MY 5TH BLOG ANNIVERSARY STORY!

Good Morning! My website will be 5 Years Old on November 26th. I use that date even though the BLOG Page began the following month. Here's how it came into existence.

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On Thanksgiving Day, 2004 I was a Guest at the apartment home of a wonderful friend of my family. Interestingly, the apartment was situated atop a building where I began my first job at the age of 14 on the ground floor in what was once a television sales and service shop.

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A friend of mine who graduated behind me in high school, moved to New York City and became a full-time actress and singer. She reminds me of actress Diane Lane and has been featured on televisions "Law & Order" and many stage plays. At any rate, she started a business designing websites and was enjoying Thanksgiving Day with us, so we struck up a conversation and this resulted in my hiring her to design my initial website. This BLOG Page actually came into existence through the encouragement of my friend and musician extraordinaire Deni Bonet (of Last Girl on Earth fame). She wrote to me: "Michael, you should really get a Blog Page". I replied, "I will when I get wings". She replied, "I hope you get wings soon, Michael". Interestingly, Deni was the very first Blogger whom I met in-person after seeing her in concert with Cyndi Lauper's World Tour in 2004. Deni was a band member touring with Cyndi in support of her CD release, "At Last". Later that year, I drove to West Virginia to attend one of Deni's concerts with her own band shortly after she left the Lauper tour in Australia to tour in support of her own CD "Bigger Is Always Better". Her latest release is "Last Girl On Earth" and I highly recommend both for your music collection. Deni is, of course, a simply amazing person and artist who has been a sweet friend ever since. Other bloggers I met in-person have included Comedian Andy Martello in downtown Chicago, author Kathryn Magendie in North Carolina, Tricia Weight in Atlanta, Teresa ( of The Life & Times of a Cool Single Mom fame ) in Indianapolis and broadcaster Doug Miles who had the guts to ask me onto his radio show in Sarasota, Florida as a Guest at least four times (I almost moved to Sarasota). I quickly discovered that I enjoy the experience of being a Guest on radio more than I ever did working in radio! It was a BLAST! A few of you may remember my 15 minute audio clip that I had posted on the REEL Page for years where Doug and Gary Schuster interviewed me about my kooky life, and I listen to it a couple of times a year to start my day with laughter. It was like listening in on a private phone chat with three people laughing hysterically out of control over my adventures. It was a Classic Moment and Great Fun!

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In the months that followed, I became friends with singer/songwriter Bud Buckley in Venice, Florida whom I visited twice. Bud's son Jason eventually took over as my Webmaster. My website today bears no resemblance to the early days of working from scratch. I believe we rebuilt it twice and revised it four times. It became the epicenter of many projects, including my work on a pilot for a children's television program (stolen from me and now a television hit, but we won't go there), and some industrial films. Concurrent to my broadcasting work, I traveled the country interviewing airline CEO's in-person for Airways magazine. Sort of like being a "Mike Wallace" for a few hours on CBS' "60 Minutes". By November, 2007 I had traveled to a total of 39 cities along both Coasts. On December 5, 2007 I relocated to Phoenix. I may be coming to your town soon! Invite me with an offer of a great gig and we'll talk!

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While I was still unpacking moving boxes, I received a call from the National Parkinson Foundation to Emcee their Gala of Hope at The Saint Regis Resort on Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida. The staff knew me from my visits to the Foundation in Miami in the years after I lost my Dad to PD and I was very touched that they chose me to Emcee. Dick Clark handled this privilege for us for 35 wonderful years. It meant so much for me to memorialize my Dad who died the week of Christmas.

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A lot has happened in 5 years. I lost 65 pounds, dropped seven waist sizes and continue to work out to this day. This BLOG Page is just one component of my full website (www.michaelmanning.tv). More than 90 photos were posted and removed with 7 reels of audio and video tape montages that became too dated for my tastes over time.

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We built out an entirely new Home Page and for 3 years and 4 months I created and produced a feature called "Friday Movie Suggestion Night". When I started feeling burned-out, I felt the time was right to discontinue the feature last December on a high note with a video performance by the late Eva Cassidy. Out of the ashes of FMSN, "The Annual Steve McQueen Film Festival" sprang forth. This past year was arguably the most successful McQueen Film Festival ever with in-person interviews featuring biographer Marshall Terrill, Jeb Rosebrook, Screenwriter of Steve's favorite film--1972's Junior Bonner (filmed in Prescott, Arizona) and more. It was magic. I can remember thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" but with great Joy and the help of these wonderful friends, I managed to pull the Festival together with a great deal of pride. It is a privilege. Believe me.

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Life has improved dramatically for me since I entered the blogging world. Overall, it's been a dynamic experience and my faith in the Blog medium is strong for the long-term. It has been a privilege for me to be welcomed into your homes for the past 5 years. I am grateful for the love and supportiveness, the laughter and the shared tears we have all experienced. Along the way, we've lost some dear friends. But recently, others who have been on very long periods of hiatus have returned, and I expect that more will join us. I believe we all have something special to share and we all do our best to constantly update, reinvent ourselves and move forward. So, on this Anniversary, I celebrate my BLOG Page and all we have shared. Without you, it would be nothing. Thank you so much for your Love and Passion. Here's a Toast to the future!
Michael

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Thanksgiving: To those who give.