7/14/2005
Over the past few days, I’ve read several comments related to the fact that the Don & Mike Show was on the air just a day after Freda’s tragic death this past Sunday. Mike O’Meara, Buzz, Charlie, and crew were there, though, of course, Don (AKA, Mike Sorce) was not.
Some seem to feel that it was inappropriate for the show to air on Monday, when the Sorce family, as well as the JFK family, was still reeling from the pain and shock of it all. I have a different opinion.
The fact is, if Mike and crew had not come on the air to tell us what had happened, I might still not know what was going on. If they had simply run “Best Of” reruns, I would have assumed that, perhaps, Don & Mike had just gotten themselves in trouble with management again.
I was very grateful that they came on to tell us what happened and to play back some “Best of Freda” bits. If you are a fan of the show the way I am a fan of the show, you understand that this is the way these guys have ALWAYS worked.
Don & Mike don’t follow “the norm” related to what other shows might do. They don’t shy away from heavy subjects, and they stay closely connected to their listeners (despite what Don might say on the air :-)).
Remember 9/11? I do.
The Don & Mike Show aired. Without a hiccup, without a pause, without even a slight delay. They went on the air, opened up the phones, and just started a dialogue with listeners. It was a dialogue that went on, if I remember correctly, for weeks. They were positively heroic in the way they handled that event.
So, on Monday, Don sent Mike and crew to the station to let us know what happened and to start the dialogue. I was and am grateful for that. They didn’t ignore us and leave us guessing, instead, they did the incredibly difficult thing of coming on the air to tell us what had happened.
So, for those of you who have asked the question, “is this the end of the ‘Don & Mike Show,’” I think you have your answer. Don’t you?
Thanks,
David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com
30 Comments
I wasn’t aware that there were people who felt it was inappropriate for Mike and Rob to go back on the air. Your post is right on the mark as far as I’m concerned.
Comment by james — 7/14/2005 @ 2:43 pm
I agree. I think by coming on the air, it was the best therapy for listeners, and airstaff…
Comment by Adam — 7/16/2005 @ 7:41 pm
I concur. I took incredible courage for Mike, Rob, and Buzz to do that show. It allowed the healing process to start for all of us.
Comment by glenn — 7/18/2005 @ 6:33 pm
With the recent finding that Freda Wright-Sorce was below the legal
> alcohol level of .08, (at .06), and the accident was clearly the other
> drivers fault, I still think it is important that people know that
> even if you are below the legal alcohol level even at .06 it still
> impairs you to some degree. Maybe if Freda had not had any alcohol in
> her system she could have reacted a split second faster and swerved
> when the ford Explorer crossed over the median into her lane. I guess
> we will never know, and always miss her.
Comment by mike hughes — 7/19/2005 @ 7:18 pm
Mike:
Don’t be ignorant. The fact is, the driver was just 22 years old and he swerved into ONCOMING TRAFFIC to avoid a 10-car pileup. Stupid, stupid, stupid; and very hard for any person coming in the opposite direction to avoid.
The driver who struck Freda was clearly in the wrong and their reaction, that of swerving into oncoming traffic, says more of that person’s INEXPERIENCE than anything else. Okay?
David
Comment by David Flanagan — 7/19/2005 @ 10:51 pm
I totally agree with your thoughts. This is the D&M way.
I look forward to Don’s return on Monday, August 1 and will have a full box of tissues at the ready. The show will forever be changed, but I’m sure will still be just as fantastic, although missing a very special piece.
Comment by Kaley — 7/28/2005 @ 4:58 pm
I just stumbled across this journal and I would like to say that I’ve been listening to “Don Geronimo” since before he teamed up with Mike. I remember when Bart was born. I feel like I’ve lost a member of my family. I’m grateful that Mike and the rest of the crew kept things going. You know that it must be extremely hard for them too.
Comment by Sheri — 7/28/2005 @ 7:56 pm
I appreciate everyone’s comments. Thanks so much for taking the time to express your thoughts.
David
Comment by David — 7/28/2005 @ 8:10 pm
Like so many others, I’ve listened to Don and Mike for years. I’ve always found them hysterical, and I enjoy spending my drive-home wi’ them. Like so many others, I was shocked and left trying to piece together how my own day would be affected wi’out Freda being even a small part of it. Then, the greater scenario began to play out. I was married just this past March. I know how I feel. What eludes my comprehension is how Don feels losing the woman he made his wife and his life for twenty-three years. What escapes me is how Bart feels losing his mother. Moments ago, I completed the poem which has haunted my mind since learning of this tragedy, and trying to imagine how Don and Bart will cope wi’ this incredible happening. I’ll send it Monday - I want to make sure it says what I mean it to say, what I need it to say. God bless them all in this…
PS: Mike Hughes - was it necessary to even mention the blood alcohol findings?! Freda was more sensible than to drive after drinking excessively. It seems a needless, mean-spirited spear to throw at her memory in both this forum and at this time. Please.
