LiveWire

A post by Maynard (because Tammy is too modest to tell you)

On August 20th Tammy celebrates her *&!>*? birthday. Happy Birthday, Miz Bruce!

A moment’s reminiscence is in order. A few years ago, before she went global, the Tammy Show was only available to those who could tune in a Southern California radio signal. This was when Tammy was president of the regional NOW organization, and a solid supporter of Bill Clinton. Even then, Tammy’s biggest fans included the so-called “conservative” crowd. Somehow we all felt a fundamental accord with Tammy that transcended petty details of daily politics. In spite of our differences, we were all on the same team; that is to say, we saw she stood with the good guys (and gals). We trusted that if Tammy backed Clinton, she would hold him to a high standard, as indeed she did.

Likewise, if she spoke in favor of (for example) affirmative action, it was clear that she vigorously opposed lower standards in order to meet racial quotas. She knew that an upscale job must be earned, not gifted. And so Tammy reached out to those whose thoughts differed from hers, and we responded in kind. None of the old-timer listeners were all that surprised by Tammy’s subsequent “change of heart”. Really, there was no change of heart. She never altered her standards of what is good and decent. She merely learned a few practical life lessons and asked herself some hard questions.

For a short time, Tammy ran the late-night shift on a big L.A. radio station. Being something of a night owl, I enjoyed tuning in The Tammy when the world was quiet. A few anecdotes:

One unfortunate evening, Tammy received an urgent call from home, which she took on the air. Her house had been disturbed, and perhaps burgled. Sadie, who should have been inside, was outside. Proceeding carefully, and continuing on the air, Tammy gathered the details. Yes, the house had definitely been ransacked. Here Tammy let out an involuntary expletive, for which her late night audience forgave her. We wished her our best psychic vibes as she struggled through this nasty incident.

The evening environment allowed her unusual latitude for experimenting. One night she grabbed her cell phone and took the show on the road, visiting markets and gas stations, exchanging salutations with late-night employees. Sometimes she would read to us, or even sing. She promised us that, as wonderful as her singing was, she would never leave us to pursue a singing career. To be honest, her singing sounded a bit like Alfalfa of “Our Gang” (for those who remember). But good, of course.