 Merry Christmas, happy holidays, all the things that you can say about Christmas season. And welcome to the Dairy Run That Show. I think this may be the first real Christmas show I've done. I've done shows around Christmas time, but I don't ever recall doing a specific Christmas theme. I wanna thank Dino Raymond, my director, who just did this wonderful set. And I love especially the elves, because both of them look just like me. And they're both the same size I was when I was in junior high. Folks, I just have enjoyed this station for so many years that I wanted to do a special Christmas show where I could talk to people that have actually worked at this station with me. And one of my absolute favorite people who's been at this station, not quite as long as I have, but very close, is Leslie McVane. Leslie, thank you so much for joining me. Well, I love talking with you, Dairy. When you come in, your energy is so positive. I hate to tell you, but actually, I invited a bunch of other guests, but you were my seventh choice. I was the only one you could get. You were seventh on the list. I mean, I asked my law partner, I've asked people. Everybody's very busy. Well, just, you know, I'm good at that. I'll fill in for anybody. Leslie, I've told you, I've begged you before, and I've always wanted to do this Regis and Kelly thing. I wanted to do that, and she's turned me down. Leslie, what I wanna start off with is I was gonna joke about this, but when I wrote to you and said, I wanna do this Christmas party at the studio, I would like to have a Dirk Rations eggnog, people mistletoe, Jensen around the Christmas tree, whatever, and you said, Dairy, it's not good. It's COVID, and I was gonna call you the Grinch, but Leslie, it is not good out there. Our state is at its maximum right now, ever since it started. You know we're aware of that, right? You know what's going on? Of course I am. And we have to stick up for what's right, and what's right is wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, getting a booster, keeping distance, and being safe, and doing all those things, not just for yourself, but for everyone in our community, in our world. Well I have to say, folks, on the TV this morning, we had some news that Pfizer has perhaps come out with a pill. My question would be, will those people who refuse to vaccinate, will they at least take the pill? We've seen this situation in Spike and Maine, the fact that the National Guard has been called out, and all I have to say, folks, is that in Maine here, I would encourage you to vaccinate. My wife and I just got the booster, and I'm gonna say to you, Leslie, she did have a slight reaction. You know what the reaction was? What? She was just very tired. And she never sleeps till 9.30, this morning she slept till 9.30, and I said, do you have any other symptoms? So, and I know the people will say, well, even vaccinated people are getting the disease. So moving on from that to a more, but folks, it's very hard to talk about Christmas 2021, or Christmas 2020, without mentioning this. But what I wanna ask you, Leslie, I wanna, the theme of the show is our Christmas stories, and you must have a Christmas story. Does it go back to child, tell me your Christmas story. Well, when you first mentioned that Christmas story, I thought, I have so many Christmas stories. But then this past week, and what's been happening, fed into one particular story. And I grew up in Portland, and we went to State Street Church. Yes. That was our family church. My grandmother went there, she had her own pew with her, you know, and we would sit right behind her, with her if we could. But Christmas time at State Street meant singing long fellows, Christmas bells. Oh, yes. And that was something I looked forward to every Christmas. We did that, and we had the candle lighting. Right. Well, I haven't gone to State Street, I think since my dad died, which was 11 or so years ago. Dr. McVean. Dr. McVean, who you knew well. Very well. And I have been really, really sick about what's happening in the world, not just with COVID, but with the environment, with the children dying and starving and everything. And you get really down. Yeah. Well, I've also been thinking about that song and Longfellow, and you know, Longfellow was going through a deep, dark time. I didn't know that. Deep dark, his wife died, his son, who had gone to fight in the Civil War, and of course the Civil War itself. Longfellow was a great abolitionist, you know. And he, the Civil War was of great concern to