Comment by Tamara J — 7/29/2005 @ 2:15 pm
I think the BAC is a legitimate issue to focus on. Could she have been speeding, eating, drinking coffee, talking on the phone, at the time of the accident, which would have increased an already impaired state? If both drivers were approaching this 10 car accident could her speed, with that of the other driver have contributed to the rate of impact in which she suffered her injuries? Where were her airbags and did they deploy? Ladies and gentlemen of the court of public opinion, only one thing is a fact here, Freda died in a tragic manner. Lets stop focusing all of this attention on should the boys have been on the air or not, and focus on the real issue, which is what can we all learn from this so this is not your wife, daughter, or mother being eulagized the next time?
Comment by Bard — 7/30/2005 @ 11:23 pm
Okay let’s step back a moment. The Hughes author was an inappropriate and dimwitted remark. Bard is a just as stupid remark as well. The only fact that matters to this is that some young jack ass was reckless and careless with his driving and struck Freda. Freda shoudl not have slowd down to rubberneck at the pile up like so many idiots here do. The um-dumb driving too fast and not paying attention to his lane is the only guilty party here. Let’s not play lawyer and try to find fault in Freda’s action. She didn’t invite the ass to cross the line and strike her. Does anyone really think they can swerve out of the way of a another car with a closure rate of say 100 mph (50 mph of each car). The lesson here is simple, pay attention to the road. Driving is a responsibility that we all grow too comfortable with.
I wait for Don tomorrow to cry with him and hopefully that fat bastard will bring a smile to my face too! Moo moo, coo coo!!!:smile:
Comment by Beach Towel — 7/31/2005 @ 6:47 pm
RE: Mike Hughes
What more would you expect from someone sniping at a dead person under the name of the GM of WJFK whom D&M have feuded with (whether real or for the listeners) on a number of occasions. I can’t think of anything more classless than to heap blame upon the victim of a tragic accident– and that’s exactly what it was, an ACCIDENT — who leaves behind a husband a son and dozens of loved ones. What’s more cowardly is to try and justify your passive aggressive assault on the memory of a remarkable person under the guise of a “let’s learn something from this” commentary. I know asking you to grow up is a stretch but maybe you could muster the same respect for the dead as you would expect others to have if one of your own loved ones had perished so tragically.
Comment by Ryan — 8/1/2005 @ 2:02 pm
Ryan,
Good comments. I agree with you wholeheartedly. How shallow do you have to be to fabricate some tale and then try to turn it around as a life lesson.
I think cowardly is the correct description for this type of person.
David
Comment by David — 8/1/2005 @ 7:05 pm
My heart goes out to Don on the loss of his wife. My wife died suddenly in December of 2003, leaving me to raise our three children. People have no idea what that pain is like to lose someone that close to you unless they have experienced it, the loss is unfathomable to describe. I joined a widow and widower group and it has been a godsend, hope Don does also.
Comment by Leo Inglesby — 8/2/2005 @ 1:43 pm
It is absolutely amazing that when people read something that they disagree with, the opinions of others are now rediculous and stupid. Fredas’ death, as tragic as it is, is not the most tragic thing to happen to most people except those closest to her.
How many times has a real celebrity died in any fashion, has Don and Mike gone on the air and imitated and made fun of that person using reverb to accentuate the deceased persons voice? How many times has Don said “I hope you die you Blank blank blank” to listeners who had different opinions than Don wether right or wrong.
Were my thoughts and questions more disrespectful than the actions by Don and Mike that I just described? It is easy for society to be sympathetic with the victim, which I am, however it takes a greater mind to look at a situation and question the actions or inactions of both parties, even at the risk of being wrong. Try it sometime.
Comment by Bard — 8/2/2005 @ 5:32 pm
Bard,
I just don’t get the impression that you have much sympathy for Don. And Mike imitates some characters on the air and pretends they’ve come back from the dead to entertain their audiences, just as Leno does, or David Letterman, or any one of a thousand others in their line of business.
This is exactly the point that Don was making yesterday during the show, trying to get through to people just like you who don’t know the difference between doing a show and living in the real world.
Don Geronimo and Mike O’Meara are part of a show. The way they act on the air is not how they act in real life!
