.  For some reason, I am very anxious about returning the Magic Jack in that I'm fearful that my credit card will be charged regardless of whether I send it back or not.

For those of you desiring to sign up with Magic Jack, please save your money and buy a couple gallons of gas.  I thought that the problem might be with the speed of my DSL service, so I upgraded to the fastest DSL connection with AT&T for an additional five bucks a month.  It didn't help.

Clark Howard has spoken fondly of the Magic Jack. and I'm perplexed as to why it didn't work for me.  Maybe Clark doesn't have to audibly connect with and understand the person on the other end of the line. 

If anyone has any suggestions on another alternative, I'd love to get your thoughts.

I did something today that I've been wanting to do for years.  I fired my phone company.  Oh yeah.  Sent them to the unemployment line.  I know what you're probably thinking . . . 'you can't do that.'  Well, I did. 

I have to admit that I never look at my monthly telephone bill.  I just pay an amount each month and never really question any of the many charges.  But, over the last few months I noticed that AT&T kept increasing my bill.  So, I dug through the pile of old mail and dove into the phone bill. 

To my surprise, I have been charged approximately $27 per month for two companies to provide me with "additional voice mail services" that I never used or even ordered.  When I called AT&T, they told me that I would have to call the two companies to request a refund.  I did, and they have promised that a full refund will be forthcoming.  Well, we'll see.

I also discovered that AT&T has been overcharging me $19 per month for my DSL service since November, 2007.  Thanks, guys.  I really appreciate that.  I was also assured that a full refund is forthcoming.

I'm fed up with it.  So today, I fired AT&T and installed a Magic Jack on my computer for only $39 bucks.  Hopefully, this will allow me to have telephone service over my internet connection.  So far, so good.  But, I'll definitely keep you posted.  The $39 charge includes the Magic Jack plus one year unlimited phone service.  After the first year, the service is only $20 per year.  That's much better than the $80 per month that I currently pay.

The Magic Jack simply plugs into your USB port on your computer.  You then plug the telephone line that you usually plug into the wall into the Magic Jack.  That's it.  Unlimited long distance and local calls over the computer.  You talk into your regular telephone.

The call quality thus far has been pretty good.  If I notice a big difference I'll let you know. 

I know you really want to fire your phone company too.  I'll tell you in a couple of weeks whether I have to go crawling back to AT&T and beg them to come back and work for me.

So many times in life we do just enough to get by.  We do just enough to get by in school.  Many times that attitude transfers to our job once we enter the workplace.  I guess it's no surprise that this "just get by" attitude permeates our family.

Come on folks!!!  It's time for us to go all in.  Let's do our very best at school, at church, at work, and with our family.  It's all in the attitude.  As for me . . . I'm all in!

I was helping Santa the other day and walked some really cool toys over to my mama's house to stay until he picks them up for Abby.  I spent some time with mama and hid the presents.  As I walked out of the house she said, "This is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

I looked at her for a moment and asked, "Why?"  She said, "I just can't wait to see Abby's eyes on Christmas morning."

Come to think of it -- neither can I.  Beth is all excited and trying to figure out which gifts she wants Santa to wrap and which ones she wants him to leave out in plain sight.  There is no joy like seeing my little sleepy-headed baby waddle to the tree in her Christmas pj's and dive in.

I remember one wonderful Christmas when I was about four or five years old.  Mama and Daddy said we needed to rush home because it was almost time for Santa.  We all hid in the bedroom.  My heart was pounding as I tried to listen to the reindeer land on the roof. 

Just then, I heard a noise from up above.  It was him.  He landed on our little single wide trailer.  We didn't have a chimney, so I thought he'd have to come in the front door. 

I remember vividly hearing all kinds of clinks and clatters going on in the living room.  He was leaving me all kinds of cool toys.  Then, everything got quiet.

Mama said he must have been gone.  She turned me and my sister loose and I burst into the living room.  There were too many toys to count!

I remember my little green 4 wheeler, and the toy box with the chalk board on it and my really neat puppet.  Boy, we got so many toys that year.  That was one of the happiest Christmas mornings I had ever experienced.  I knew that Santa was real -- I heard him!

This year, Beth and I get to recreate this joy for my precious baby.  Words cannot describe what a joy it is to be a father and to do cool things for my little Abby. 

Santa has contacted me and asked if I could help him this year.  I gladly will.  Christmas to me now is making memories for my family that will last a lifetime.  Indeed, this will be my Best Christmas Ever!

Merry Christmas to you all!

I have made application to be a speaker at the 2008 Real Estate Educators Association conference in Bonita Springs, Florida.  I would appreciate your prayers as this would be a really big deal for me.

My session proposal is "Keep Your Chin Up -- It's Time for Plan B!"  It includes my testimony of God's provision in my life through the adoption of my little munchkin, Abby.

Beth and I are going Christmas shopping today.  For me, it's my first trip out this year.  Beth says that I'm getting to be like an old person.  I hope not!  We're going to leave little buttercup with Aunt Angie, so I'm looking to have a wonderful night with just me and Beth.

Where are you in your life right now? Are you at a place of harmony and peace? Or, is your life filled with turmoil and depression? It has taken me over thirty-seven years to realize that our lives are like a path to a destination. We each have the ability to control which path we are on at any given point in time, and we have the ability to switch paths at any given moment. Ironically, we also have an ability to walk down different paths at the exact same time.

Your life is a path and you are ultimately heading toward a destination. Each of us will eventually arrive at a destination, though I fear that most people will not arrive at their point of destiny. Life, with all of its twists and turns, attempts to get us off track and thrust us into a place of desolation. As for me, I have decided not to be derailed but rather to pursue my course of destiny.

