One Hootie Summer

In the summer of ’96 a lot of people asked me, “So you must be a big Hootie and the Blowfish fan, huh?”

“No,” I would reply but I couldn’t blame them for asking.

All summer while working as the secretary at Friendswood Driving School I played 104 KRBE. Every time they had a contest like “Be the 104th caller…” I would call and call until I won.

Yep, it was a really demanding job.

Here’s a hint: if the prize is lame, like a Hootie and the Blowfish CD (or any CD for that matter), don’t bother. You still have to drive down to the station to pick it up.

When I won the Hootie CD for the third time (I guess they waived that rule about not being able to win more than once since nobody else was calling in), I was entered into a bigger Hootie contest:

You and four friends fly on a private jet to New Orleans to see Hootie in concert!

By this time Hootie’s popularity was feigning (think Nick Lachey right now) so I would tell people, “I don’t care about seeing the Hootie concert. I just want to go on the private jet with my friends.”

And if they challenged me with something like, “Whatever. You’re totally hot for Hootie. You’re like a Hootie-natic,” I would say, “Fine. You don’t get to go on the private jet with me.”

I imagined me and three of my closest friends, living it up on the 104 jet and when we arrived in New Orleans, I would say, “Screw Hootie. Let’s just go to Bourbon Street!”

Two problems: 1. I was only 19 and 2. I didn’t win.

Yes, that summer I entered a lot of radio contests, talked on the phone and day-dreamed. Like I said, it was a really demanding job.

At least I got a lot of memories out of it; and a nice collection of Hootie CDs. Hey, they’re vintage now. Anybody want to make me an offer before I go to eBay?