And beyond that, Freda was always such a sweet and loving person, on the air as well as off I’m sure. Trying to use Freda’s death as a “lessons learned” conveys an ignorant attitude. Furthermore, trying to tell someone who has suffered a huge loss, as Don has, that her death is “not the most tragic thing to have happen” (sic) is childish and immature.
I realize that you don’t understand this point. I only hope that one day you will.
David
Comment by David — 8/2/2005 @ 7:14 pm
BARD. Man you should get your facts straight before you jump to conclusions.What are you like 4 years old?Not saying anything, Would have been better.Dont waste your time and write back.Thanks for making me realize there is no shortage on dumb people in the world.Learn something new everyday. thanks….Quad
Comment by Quad — 8/2/2005 @ 10:42 pm
I’m sympathetic, we’ve all suffered loss, however, i don’t appreciate Don trying to make a distinction between the show and real life. The show IS real life, all of us listening are listening during our real lives and whether a comment is said by Don Geronimo or Mike Sorce, it is said, and it is broadcast out via the electromagnetic sprectrum throughout the universe, so tell someone else it’s not “Real Life” , it most certainly is. it’s all real life even if Don wants to pretend it’s not. Maybe he acts differently at home, but when something is said, it’s said, and it has an effect on people in their real lives, even if it’s not Don’s, and the universe responds accordingly, it does not make a distinction between “Real Life” and “The Show”. try and ring a bell and say you didn’t ring it in real life while all the while trying to keep the sound from echoing out through time. ya can’t. and Don, im sorry, Karma’s a bitch.
Comment by Aswezey — 8/3/2005 @ 11:01 am
Aswezey,
Sorry, but your Karma seems to have run over your Dogma.
If I apply your standard, then every movie is real life because, just as you say, it goes out over the electromagnetic spectrum and has an impact, right? So the movie I just saw the other day, “War of The Worlds,” that’s real! OMG!!!!!! Runnnnnnnn!!!!
Or maybe there is another explanation.
I agree with you that every word we utter has an impact, positively or negatively. But that doesn’t mean that every word we utter is TRUE. People make up words, thoughts, and concepts all the time, both real and imagined, true and untrue.
And we human beings, with our higher functioning brains, get to apply our cognitive skills to those words and discern whether or not they were said in earnest or in jest. Does Don REALLY want some of his callers to die a horrible death, as he sometimes states?
The fact is, if you can’t discern one from the other, then you might want to consider getting some help. Discernment is one of the most basic and important functions we perform on a day-to-day basis. If you can’t do that, you are in serious trouble.
Are my words making any kind of impact on you?
Hope so.
David
Comment by David — 8/3/2005 @ 1:07 pm
David,
Very Good, point well taken, and i agree, we all must make fundamental judgement calls every day, in order to even survive, we must discern how fast a car is going, for example. And of course, for most of us, it is easy to discern real life from a movie, but more and more we as a society are seeing people who are not able to draw such basic lines,for eg those who kill because some punk rock heavy metal band is just putting on their show and feels that to glorify murder is simply good entertainment. Don and his show, however, function on a different level of entertainment. a movie, is for the most part, entirely fictional, cameras, actors, a script, while the dandm show host interviews with real life people and real life issuses ie politics, death, and ask for real life people to call in and give their real life opinions. does don really want people to die horrible deaths? i would hope not, and probably does not, although in some cases i think he may, but how to discern between the two? ive heard him pretty frustrated at times, and because the show, at least to most of the people listening, is real life, as they sit in their real life cars on their way to their real life jobs, sitting in their real life traffic jams, they believe that opinions expressed and echoing in their real life ear drums are factual and honest opinions. and lets face it, the common human being is not the most independent thinking creature on the planet. they strive for direction and instruction, they love to be told what to think, drink coke, im lovin it. we are very suggestable creatures, and if someone can be influenced to kill through rock and roll lyrics, then don has all the power in the world to influence his thousands of listeners, but thats not even my point. my point is that even though don would like to pretend that what he says during his show is only the fake don, the show don, it is still mike sorce making the statements, and the effects of those statements, through karmic universal reaction will happen to both don geronimo and mike sorce because they are one in the same, and the universe will not make a distinction between the two, action whether it be words or physical action is still an action, which has a greater effect on the universe as a whole than most people would like to believe, and i for one would not take any chance with the perfection of the ONE, which i believe to be everything, as one thing, by saying something that i do not mean, and writing it off by saying that is not the real me, that its the other me, and that i hope people will understand the diference. well, i wouldnt be worried if other people can tell the difference, i would be worried that the universe can, because i dont think it does make a distinction. again, the universe is a combination of energetic forces, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum, and action is action, although i do leave room for intention, but only we know our intentions. this dissertation could go on and on.
any thoughts david?
