Ladies and Gentlemen....it's Producer Bill!!!!

When the ball drops tonight at midnight, and glasses are clinking and friends and family are wishing you a Happy New Year, I’m confident that I will be fast asleep.   Believe me, I’m just as excited as you to say goodbye to this wretched, ill-fated year.   I’m an eternal optimist but I’m also a realist.   When the calendar flips to January 1 st , 2021, nothing really will change except for the date on your iPhone.   I’m afraid 2021 is going to look a lot like 2020, at least at first.   Covid cases continue to surge, deaths are still climbing at an alarming rate, and it appears that even the distribution of the vaccine is going to be a giant shitshow.   I wish 2021 was like a reset button that we could hit and have our lives go back to normal in an instant.   Sadly, reset buttons only work for computers and video games, but not in the game of life.   There’s a book that I read a long time ago called “The Blind Assassin” by Margaret Atwood.  ...

Some of the best advice that I've ever received in my life seems to pop back into my brain each and every Thanksgiving.  It usually happens as I'm trying to think of things that I'm most thankful for.  Growing up, when I used to have Thanksgiving dinner with my mother's side of the family, it was a tradition to go around the room and recite some things that you were thankful for in front of all my relatives, so I got into the habit of being prepared with what I was going to say before dinner was served.  However, I would imagine that this year....this demonic, possessed, cursed and evil year.....that people are really struggling to come up with a long list of things to add to their thankful list.   The advice I received was this:  "No matter what happens in our lives, we have much to be thankful for.  No matter how much pain we've suffered, there has been a more than equal measure of joy to counteract it.  The people who don't think so are blind i...

So, I'm starting to think that 2020 just isn't my year.  Am I right, people?!?  I say this knowing that we're all in this pandemic together, and there are so many individuals that are having a way more difficult year than I am.  For starters, I haven't lost a loved one to Covid-19.  My family is completely healthy and happy, although my two sons have a tendency to whine a lot.  But in this completely divided country, I'm fairly certain we can all agree on one thing:  2020 fucking sucks.  However, despite the frustrating moments, I'm determined to keep my perspective. The older I get, the more I realize that one of the keys to surviving in this world is having a healthy dose of perspective. With that said, I'll ask your forgiveness if I lose it anytime in the next 5 minutes. On Monday, November 2nd, 2020, a little more than a month shy from celebrating my 11th anniversary with the "Johnjay and Rich" show, IHeartMedia told me not to come in anymore. ...