him. Well, he had kind of an awakening, and he heard these Christmas bells, and he wrote this poem. Right. And I'm just gonna read you the last two little stanzas here. I love the hymn. Of the poem. Yes. Because it really speaks to what the turning point for me this week was when I was feeling a little bit like hopeless. Okay. And helpless. I'm ready. Okay. And in despair, I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said. For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men. Then peeled the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead, nor doth he sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth, goodwill to men. And I thought, you know what, we can't give up. Leslie, I've got to say this, I'm not just patronizing you, but I don't think I've ever heard that, or at least I don't remember it. And what blows my mind about it is that for years and years of peace on earth, peace on earth, I didn't realize that what he just wrote there applies to today. It does. All the despair we've got, the day to die. And I think that the thing about that we enjoy most about Christmas is I would say the word hope. We always hope and people seem to relax a little bit. I have to share this with you folks. I just took a trip out to Washington. I went down the Columbia River on a paddle wheeler. 220 passengers was a wonderful trip. But what I remember most is that the airport was filled because of Thanksgiving. So I went early in the morning, four o'clock for a six o'clock flight. And I passed a car on the way to the airport. I came to a red light. It was right on red out there in South Portland. No right on red, no right on red. And I sat there and I got to get there and I took the right on red and the car behind me was on my police car. Lights are flashing. And at first I was going to get angry, whatever. And I said, I apologize profusely. And the guys said, where are you going? I said, well, I'm going up to Washington and I'm about to fly out. And he goes, go ahead. And so whatever police officer was kind enough on Thanksgiving Day, I would have felt very strange getting a tick on Thanksgiving Day. But the Christmas spirit seems to prevail. So Leslie, I want to give you the chance over the last week, I have gone to various places in this state trying to give money away, prizes away. And by asking Christmas trivia questions and amazingly enough, folks, I was doing this and about half the people turned me down. I introduced myself as a lawyer. I said, I have a TV show. I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. A chance to win a prize. And I can't, and I don't know what it's all about. Maybe I have an untrustworthy face. Well, it is about trust and fear. People are afraid of people. I guess. That's why we have such a big divide, I think. People don't know who to trust anymore. But yet they'll suck in for some robocall or tell them they just won a lot in Jamaica. So, Leslie, I would like very much to give you a couple of trivia questions. Oh. Yeah, yeah. The first one is one of my favorites. It's one of my favorites. Okay. And I did this with a little girl yesterday. Okay. Did she get it right? The pressure's on. The pressure's on. The little girl did it. So we all know that December 25th is Christmas Day. Okay. But what year was Jesus Christ born? Oh my gosh. This is a trick question. It's kind of a trick question. So what year would you say Jesus was born? Jesus Christ was born. BC. Good guess. Okay. So the guy I asked in the story yesterday, he stood there and he said, I don't know, zero? And I said, that's what I would guess. It's good. But actually, it's BC. Yeah. It's like between 4 and 16, but I'm going, well, it's between 4, if it's BC. So it's going to be zero. It's before him. So, but a nice guess. But the little girl in the post office guessed, she couldn't guess, so her mother gave her a hint. And she said, 2021. And I said, that's right, because Christ is constantly born, and therefore she won the prize. Okay. Now, I got another one for you, buddy. I'd like to have your name who sings this song, okay? Okay. Okay. Here we go. I know this, but I... All right. Who is it? Oh, I know. It's like I know who did it. I know you know it. Oh, give me a hint. Oh, my gosh, it's... This is one of my favorite songs. I love it. And I know who did it. And when you tell me, I'm going to be so embarrassed. Well, give me a decade. Okay. I'm going to give you, yes. Let me put it this way. We need a hint. Yeah. Extremely famous. Top of the food chain, female singer. Top of