Boiled or Roasted

It seems that I don’t know what direction this little blog is going. Look for new and exciting—to me at least—changes. Lately reevaluating everything about the Peanut Whistle, I have decided to continue by reviewing the old posts I most enjoyed as a reader myself and the ones with the most mass appeal.

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A first for my 9 year old son and I ; over the Labor Day weekend we attended the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Great fun! That’s Luke beside a Plymouth Superbird On display during the race. YeeHaw!

Stay tuned!

Continue the Legacy

Now entering the latter half of my 40’s, the realization hit me: I’ve spent far too many hours mired in the past. To quote famous 20th century humorist, Will Rogers, “Just don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”

For three years, I failed to heed that sage advise. My New Years resolutions start mid-January, around my birthday. This year is going to be a re-start. What I mean is: all that I have obsessed over for the last 4 plus years will be minimized in favor for what is truly relevant in my life now, in the moment and proceeding forward.

Having said all that, the blog you are reading now has become my only Blogger blog going forward. Aircheck, Gospel Aircheck and the short-lived the Board blogs have been retired. Why I had so many similarly themed weblogs running concurrently in the first place is a mystery, anyway. There is no master plan for the Peanut Whistle: it continues to be an organic process. In the next few post I will attempt to share the sequence of events that unfolded in 2011 which brought about my decision; that’s a work in progress.

Stay tuned.

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By the way, I’ve started a new Tumblr account. Check it out: jimoneal.tumblr.com

Navigate G.A.

Here’s a note for all readers: the newly remodeled Gospel Rewind blog site is full of multi media content, especially audio. Make sure to link on over to the actual page for the full experience. That goes for those of you reading from Facebook, a reader, or even e-mail.  Currently I have the latest half dozen or so posts just under the header. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you’ll find nearly all the Gospel Rewind shows we’ve done since 2009. In the sidebars we will be adding new stuff occasionally as well. Happy blogging.

Stay tuned.

Lazy Sunday

I was very surprised this morning when I checked the statistics for our companion blog, Gospel Aircheck. It has seen the single biggest jump in readership since I started the dang thing 19 months ago. The funny thing is that we have no idea how that happened. The only difference is that more audio clips have been featured. Maybe it is due to offering more frequent posts. Just how big a jump, you ask? Well, about 50 times the readers on average over the last two days alone! The amount of new international guests to the site is staggering—many of them from countries that are traditionally non-English speaking. Internet discovery is a very tricky thing; you can’t make people find you. I think it’s luck. Here’s to many more posts to come.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle blog. All rights reserved.

This is the Spot

Welcome to the best kept secret on the Internet—my weblog known as the Peanut Whistle!

Try not to keep it under wraps too long. Looking at the statistics for my blog they show a either a flat or very slow growth. If you have enjoyed reading my posts, please comment. Remember I am a big boy, so if you haven’t enjoyed it, comment as well. I have allowed our domain name to expire due to lack of readers. The blog has returned to its former Blogspot address. Right now you are invited to catch up on the blog by scanning the archive for posts that you may have missed. Thanks…

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. the Peanut Whistle blog. All rights reserved.

It's All About me

Constantly taking inventory of the who, what, where and when this blogger sometimes asks the question: why? The purpose of the Peanut Whistle is simple; compose a record of my life now and provide examples of an earlier time that explain what brought me to the present. More often than not my radio career is at the forefront. A goal of mine at the dawn of 2010 was to delve into the relevant topics of the day, but something from my past continues to intrigue me.

This is a great time in my life. Having started a family in my late thirties has kept me on my toes for the last decade. The down side is that since I am, shall we say, more mature keeping up with three little children and a 15 year old is more of a challenge. By the time my parents were in their late twenties they had three kids. A possible advantage to  the age gap shared with my kids is a better perspective on life. Nevertheless, I wouldn't change anything.

I had been out of radio officially many years before my crew were born. I played one of my aircheck tapes in the car of a radio show I did at age 19. My six year old son asked, "Is that you, Daddy?" It dawned one me: they have no idea that I had a life before them.

