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Charlie Hall showing me the ropes

It seems that one of the Channel 5 personalities, Charlie Hall, was tired of doing the "Daily Book Tape". This was a tape recording of all the short tags, announcements, and station identifications, which were used throughout the day. And would I be interested in doing this and other work in the Production Department? The gears turned in my head, "audio and now video too, cool"! So the next day I was transferred from the Radio department to the TV department and Charlie Hall walked me through the recording process with no problem.

An employee named Dixie was having a BYOB "Apartment Warming Party" one Saturday evening. And here's an evening that I will never forget.

After being there for about an hour, another female employee named Stacie arrived, but not alone.

Later on, I was educated in how to use the "On-Air-Switcher". This was THE device that connected all the commercials, movies, and other programs to Channel 5's transmitter. One particular weekend, CBS was sending a Golf Game. Unfortunetly, you aren't always given an exact time when CBS is going to let you know when it's time for your locally scheduled commercials. Most of which were on videotape and needed at least a five second advance notice to air them properly. So there I was, fingers at the ready, eyes and ears glued to the TV screen. Then the phone started ringing. The only other person there was the engineer and he was - huh - unavailable. Then "the powers to be" stroll in and "suggests" that I answer the phone. I explain to him what I was getting ready to do but he had no idea what I was talking about. I mean, there I was, virtually up to my butt in alligators, and this guy wants me to answer the phone! I picked up the phone and the caller wanted some information about a letter in our mailroom. I was instructed to get that information and left the control room area. After returning, I eventually noticed that the break I was waiting for, was - gone. Sometime while I was in the mailroom, apparently CBS said - "This is CBS" - and went to black for 35 seconds.

Her date for the evening was Charlie Hall.

One of Charlie's secrets involving how he was able to rattle off temperatures while doing the weather, was to write his numbers very tiny on the plexiglass weather map that he stood behind. But as time went by, they started making changes in the way that he was to present his weather. Which meant, those tiny little numbers were being replaced by something he had to read, located 20 to 30 feet away. Charlie needed to wear glasses but they reflected the lights terribly. So he went the contact lenses route. One evening while he was applying the lenses in the mens room, I heard him give out a moan. Charlie comes bursting out and explains that one of the lenses had slid all the way to the top of his eye and was giving him hell. I was the only one around and he asked me to pull it down. I place my left thumb above Charlie's right eye and lifted the eyelid. I then say, "Charlie, stick out your tongue!" Charlie replied with a smile, "We don't have time for that now…" I replied, "Charlie, I can stick my dry finger in your eye and try to slide the lense down or maybe it'll be easier if it's moist." Charlie saids,"Moist is better". Finally I said, "Moist from my mouth or yours". The light finally turns on and Charlie sticks his tongue out. I wipe my right index finger on it and with a moist finger, I find Charlies lense and slowly slide it down. I step back and ask, "How's that?" Charlie replies, "Does this mean we're engaged?" We both give it a big laugh and walk back to the studio. Later on we find out that we both share the Aries Horoscope sign. Unfortunetly, Charlie always had a hard time making people believe that he was born on April 1 - Aprils Fool Day. I, on the other hand, was born April 8. So we had a running joke that Charlie was only 7 days older than myself, but for some reason, looked much older.

I told Charlie that the first time that I saw him in person was not when I started working in the TV area, but back in 1954. My Dad was in the Army and stationed on Okinawa. He eventually sent for me and mom, but before we left, my mom was able to get me on a Channel 5 kids program. While I was sitting with the other kids, I noticed some guy working behind a map. That guy was Charlie Hall. After I told Charlie this, he paused a while and then with a smile, he said, "You know, I remember you". And now 20 years later, I see him again, and I'm now the audio guy that mics him or one of guys that shows him on camera. I said, "Charlie, I bet a lot of weather has happened in the last 20 years." Charlie smiled and said, "You got that right Kight."