Comment by aswezey — 8/4/2005 @ 10:54 am
Quad
Thanks for the suggestion. However you have proven my point. You disagree with me and resorted to insulting remarks. Saying that I do not have my facts straight, but not showing me the errors of my thinking shows that you are a myopian, who may possess the deeds to many historical landmark bridges in the sahara, the australian outback, and death valley.
I admittedly do not know Don, Mike, Freda, Bart, etc. personally as you may.My point was simply, as tragic as Fredas death is, it is not reason enough for me to go out on the street corner and imitate Fredas’ voice, and make unjust light of her death. It certainly is not reason for me to believe that her loss is of more importance to me than it is the family members afore mentioned. Nor would the death of my loved one be more tragic to them than I. Many people lose loved ones daily, but what I say with regards to others deceased loved ones shows if I am a person of character and class, or just a plain ass. Its about respecting others, so that you will receive respect in return. Don and Mikes actions on the air I feel do not deserve my respect. Don’t mistake sympathy for a person and respect for a person as one and the same. Ask a four year old, they will tell you all about it.
Comment by Bard — 8/4/2005 @ 11:22 pm
Where exactly did you all come across specific details of her BAC? It seems like that wasn’t information available for the general public. I didn’t come across it in any article I read, and I also wasn’t looking for it. Why don’t you tell us what clothes she was wearing that day too? This is disgusting. Yes, she is greatly missed by those who knew her intimately. Why would someone keep picking at that wound?
Comment by scaredkids — 8/7/2005 @ 7:48 am
I have been a fan since 1986 and the WAVA Morning Zoo. For 4 years I listened M-F for two hours while I got ready for work, and commuted to work. Don, Mike, Frieda, Bart and the crew became like family. This is the saddest public event in a long time. For me it is up there with space shuttle disasters, and other public tragedies. Living in Va Beach we don’t get the show any longer. So, this is news to us, horrible news. May God bless and bring comfort to Mike, Bart, and the rest of the family. We were all lucky to “know” Frieda and are better for the experience. She will be missed forever.
Thanks for letting me express my sympathies.
Grieving in Virginia Beach,
Doug
Comment by Doug in Virginia Beach — 8/7/2005 @ 8:21 am
Yes, how convenient that “Don” can take the out of, “this is the radio, not real life” when he and Mike ridicule people who have recently died.
I enjoy most of what Don & Mike do, but have never liked the segments when the dead “call-in” to the show. Yes, what stunning, comic genius it takes to make fun of Bob Hope and denigrate the Pope, both of whom actually did some good for the world. Oh, but wait, it’s “just a show.” Well goody, guess we’ll soon hear Freda checking-in from Beyond.
Here’s a novel concept: Leave the sick and dying alone, even if they were/are celebrities and easy targets. Hmm, have they already changed their tune a bit? You can take it to the bank that prior to Freda’s death it would have been “Peter Jennings” calling the show today, but instead it’s “Tom Brokaw.”
Comment by Burma — 8/8/2005 @ 3:05 pm
Not sure if any of you listened to the show today (8/8/05) but Don addresses the alcohol and he said it was 0.0….. Just thought you all may want to have the facts.
Comment by Ally — 8/8/2005 @ 5:52 pm
Words cannot describe what Mike and everyone envolved is feeling. I am so sorry for thier loss. I’ve only been a listener for about 8 years, and enjoyed them all.
However what really bothers me is the bickering among the readers of this site. I wish the ones envovled in this chilish behavior would stop trying to impress everyone with there English Degrees’
Comment by Rodney — 8/8/2005 @ 7:09 pm
our love and prayers to the sorce family.. you have been with us through hard times and good times.. thank you. Your freda is in a safe place..waiting for you at the end of your journey. caroline
Comment by caroline — 8/10/2005 @ 11:36 am
I listened to the Don & Mike show for years and years, going way back to WAVA. This will sound bad, but I got XM Radio about 18mos ago, and stopped listening to FM, including Don & Mike. I just this morning looked at the CBS 9 website because I heard that Don was on there last night and wanted to know what was up. I had no clue about Freda and it honestly breaks my heart for him. In tears. I just had no idea until about 15 minutes ago.
Comment by Jill — 4/28/2006 @ 2:48 am
Fine and pretty site! Very good owner!
Comment by Buy Viagra ncn — 5/24/2007 @ 9:26 pm