So, why write the Peanut Whistle? It is dedicated to my children should they ever have interest in their old man; what he accomplished, how he lived, what his life was like in the old days. Being relevant is less important than drawing a vivid portrait of my kids' heritage. Hopefully, along the way the masses will appreciate my posts. But if that doesn't happen I'm satisfied with this somewhat autobiographical picture of my story.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

The Blog Beat

Summer 2010 was fun. Facing an empty nest for the first time I am returning to the blogging beat in earnest. In the coming few days we at the Peanut Whistle are gathering a host of ideas both in written and audio form, maybe even video with our YouTube account. I’m playing it by ear. Speaking of video, take the old studio tour as we celebrate over 1,000 viewers on http://www.youtube.com/user/jimoneal1520

Our goal is to combine all of the Peanut Whistle stuff into one website: the blogs, podcasts, radio station and video. If you explore this blog in depth, most of these things will be at your fingertips.

Before I close today, congratulations are in order to one of my former radio homes that is located in Bremen, Georgia. After a couple of decades as a gospel station they have flipped to an oldies format and are streaming online at http://www.1440thetrain.com What a great era we live in! The present owners took over the station 17 years ago, shortly after my time there. They struggled with the Southern Gospel format for years. Best of luck to them. I consider that station one of my radio babies. My friends David, Corky and I laid groundwork which we moved from our metro Atlanta radio homes into the original “Peanut Whistle” out in rural west Georgia. I have listened, they seem to have some great imaging packages and I like the new nickname, the Train. Daddy’s proud. I’ll be listening Monday to their—hopefully live—Morning Show, expect a review in Gospel Aircheck.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Daddy Daycare

Man, with the economy in the dump how does anyone, of a certain [middle] age, get a job? God only knows. If I hadn’t been depressed before, then the time is now. Strangely enough, I am not. The cure for my melancholy moods has seemed to be effective for over eight months. The answer: stay busy. The summer has been a blast with the kids; water parks and all sorts of amusement has kept us busy. Now it’s time for a new school year. My first and second graders are eager to get started. I never enjoyed school; maybe they get their smarts from Mom.

Whatever the case may be, I am so proud of all my kids: ages 4 to 15. I have three beautiful girls and one rambunctious boy. Now that all but the four year old have returned to their studies, I am getting back to The Peanut Whistle and my endless search for a job. I am a full time Mister Mom. What’s next?

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden and The Peanut Whistle. All right reserved

1999

“I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, so sue me if I go too fast,” Prince once penned, “But life is just a party and parties weren’t meant to last.” Well, life is passing these days at breakneck speeds—so rapidly that the once future date 1999 seems ancient now. When Prince wrote those lyrics in the early 1980’s the year 2000 seemed far, far away. I clearly remember humming the tune when it was new. I feel so old.

These days it seems necessary that I put together a book of my life that includes my family story that we can keep as a memento for future generations. My young children have absolutely no clue of their heritage. So my “book” may fill the need for a competent history. Much of my free time has been spent doing serious research, not just writing my anecdotal observations. The book my take more than just the two years I have already invested. I have only drafted one 15 page chapter so far—writing a book is more difficult than it seems. How does Stephen King churn out one 600 page tome after another? I don’t know: focus, determination, talent?

stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Get On Board!

Here at the Peanut Whistle I take a great deal of pride in the work accomplished over the years with various audio projects: the band demos, radio airchecks, commercials, and the podcasts. You’re invited to join this blog as a subscriber (did I mention it’s free!) While you read and visit click play on the mp3 players on the side column. You can subscribe by clicking on the “subscribe” button. You may have to scroll down a little. If you are viewing this via Facebook or in a reader, make sure you visit us at our website     http://www.thepeanutwhistle.com for all the media content we offer. Interact with the Whistle; you may contact me at gospelrewind@yahoo.com

Stay tuned
©2010 the Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Confirm Me

  My 44th birthday approaching I feel less and less inclined to feel validated by anyone. Take for example the ever popular social website Facebook. More than once I have sent out those silly friend requests only to never be "confirmed". Take it as maturity setting in; but, these things just do not bother me as they once would. When I was 17 or 18 such behavior from a prospective friend would have been devastating. Honestly, Bill Gates never imagined Myspace or Facebook in 1983 or 1984 when the world was much less virtual.

