Caffeinated Politics

In May of 2009, I wrote the following.

Last week, on our way to Klein Flowers in Madison, the first thing we did when we got in the car was tune in to “Kathy and Judy” as we went shopping for flower plants.   This week, on the way to my parents’ home 90 minutes north, we listened to the ‘girls’ and had a grand time with them.  Little did I know it would be the last road trip with them….and that makes me sad.  (New management and the soon-to-be-well-demonstrated awful decisions impacting all of WGN would soon be apparent. Kevin “Pig Virus” Metheny, program director of Tribune Co.-owned news/talk WGN-AM, was reviled in the radio world.)

For years, when in the car or here at home, “Kathy and Judy” were part of the family.  I always considered myself, as did every other guy who listened, one of the ‘girlfriends’.  We all were labeled that way, and proud of it.  With zip and flair and lots of laughs, we came to know and love these ladies.  We knew about their families and dreams, bad times and good.  We heard about them on the radio and brought them into our homes because they were good people we felt we should invite in.  Once they were here, we asked them to stick around.  

They will be sorely missed. I want to thank Kathy and Judy for the hours of radio broadcasting, professionalism, and companionship.

“Labor Day” will never be the same….listeners will understand what I mean.

This morning on WGN radio, I heard that Judy Markey, part of that legendary and groundbreaking broadcasting team of Kathy and Judy, “The Girlfriends,” had died at age 82. She was a gem of a person, and one that still makes me smile these many years later.

Steve Bertrand, who was the third voice of humor and banter with the women over the years, made the announcement.

“Judy Markey was a well-established voice in Chicago media long before the Kathy and Judy. For 16 years she wrote a slice-of-life column for the Chicago Sun-Times. She wrote two novels. The first, The Daddy Clock, was published by Bantam Books in 1998. Her introduction to WGN came with regular appearances on the Bob Collins Show, which led to the first Kathy and Judy show, which ran opposite the Super Bowl in 1989.

From there, it was a 20-year run at the top. They twice won the Gracie Award for “Best Major Market Talk Show” by the National Association of Women in Radio and Television.”

Godspeed, Judy.