Back then, Film at 11, meant FILM. The film man was Jim Alexander. One evening while I was working, Jim comes up to me around 9pm and asks, "How would you like to make $50 tomorrow?". "What time", I ask? "Four O'clock", he replies. I do a few computations in my head and say, "sure". Jim asks, "You're sure"? "Yea", I say. Jim walks away and I continue my work. I think to myself, "I'll sign off about 1am, go home, get up tomorrow around 9 or 10, have a nice late breakfast, relax a while, and come back about 3:30. Shouldn't be any problem. About 11pm, Jim comes back and asks again, "Are you certain that you won't have any problem with this?" "No Jim", I tell Jim what I have planned. Jim saids," No, you don't understand. It's not 4 P.M. tomorrow afternoon, its 4 A.M. tomorrow morning." "Ohhhh", I reply. "And what am I supposted to do at 4 O'clock in the morning?" "We'll be driving over to the Pilot Boats Station and taking a boat out to sea and get on a container vessel. I'll be filming and you'll be recording the sound.

One A.M. finally arrives, I get everything together that I'm going to need. I go up front to the lobby and get some shut-eye on the sofa, telling Jim to wake me when he's ready to go. Four a.m.- I'm awakened - we leave. Surprisingly, it's pretty quiet on East Bay Street at 4 O'clock in the morning. We get to the Pilots Station, get on a Pilot Boat and make our way out to sea. The first mile's not too rough. But then we really get out to sea and there's no moon out. It is DARK and my stomach starts reminding me how much of a landlubber I am. Just when I'm almost ready to lose my cookies, the boats' movement almost stops. "Well here we are guys", saids the Pilot Captain. I'm on the deck, looking around, seeing nothng, "Here we are WHERE", I yell? The Pilot Captain points to the big black nothingness of the Atlantic and saids, "Here's the container vessel"! "WHERE'S THE CONTAINER VESSEL", I continue to yell! The Captain's hand slaps something next to the Pilot Boat - whack whack - "here - here". I reach out and there it is, a solid object where there should be nothing but air. I slap it too, WHACK, "that's hard, I think to myself." We eventually climb up the side of the container vessel and as soon as my feet step onto the deck, everything is rock, solid, still. Slowly the sun is starting to rise as we see this hugh vessel. The foreward area is about the size of a football field and another area, aft, is about the same, with the bridge in the middle. Jim starts filming here and there and I follow with the audio equipment. Finally, Jim saids we have to get some shots and sounds of the engine, which are below and according to the crew, they are VERY LOUD. Fortunetly, I brought some ear plugs along. Jim doesn't have any problem filming, but no matter how low I set the audio recording, it's distorted. We try this. We try that. Nothing works. Finally I say, "let's use the door as our volume control". We step out in the entrance area, I start recording and set the level at it's lowest, and Jim slowly opens the door, about a quarter inch at a time. At about a half inch, that was all the sound we needed. By now the vessel's in the harbor and the pilot boats are doing their thing and Jim and I are recording outside. All in all, it was a very educational project. We found that most of the ship was automated and the crew was from 7 or 8 different countries. Plus, you can not stop those babies on a dime, unless the dime is several miles across. We finished the job, left the ship, came back to the station, put the equipment away, and I went home for a nice long relaxing LAND-LUBBER weekend.

It wasn't until I started working at Channel 5, that I felt what it must be like, to be a member of a team. A team of Professionals that were dedicated to their craft. And in my short association with them, I finally felt what it also must feel like to be a member of a family that has so many brothers and sisters. The father is their common career and the mother is the dedication they feel for it. I had the honor and pleasure to meet and work with so many people that are still in their same profession.Some faces you may recognize. Others you may have forgotten. But all the seriousness and sillyness that went on, will never be forgotten by me.

Charlie had recently lost his wife and after a while, Stacie was able to help bring some joy back into his life. So now I'm sitting on the right side of a living room sofa, in an apartment off of Hwy 17 east of the Cooper, with Stacie to my left and Charlie Hall to her left. (It looked like Charlie was the designated driver that night.) Eventually Stacie turned to me, smiled, then whispered, "I think he's going to pop the question tonight." Charlie rolled his eyes back. He was a little embarrassed, but definetly not ashamed, because he knew he was among friends. Well, whether Charlie popped the question THAT night or not, doesn't matter. Charlie and Stacie eventually got married and, the Channel 5 viewers were able to add another person onto their "favorite persons list".