  Stay tuned

 

copyright ©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

The Holiday Road (to recovery)

Happy new year my friends! Wow, twenty ten; that just sounds nice and futuristic. Seeing that I have always been an early adopter of all things new this year has a good vibe to it.

My wife Angie and I have had a blessed 2009 and look forward to the good things in store for 2010. 2009, what a great year it was: Angie got a fantastic new full time job she loves while I was allowed the privilege of becoming Mr. Mom with my proudest achievement, my family. We all enjoyed a Myrtle Beach vacation with Angie’s mother and my brother-in-law and his crew. The ‘09 holiday season has been my all time favorite. Thanksgiving was a blast; then Christmas Eve at my house with my sisters, my mom, the nieces and nephews joining my gang at our house; another celebration in north Georgia with my dad’s sisters on Sunday and yesterday, New Year’s Day, we opened gifts at my mother-in-law’s. Whew! What fun we all had.

The Turning Point

Through a process that has taken about 2 years to fulfill I have discovered with self-taught study of the human psyche that I fit into a melancholy temperament.  I have fought deep depression my whole adult live through  introspection and will. I have not been very successful, especially in the will department. Introspection has been a heavy burden because I have had my head stuck in an unremarkable past thinking this was truly therapeutic. I was dead wrong. One day recently, during the holiday season, I had an aha moment. I had been going through the motions letting one day melt into another when I realized that have so much to be thankful for here and now. I have a wonderful wife and great kids. They are what I have always wanted. Angie is a companion in the truest sense of the word, she is the model wife. My kids are my most valuable education; I have learned far more from them than they have from me.  And I continue to evolve personally and desire a more positive forward thinking outlook. Now I have a more keen since of purpose that I feel was lacking before. A new focus on the present has emerged and our hope is for a brighter future.

Stay tuned

© copyright 2010 the Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Resolution Revolution

  Merry Christmas readers!

  Many years ago I decided to abandon the idea of News Years resolutions because they mostly involved weight loss. My announced plans of getting into the gym and dropping a few pounds fell by the wayside; usually by January 5th. In the years since my decision to quit the practice of  making vows I would not keep I have actually benefited by losing the weight and keeping it off  for more than 13 years. In summer of 1995 I got off by big butt and took a job that involved physical labor. Up until that point I worked as a radio disk jockey spending most of my day either sitting or reclining inventing ways of getting out of actual labor. That first hot August night I began a real job literally sweating the pounds away. Work is good for both body and mind. However, moderation can be viewed as beneficial.

  You see, I took the weight loss thing to the extreme and lost too much. People close to me said I looked sick having dropped almost 100 pounds in a fairly short amount of time that summer. I had my doctor prescribe a diet that I followed to the letter for almost four years. Later I realized that the plan was intended to remove the blubber quickly and not a maintenance diet designed to keep a healthy weight. Although I can no longer fit into those size 30 jeans I am comfortable in my skin whereas before the weight loss I was overly self-conscious. 14 years ago I firmly decided to leave my old career behind. It was killing me.

  Having said all that brings me back to todays topic: resolutions. This Peanut Whistle blog has become too much of a trip down only one address on memory lane. It has become too focused on a past that is dead and gone. While I still value my experiences as lessons for the future; the present time is the best I have lived in due to the wonderful additions over the past decade of a loving wife and four great kids who have no first hand knowledge of what has been presented in this blog. For the first time in many, many years I am making a resolution. For 2010, I intend to make Peanut Whistle more current with topical stories from my life as well as observations of trends in the music, Internet and broadcasting industry from my unique perspectives as a former DJ. Only my original Gospel Aircheck blog will have posts similar to the ones formerly featured here in the 'Whistle. My lessons learned throughout this exercise has been that the present is to be valued just as much as the past and that the good old days weren't always as good as I remembered. As Stevie Wonder penned,

"They've been wasting most their time / Glorifying days long gone behind  / They've been wasting most their days / In remembrance of ignorance oldest praise" 

  Instead of a Pastime Paradise let's go forward expecting our best days are ahead.

Stay tuned.







©2009 - 2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.