The loss of Rube Rogers may be impossible to understand for people who have never lived in Tangipahoa Parish.
Let me share that I always thought that his unique, even unprecedented life deserved a biography. Rube and I talked about it and his working title preference was, "Ain't it Wild."
That phrase was what Rube's thousands of fans from his 30 years of local radio called a "Rubeism." See, Rube was a magician. He created new words, new catch-phrases, and whole new world views. He was the greatest communicator I have ever known.
When I first came to Tangipahoa Parish as a teenager in 1975, Rube's radio career and political influence were at their zenith. People joked that if Rube said on the radio that it was going to rain, folks in Hammond carried umbrellas---even if the National Weather Service had predicted blue skies.
I came from Slidell where we had a local station, WSDL, but it was nothing like this. Rube was a true "radio god".
Frankly, this is why I am puzzled when some people express surprise at the decline of local newspapers. Where have they been? Certainly, in Hammond, America, local radio had dwarfed all other local media by 1975, to say nothing of the emergence of local television in the 1980s.
On the other hand, Rube had a profound appreciation and respect for all local media. He taught me that a weekly newspaper or a small cable system could have tremendous value, and that most of the people who work in local media provide a tremendous service, and those people are mostly unsung heroes. But I digress.
Rube's cousin Shorty Rogers pointed out on Saturday that as soon as Rube quit saying, "Goin' to Sunflower, yes we are," the store went out of business. "Goin' to Sunflower," was another "Rubeism." If you didn't share the experience of hearing the commercials yourself, you can't imagine the mystique of what we are talking about. It was, for lack of a better explanation, simply "magic."
Where else in America are people still fondly remembering local commercials they heard 30 years ago?
Let me share with you the gist of the last conversation I had with Rube Friday night, just three hours before he was murdered. These must have been some of his last words on this earth.
First, he was deeply concerned about the re-election of his school board member, Sonya Traylor. Rube had spoken to her father, Erwin Jenkins, as he did most days. Rube was solidly behind Sonya and he cared deeply about helping her campaign.
Then he chastised me because I hadn't updated the web site in a while. I told him that I'd been gone all day and he said that wasn't a good excuse.
As usual, Rube's words, in this case his last words, spoke volumes and had great impact. For me personally, the loss of my best friend has been one of the hardest challenges of my life. But, in case you haven't noticed, per his request, we have done a lot of updates the past few days. I still can't believe he's gone.