Full Service Radio and a Truck Full of Watermelons...

Radio DJ isn't a difficult job. In a way it's like being a security officer. There's a lot of nothing between somethings, and often the challenge is shrugging off lethargy when there's work to be done. Listener phone calls are technically "work," and a good DJ will embrace each opportunity as one to shine.

The most common phone call begins with "Can you play..." or "Who sings..." I enjoy the calls that go, "Yeah... (long pause) There's a song, and I don't know the words, or who sings it. Can you help me?" Believe it or not, but my big country music brain and Google (mostly Google) helps me answer 9 of 10 of those queries. This can never get old, because it's essentially what sets my radio station apart from those run by computers and programmers hundreds of miles away.

So how far does my patience and generosity go? I'll admit to growing frustrated with drunks who berate me with requests for Merle Haggard every five minutes. But I'm more than accommodating when listeners call for directions somewhere, ticket information, weather, because they're lost, sick, lonely or even to check what time their favorite television program is on. Yes, that means I'm losing a listener, but I hope my amiable manner brings them back on a day that program is in reruns.

The strangest question I've gotten - until this week - was "What time is (a specific movie) playing at the theatre?"  What am I, Movie phone? Well, I was on that night. I reached back, grabbed the newspaper and helped her out.
 
I was stumped last night, when a male caller asked something beyond my scope of expertise.

Me: "Hi QDR?"
Caller: "Yeah... (long pause). Do you know where I can find a truck load of watermelon?"
Me: "I don't. I don't know. Why are you looking for one?"
Caller: "OK" (hangup)

Initially I thought, "Why in the hell would I know that?" Farming isn't an area I delve into often, and I haven't ever procured any amount of melon suitable for streetside sales. Yet this man thought of me (more specifically he thought of my radio station) when stumped with this impossible dilemma. If I were able to help him, there's no doubt I would have created a listener for life. At the end of the day, that's all I care about.

So, how 'bout it. Where can a country boy find a truck full of watermelons?