Are You "Real?"

Had an interesting question the other night from a listener at the Angels & Demons premier, which by the by, was pretty good, about me and while at first I didn’t really understand the question reflection helped me see what I think that he was actually asking.

One of the dangers of radio is that one becomes a disembodied voice coming out of a box. It’s a very difficult medium to work in as I have told you before for two big reasons. First there is no immediate “push back” from an audience. Yes, there are calls and eMails, but those come AFTER anything I have to say has already been said. There is no immediate gasp or laugh or sucking in of breath that helps a live speaker gauge how his or her audience is reacting. Calls and eMails take time, and really the HARDEST thing to learn in radio is how to compensate for that loss of “push back.”

The second thing is that there is not the visual element of Television or movies. Radio is live (for the most part) and there are no “second takes.” In TV or films an actor gets multiple chances to get it right, followed by a directors massaging to get the emotional feel of the lighting or soundtrack (or even laugh track) just right to convey a response. I imagine the actual act of the TV or Film is hard but there isn’t the immediate death of no push back. If the audience hates a film, the actor may not know for years.

There is an element of radio that causes people to wonder if what they hear – and consequently see in their minds – is “real.” Which is what I was asked last night, “Are you real?”

The immediate response should show that I am real – I am an innate smartass and so I instantly responded that I was in fact real and made a soft physics joke, but that really wasn’t what the listener was looking for in an answer.

I can only speculate about the past here on KFIV, but it would seem based on this one listener (not the greatest database of observation I grant you) that at some point in the past one or more of my predecessors were not “real.” I asked for clarification and the listener responded that he wanted to know if the person I am on the air is the person I am off the air.

In short, yes.

Yeah, I have a stage name, but as I have explained innumerable times it wasn’t my idea and at one point we had a plan to dump it (before it turned out that sales focus groups liked the stage name). So I presume that what he was asking was about who I am beliefs-wise as it relates to me on the air.

I am pretty sure that I am. I won’t deny that there is an occasional “put-up” to start a discussion or get people thinking, but usually those are pretty obvious. So yes, the beliefs that I espouse on the air are in fact my real everyday world beliefs.

Hannity always says that one has to be real on the air or one won’t last, and I believe that he is right. My all-time favorite chat show host is a guy by the name of Mike Sorce who lived his life on the air – including the tragic death of his beloved wife. He never made a deal of hiding behind his stage name, even though in a lot of ways he was just as much Don Geronimo as he is Mike Sorce. In the same way, Dave! Diamond is just as much me as David Ray Bowman is. We are one and the same, just a different aspect I suppose. By the way - I HATE the name "Dave" and would never use it in my real life. Anytime I have used it is solely to placate someone else and usually by their assigning it to me, not by my choice.

I can act, and I can play a role. I was trained to believe in and accept what the Navy calls “Positional Authority” which means that rank is not as important as position at any given moment. I put that to use the day that the French CNO (Chief of Naval Operations, the #1 French Navy guy) was standing behind me aboard USS Michigan observing a missile test drill. For whatever reason that day, MTRE-6 decided to die, and I – the BSM Supervisor (Launch Director) was attempting to get the system on line. Behind me this guy kept jabbering in French and making a great deal of noise and distraction including his aides and our Naval Attaches who were trying to explain it all. After a few moments I assumed a Command attitude and informed all the visitors that they needed to be quiet and demure (and yes – I did so in a “Navy” way). There was an awkward moment of silence, followed by my resumption of the countdown in casualty mode.

Later my Div-O started chewing on me, but Lt. Dave Fritsch, my WEPS stood up for me, telling the DIV-O that I was my countdown to run, my MCC and my job. That earned Lt. Fritsch my respect and to this day he was the best officer for whom I ever worked.

I am not crazy enough to believe that I (a) know everything or (b) am always right. So here are some issues that I believe show my “reality” but I am also open to others if you want to ask. There are two subjects I will never discuss, so up front those are off limits and out of bounds. Obviously I am bound by my non-disclosure agreements with the Navy on issues that cannot be discussed. I can assure you that based on my experience (I held a TS-SIOP-ESI Clearance with a JSTPS Briefing) that I speak with authority and knowledge about certain issues but that I will not discuss how I know those things. It may not be fair, but it is the law, and in the end, you can trust me or you can trust the New York Times.

The other issue is my family life. I have been burned a couple of times trying to bring my family and close friends into my show, and what I learned is that it isn’t fair to them. Those items are off limits except in the most general of senses.

Let’s head off into the list of “beliefs” that I have talked about on the air. I will add to it as things occur to me, but for starters:

• I am a hard line military hawk conservative. My primary issues are National Security, the military, VA Issues.

• My second issue is Taxes and spending

• I am a Constitutionalist with the understanding that we CAN change it if we decide to, but we have to follow the process, not popular opinion.

• I usually have no real problem admitting when I am wrong, but one of the things that bugs the snot out of me is when people won’t acknowledge when I am right.

• My religious experience and faith could fill hours, but really is not of interest to anybody except theology wonks. In short I am Jewish because I believe – after years as an ordained pastor –that that is “What Jesus Would Do (be).”

• I am convinced that Physics proves that there MUST be a creative force (ADONAI). I need faith to convince me that in 13.7billion years of a universe that I am of any consequence to that Creator.

• I oppose abortion, but I am not a militant. I see it as a sad commentary on our society but we will never get rid of the law, so it’s a waste of time to go that route. It’s still not the law to FORCE abortions, so it’s better to change individual minds and stop it that way.

• I am not anti-tax or anti-new taxes. I am anti-wasteful spending. If you need a tax for a specific item, fine, but I oppose “general taxes” that contribute to more wasteful spending that is unaccountable. To refine that a bit, I believe in FUND ACCOUNTING. The General Fund is the worst management idea ever and should be abolished.

• I hate religious Taliban types of any faith or denomination

• I love sports, especially football, hockey and baseball. I can tolerate basketball, and I have passing interest in the minor sports. I wish that I could get into soccer, but after years of trying I simply cannot. I love to play tennis and golf.

• I am a professional musician, although I have more or less gotten out of the business. It never was my livelihood, just something that I do completely for fun.

• I oppose the Death Penalty as it is currently practiced in our country. It is unfairly applied, poorly enforced and costs far too much to implement. If we change the system I will re-evaluate it but I have always believed that if we execute one innocent person the Death Penalty is a failure. In my opinion it’s cheaper and safer to have a life sentence with no parole than to wrongly execute an innocent person. Yes, it’s rare, but it DOES happen.

• I really do like Modesto and the Great Central Valley.


That’s a start, maybe more than you wanted to know, maybe you want to know more. As long as it doesn’t cross into areas that I have designated, feel free to ask.