“You better sit down kids…”

On this date in radio history—we have two very, very important anniversaries to observe.  Eighty years ago today, the adventures of “the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains” were first broadcast over WXYZ Radio in Detroit, Michigan.  The rider was masked because he, his brother and four other lawmen were cut down in an ambush by some really skeevy criminal types…and as the only survivor, he donned a mask (created from his brother’s vest) and tracked down those scumbags to mete out justice…and then learned that he liked leading “the fight for law and order” in the West.  Accompanied by his faithful Native American companion Tonto (the man responsible for treating his near-fatal wounds and nursing him back to health) and riding a beautiful white stallion named Silver…well, you don’t have to ask who that masked man was—he’s the Lone Ranger.

Three years after the debut of The Lone Ranger, a similar masked crimefighter took to the airwaves (making this his 77th anniversary)—similar in that he also rode with a sidekick, only in this version he drove a car (nicknamed The Black Beauty), and both programs’ theme songs were classical music masterpieces.  In the case of the Ranger, it was The William Tell Overture—The Flight of the Bumblebee introduced the adventures of The Green Hornet.  Over at the Radio Spirits blog, I hoist a few in the direction of these two iconic programs…and tout an excellent CD collection available at the site that no Lone Ranger/Green Hornet fan should be without (with liner notes written by one of the great ones, OTR historian and author Martin Grams, Jr.).

So with the anniversary cake and ice cream out of the way…I have news that isn’t easy for me to impart.  (No, your mom and I aren’t getting a divorce.)  About two weeks ago, I was hired by the CEO of ClassicFlix.com to assume associate editor duties at the site—they will be revamping the place come this February, with articles and reviews on classic films and DVD reviews, and a regular series of columns from contributors on areas involving classic movies and classic television.  In addition, I will also be making the concerted effort to boost the site’s profile on various social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter—if some of you subscribe to their Twitter feed or ClassicFlix’s Facebook page, you may have already read some of my pithy bon mots…though in the case of Twitter, it’s not easy to bon mot in 140 characters or less.

It is a superb opportunity for me, one that I enthusiastically agreed to because it allows me to write about my lifelong passions…and in complete I’m-not-making-a-joke honesty…if you have told me this would come along when I started Thrilling Days of Yesteryear nearly ten years ago I would have suggested you seek serious psychiatric help.  The great thing is that this job also compliments what I now do at Radio Spirits, continuing to maintain their blog and write liner notes for their new collections when assigned.

The sad news is…well, both of these responsibilities are going to eat up a fair amount of my time…and as such, I’m not going to be able to carry on here at TDOY as much as I have in the past.  I’m not completely closing down shop—there’s just going to be more than few occasions when a regular feature like Mayberry Mondays and Serial Saturdays will become…well, irregular.  I had hoped to be able to keep the Mayberry thing going till at least finishing out the series…and while there’s certainly a small chance I’ll accomplish that soon, I can’t promise it will happen as quickly as I would like.

I’ve made a couple of commitments to some upcoming blogathons that I plan to keep—right now, I don’t anticipate any setbacks…but again, if the people running those events find an e-mail from me in their mailbox it might not be positive news.  But I plan to look in on the place from time to time (so don’t get any ideas about camping out or eating the Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls I have in the freezer) if only to keep my “skin in the game,” as the hipsters say…and if you plan to stop by the new places where I’m practicing cinematic medicine, you’re more than welcome.  (Just call first so I have a chance to do a quick tidy-up.)