Happy Father's Day to the one who started it all.

I have no doubt that if my dad had never purchased that cheesy, plastic radio case full of classic shows from yesteryear, I would never have gotten into Old-Time Radio. If he had tried to introduce it to me in Jr. High or High School, I probably would have rolled my eyes and kept listening to blink-182. But I received those tapes at an age when I was young enough to not be self-conscious about listening to them. And once I grew to love the radio shows I was never able to stop.

My dad is still one of a only a handful of people that I can talk to about the shows. He actually knows who I'm talking about when I drop names like Don Wilson or Bill Goodwin. He laughs at silly lines like I do and can be equally creeped out by a really good episode of "Suspense!"

Recently the poor guy unwittingly exposed himself to poison ivy whilst weed eating in South Carolina. Yesterday he sent two photos via e-mail: how he used to weed eat and how he weed eats now.

So on this father's day I wish for you that poison ivy be eradicated and that we have many years ahead of us full of, amongst other things, lots of good OTR talk. Thank you for saving me from myself. If it weren't for those tapes I would probably instead have a blog dedicated to all things "One Tree Hill."

Love you, Pops!