About the F Word. Not that one, Fresh.

Lets talk about?the?F?Word. No not?f***, Fresh. If you’re new, and found Kelly and me as podcasters in?the?wild west of audio experiences or know me as your friendly SCENE correspondent on NBC4 I had a whole former life as a morning radio show host. I started on?the?radio at 15 at my hometown station Froggy 101 in Scranton, PA. For a few months I was a cashier at a grocery store and then wore?the?"Mr Froggy" suit on?the?promotions team and then it was an on-air career for this plucky?(the?New York Time’s descriptor not mine)?young man.? Well, I’m not as young as I used to be and I’m currently not a “radio host” in?the?traditional sense of?the?word.? That being I don’t host a show on?the?radio, currently.

“Lets talk about?the?F?Word.

No not?f***, Fresh.?”

Anywho, if you were part of?the?"Fresh Family" (what we lovely called our radio audience) you know what went down. I was sitting on?the?beach recently relaxing, reflecting and recharging.? A photo popped up in my iPhone memories. It was?the?night?the?Washington Capitals won?the?Stanley Cup. My husband and I are posing with?the?front page of?the?Washington Post. Upon zooming, you'll notice I put an emoji on?the?photo to cover?the?94.7 Fresh FM logo on my hat.? I think maybe it was for a 2018 highlights post since?the?CAPS won in May and our show was cancelled in October, three years ago today as a matter of fact.

Back to?the?photo. Truly, what in?the?actual hell was I thinking?!?? That pic took me to a nearly outer body experience. I was so pissed or hurt or some combination of?the?two that I wanted to completely scrub?the?logo,?the?history,?the?memory from my life.? That was a bad decision.

When our show was cancelled, on a whim by an out of town corporate owner, blue flame rage doesn’t even begin to describe it. Since I was fifteen radio is all I’d ever done. At twenty four I got my dream job, hosting a morning show in a major market. I did it in?the?city that I love with two women who I admire?the?hell out of.? Washington, DC was a radio town that had been home to Howard Stern, Donnie Simpson, Elliot Segal and many other icons in?the?business. I got to share?the?airwaves for more than a?decade with those giants.

When?the?plug was pulled I completely freaked out. Part of that "screw you and?the?tower you transmit on" wasn’t all bad. It was?the?fuel that led Kelly and I to start a company Real.Fun.DC., build a broadcast app, and keep reconnected with our “Fresh Fam.” Cutting?the?“F?Word” out of my vocabulary was a ridiculous over reaction to?the?trauma of having my world turned upside down and?the?thing I cared so much about taken away. Like how crazy was?I about?cutting out?the?"Fresh"?word?? Beginning on October?4th 2018 I ate "seasonal fruit," went for walks to get some "outside air," and my browser was "reloaded."? ?As an only child millennial Gemini I can take petty to?the?next level.

Upon reflection and plenty of chats with my therapists I can separate?the?shame, embarrassment and lost of?the?"Fresh" radio station going away from?the?fabulous Fresh moments we created together.? "Fresh Family"?calling in?to talk about?the?most intimate and hilarious moments of their lives, connecting people to?the?artists they love, and making?the?often cold town of Washington feel like a community.? That’s way bigger than a radio frequency.? So I’m going to embrace my Fresh-ness, celebrate?the?memories and find ways to continue to build community in?the?Nation’s Capital.? You might call it a refresh.