KPIG is a station like no other, and it, in turn, engenders an incredible sense of family and community amongst it’s wide diversity of listeners that is utterly unique.

This is a story of one such listener. His name was Cam.

One afternoon in 1995, when I was on the air, the phone was ringing. I picked it up, and on the other end was a listener who told me excitedly that he was so thrilled to hear the song I was playing that he walked across the room to turn it up. Okay, that’s not so unusual. What was unusual was that this listener, Cam, had recently been fitted with a new prosthetic leg, and had not taken a single step on his own since. He didn’t feel ready to walk. But when this song he loved came on the air, without thinking, he suddenly got up from his wheelchair and walked across the room to turn it up! Abruptly realizing what had happened, he called to share the momentousness of the occasion.

Naturally, this news was very moving to me. We became fast friends from that moment onward.

Cam began calling me every time I was on the air. I soon learned he was originally from our area, had been a police officer in San Jose, had family in Boulder Creek. He had been dealing for many years with the slow but steady encroachment of diabetes upon his health, and when he retired, he moved to England where the health care was more affordable. He had been over there a couple of years now, but sure did miss the states, and KPIG gave him a taste of “home.”

Often housebound through the trials and tribulations of his disease, Cam found comfort and pleasure in tuning in, and KPIG soon occupied a great deal of his time and interest.

He continued to call me every time I was on the air, but soon found it was difficult for a DJ to be on the phone with him for any extended length of time. This is when he began emailing me. Usually, he would just send me jokes. Voluminous reams and reams of jokes. Some of them were even funny. If I didn’t immediately respond to every joke he sent me, he’d want to know why not.

When the sheer volume of his correspondence became overwhelming, I began urging him to join the little community we affectionately refer to as our “squealers.” He resisted my suggestion at first, but eventually did explore the “squeals board,” and found a diverse community of fascinating folks there who were happy to “take him in” as a part of the family, and converse with him endlessly on a variety of subjects.

The PIG squealers come from every walk of life, hold every occupation imaginable, and range in locale from Canada to Korea and all points in between. The one thing they seem to have in common, other than a love for the music, is that they seem for the most part, to be a very bright and rather loquacious bunch. Despite their diversities, from the very beginning, these squealers formed a very tight bond. So tight, in fact, that over the years, they organized amongst themselves to come from all points across the country and gather annually for KPIG’s summer festivals. Soon, they began organzing their own pre-festival gatherings as well. I saw many deep friendships form over the years. Cam was an important part of this squeals community.

In addition to Cam’s endless jokes, he also became an authority on all things KPIG, and really was the king of piggie gossip. He appointed himself “the village elder,” and if there were anything going on with regards to the station, it’s management, the owners, or any of the staff, Cam was usually better informed than I was, and didn’t hesitate to let me know it. Well known for affecting a curmudgeonly attitude, Cam could be blustery – but was just as well known for his deeply caring heart. He brooked no BS, but never hesitated to open his heart to another. If anyone of his piggie family members was suffering in any way, Cam made extraordinary efforts to support that person – emotionally, financially, whatever it took. He was a crusader for righteous causes.

Despite his handicaps, Cam made the trip out from England to visit the PIG several times. The first time he came out, he was unable to walk up the stairs. Of course, I said I was happy to come downstairs to meet him, but he really wanted to see the sty studios. He traveled the entire flight of stairs backwards on his butt to be able to do so.

A couple of years later, Cam needed to think about getting a new prosthesis … the old one wasn’t functioning as well as it should. He was determined to get a waterproof one, as he wanted to go out in the waves with the Surfrider Foundation the next time he came to Santa Cruz. He was thrilled to be told he could decorate his new leg in any fashion he saw fit, and when next he arrived in the states, he proudly displayed his new, bright blue leg with a KPIG sticker permanently embedded in the center.

As his disease progressed, over the years, it became more and more difficult for Cam to correspond on the board. As his eyesight diminished, it was both harder for him to read the board, and harder for him to see the keyboard to type. People obligingly posted to him in enormous fonts. Frequently hitting the wrong keys, much good-natured ribbing was made concerning his inevitable misspellings. His signature so often became “Vam”, that became an affectionate nickname.

It wasn’t until the last couple of years that Cam became too ill to post at all, and then, as he began to spend more and more time in the hospital, he became unable to listen to the PIG, either.

Nevertheless, he had a slew of PIG listeners he kept in constant communication with, and he never failed to call me every single week.

I asked his sister Kathy if she’d like to say anything about Cam in terms of his relationship with KPIG … here’s her words …

“In terms of how he felt about KPIG? He absolutely was a fan, and appreciated being a part of the KPIG community. He made several friends that meant so much to him, and he received so much back from the people he met both on line and in person. Many piggies opened their hearts and souls to him, and I know that made him feel he was appreciated as a friend and confidant.”

I spoke with him twice in the days before his passing. It was important to him to reach out to me, and communicate with me, even in his final hours, bless him.

His story is truly a testament to the power of love, and community. I was so fortunate to be a part of his life. He certainly enriched mine. Thanks, Cam, ol’ pal.

I love you.

Thanks to our faithful KPIG listeners (as well as to any aimlessly wandering internet voyeurs who just happened to stumble across this site,) for checkin' in!

A DJ blog, hmmmmmmmmmmm? Like you guys don't get to hear us flap our yaps often enough!?

Well, I might occasionally post an announcement here, (so, HEY, check back often!)

But if you'd like to interact with me live, check out the KPIG squeals board. I'm always hangin' out there when I'm on the air, and even sometimes when I'm not!