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Born in Newark, New
Jersey into the family dry-cleaning business. My grandfather became a
laundry man after emigrating to the US, so I guess my dad had to raise the
bar and become a bit more high-tech.
I was one of
those six year olds you see behind the cash register. Cops and firemen got
free dry-cleaning. So did celebrity clients like two of the Three Stooges
and James Brown, who often played the crumbling vaudeville houses across the
street.
Summers were
spent working at the store, yanking god-knows-what out of the
pockets of gold-flecked jackets, dumping loads of cleaning into pre-EPA
machines full of perchloroethylene, and "go-fer"ing pepper and egg
sandwiches for the Italian tailors who worked in the back. My free time was
spent wandering through Macy's, (coveting toys like Crackers the Talking
Parrot), reading the old black-and-white National Enquirers, tossing
down homemade corned beef hash at the corner diner, and inhaling the scent
of air conditioning and alcohol while sipping Shirley Temples at Troxler’s,
a bar owned by my dad’s friend.
At the start of
the '67 riots, I dutifully helped my father write "Soul Brother" on his
boarded up windows in the hope his store wouldn't be hit. Then, off to our
suburban Jersey home, navigating sniper fire and National Guard tanks along
the way.
Moved to
Cincinnati at 12 after my dad died.. Massive debauchery ensued during my
late teens and 20's. I don't believe in revisionist history.
BA/Communications, MA/Journalism, University of Arizona, Tucson. Certificate
in Environmental Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Two decades
crisscrossing the country as on-air radio "talent" (an employment term
rather than a subjective one) interspaced with writing, stand-up comedy,
acting in industrial films and a Japanese Music Video(!) , writing for radio
comedy services, taking classes in voice, acting and improv, and
e-ticket-riding through weird romantic relationships, Tucson. Phoenix.
Cleveland. Miami. Atlanta. Baltimore. San Francisco. Washington DC.
Philadelphia. New York.
Chucked the radio
thing for a bit, moved back to Arizona for too much sun and too little
money. When I realized it took an hour to change my address for an electric
bill, because I have a habit of becoming intimate buddies with customer
service reps, I knew it was time to jump back into the radio abyss.
Loud Voice. Low
thrill threshold. Finely honed B.S.detector. Simultaneously cynical and
romantic. Never too busy to laugh. Never too rich to be thrifty. Born with
two uteri, now gone, (I was twice the woman you are!) Husband.
Stepson. Dogs. Sister. Brother. Mother. Nephew. Aunt. Cousins. Feature
reportage, opinion, non-fiction, and/or poetry published in The Arizona
Republic, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Citizen, Tucson Magazine, The
Tucson Weekly, The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Family, Talkers, Radio and
Records, The Jewish Post, Catholic Vision, Absolute Write, Publicity
Hound, Self-Published Authors, Publishers Marketing Association Newsletter,
Conversely.com and others.
Awards include
(insert fake blush here) Talkers Top 100 Talk Show Hosts in America,
Citizen of The Year finalist, Tucson, Pima Animal Care Best Friends
Award, Tucson’s Best Talk Show, Tucson Weekly, Baltimore’s Hottest
Morning Show, Associated Press Radio Feature Writing award, 1st and 2nd place, poetry; Baltimore Writer's Alliance, Second
place, Tucson Comedian of the Year. Tawk to me,
honey!
roberta@robertagale.com
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