This simple concept occurred to me at my church board meeting. The seven of us met to brainstorm different ideas for our church and to plan for the future of our congregation. Each of us tossed out ideas while the others would in turn offer their opinions of the idea. One person jokingly remarked on several occasions, "What about Plan B?"

I thought, "What Plan B?" We didn't have a Plan B. The only thing we had construed was Plan A. If Plan A didn't work, we would abandon it and go onto something else. The thought of developing two simultaneous plans never occurred to me. My thought process for my entire life had been to develop a plan and engage it. Only if my plan didn't work would I trash it and start over. To develop a Plan A and a Plan B at the same time meant that I doubted my first plan. After all, Plan A is our best option, right? Plan A is so ingrained in us that we simply can't doubt it, can we? Sure we can.

I hope that you will question your Plan A! I hope that you will be willing to abandon your plan if indeed you realize that it's not working for you. I hope that you will actively seek out your point of destiny and begin to do the things necessary to get you on course. I want you to question everything that you are currently doing in your life. I want you to bring to your conscious mind those things that you are doing which are steering you off course.

You can do it, and I will help you. Happiness and success can be yours if today you will begin to do the things necessary to become a polarized magnet to attract positive things into your life, while at the same time repelling those things which bring you feelings of fear and rejection.

I pray that you will be able to:

Below is my latest real estate article published in the December 2007 edition of Home Choices Magazine.

______________________________________________________

We had just returned home from a late night at church. It was frigid outside, and I was all too eager to get in the house, slip into my pj's, and settle down for a long winter's nap. I snuggled into my chair readying myself for one of my favorite shows, Desperate Housewives . . .oops, I mean The Ultimate Fighter. It was then that I remembered I had left an important document in the car that simply could not stay outside. Rather than brave the cold weather, I did what any other red-blooded American would have done – I asked my wife if she would go out and get it. Needless to say, my question was not well-received by Beth. Her reaction was very similar to the time that I blurted out "There's nothing more attractive than watching a woman work" as she vacuumed underneath my feet while I was watching my beloved Crimson Tide play football. Thus, after removing a walnut from my forehead, I determined that it was in my best interest to retrieve the document from the car myself.

I knew that I would only be outside for a few seconds, so I didn't see the need to slip on a shirt. After all, it was dark and I was relatively sure that none of my neighbors would see me. My shirtless body is definitely not the type to be put on display for the world to see – I'm big boned! OK, maybe I'm a little on the tubby side. So I tip-toed out to the car while I looked around to make sure that nobody saw me. Just as I opened the car door I heard a rustling noise in the bushes behind me. I was scared to death for I knew not who or what lurked behind me. I just knew this was how it was going to end for me. I could just imagine the newspaper headline – "Shirtless fat man found dead outside of home in purple PJ's."

I turned slowly to face my assailant. The pale moon light revealed a small, fierce-looking creature standing about ten yards away from me. This was my first face-to-face encounter with the dreaded armadillo. I don't know about you, but I'm not too familiar with this beast. Sure, we've all seen their lifeless carcasses lying belly-up in the middle of the highway, but I didn't have a clue as to how dangerous this little animal could be. All sorts of questions dashed through my head. Could he outrun me? Could he rip the flesh from my bones? Could he possibly eat me? I didn't move a muscle, and he didn't move either.

It was definitely one of those fight or flight moments. The stage was set – big husky man versus small weird-looking beast. I, being the brave warrior that I am, let out a high-pitched scream, ran back to my car, and locked myself inside. My scream apparently scared the little devil to death as he darted into the shadows of my large backyard. I cranked my car and decided to chase him with my automobile. I swerved back and forth as he darted just out of the reach of my tires.

"I've got you now, you little devil," I yelled.

Just then my cell phone rang. It was my wife, Beth.

"Honey, why are you driving like a crazed maniac in the backyard?" She sounded disturbed.

"Oh, don't worry sweetie! I'm just trying to kill an armadillo!" was my reply.

She said, "Get in this house RIGHT NOW!" It was at this moment that I realized how silly I must have looked. An educated, good-looking (slight exaggeration), thirty-seven year old man trying to run down a small, bony-plated beast in my very own backyard.

Wait a minute. That's right. It is MY backyard. It's my home. And while you certainly would not want me to destroy your backyard, I certainly have the right to destroy my own. Thus, the joy of owning your own home. You and I as homeowners have the right to do all kinds of crazy things (within certain restrictions of course) while on our own property. Sure I've chased armadillos in my backyard, and I've had an encounter with a bat (not the wooden kind, but the flying kind) in my living room and had numerous other weird and crazy things happen at my home. These memories are part of who I am and are a large part of that little old place that I call "home."

Undoubtedly, many of you reading this article are dreaming of a place that you can call home. You may even be looking for your very first home. Let me be one of the many proponents of home ownership to say that I hope you find YOUR place. And while I certainly don't wish that you get invaded by armadillos, I do hope that you begin a long journey filled with all sorts of great memories at a place that you call "home."

We had a great time tonight as we had our pastor, Scott Benefield, and his family (Cindy, Brittney, Daniel and Zachy-Poo) over for dinner.  My mother-in-law, Carol, also spent the evening with us and we had a surprise guest -- Denise "the crazy woman" Thurman.  Kudos to Brother Scott for his fire-building skills.  I was skeptical at first after he made my fire go out!  But, he really redeemed himself and had quite a blaze going in my old fireplace.

It's great spending time with the ones you love, and I definitely love my pastor and his family.  I just hate that Brittney started "puffing up" at the end of the night.  I think she might be allergic to my dog Lexie.  Brittney, girl, I hope you are not puffy when you go to school tomorrow. 

My advice for everyone would be this -- spend time with those who are special to you!  We never know when it may be the last time that we see each other.