the food chain. Probably top of the food chain. It's not Ella Fitzgerald. No, close enough. But she's up there. Yeah, no. This would be, and I would love to lipstick this song. But it's a woman, and it's Barbara Streisand. Oh, yeah. Now you can hear her voice. Yes, you can. Okay. I knew that. Okay, so I'm going to give you another one here. Oh, does that work? Yes, it sure does. Oh, it's so cute. Yeah, this was given to me... Do you have to put a nickel in her? No, no. This was given to me by Brenda Lee, the singer. And it's got 18 songs on it. Are they all hers? No, I'm going to play a song. Are you ready? Here we go. Yeah. And you tell me who this is. Okay. Bing Crosby. Yes. Yes. Is it? Yes. Oh, all right. Final question. Who's this? S.T. Brenda Lee. You got it. Oh, my God. I'm getting better. Do another one, just for fun. You want another one? Yeah, just for fun. So yeah, I'm on a roll. Yeah, you are on a roll. OK. OK, here we go. And here, this one. OK, famous singer, decades 60. 60s. Leslie Gore. No, who was it? It's a good guess. Yeah. Wonderful person, by the way. She passed away in 2013. That would be, believe it or not, Diana Ross and the Supremes. Oh, yeah, I can see it now. And I got to tell you something, Leslie. Thank you very much. With this gift, down payment on a house. Oh, no. Yeah, I'm not serious. Oh, give me a gift. Now I'm payment on a house. Oh, dear me. Yeah, I'm not a small ball hitter. Not a football hitter here. No. Should I go now? Yeah, yeah. Have you had enough of me? Is it time? I'm going to, because, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to book the call. Right now, I'm going to call Brenda Lee's assistant, one of her best friends, and the owner of the salon where she does her hair. So you can sit here if you'd like, Brenda. Oh, do you want me to sit and comment at the end? Yeah, you can. All right, this might be easier. I'm trying. So here we go. I'm going to call this gentleman, put him on speaker. Here we go. Calling. Is this Doug Romizer? Yes, it is. Doug, this is Derry Runlet Calling from the Derry Runlet Show. And I'm with my friend Leslie McVane. I co-host this this afternoon. Doug is so happy to hear your voice. And we just did Brenda Lee. We just did one of her songs. She gave me a gift of a little jukebox. And we played one of the songs. And it was Frosty the Snowman. And she guessed it. So one of the things that I want to ask you, Doug, is how is she doing? When's the last time you saw Brenda Lee? Oh, the weather was nice. The weather was nice. Oh, so she was the grand marshal in the Christmas. How far was Hendersonville from Nashville? OK. And did you go? She was on the curb of Nashville, basically. Yeah. Did you go, Doug? Did you go watch that? OK. And was she like riding in a parade? Is that what she was doing? Yeah, she was in a. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, right. And Doug, as I understand it, you were just mentioned. And she was just mentioned by Flash Phelps, who was interviewed on this very show. And Flash called you and talked about you and Brenda on XM Radio, 9 million people listening. Am I correct? Yes. That's right. And if Flash ever wants to talk to Brenda, he calls you first, right? That's correct. And the same with me. That's right. Doug, I just wanted to tell you how much I love the picture. Folks, Brenda Lee sent me a picture that said, Friends Forever. And I just want to thank you for that. So Doug, I hear noise in the background. That's because I'm calling her salon, which is called Bebos, right? Right. And you and your friends own that salon. And Brenda's primary hairdressers would be JJ Snead and your buddy, Tony, right? Right. And she comes in there once every couple of weeks to see you folks. Yes. Well, in fact, she's scheduled every week. Scheduled every week. Every Tuesday. OK. And she can make it. Yeah. And she pulls in. And a lot of people come to that salon because she goes there, right? Yes. Well, I was telling my friend Leslie about her hair and how she takes you folks on her trips with her. Because even when she goes to Vegas, and when she went to Vegas, Doug to appear out there in front of, I think, several thousand people, you were the road manager. You were the person in charge of that program, right? Oh, my goodness. Well, of course, she appears at the Golden Nugget, which I think holds about 1,500 people. And you're saying that this was 28,000. So 28,000 people are still going to watch a woman. But Doug, we know that last year at this time, rocking around the Christmas tree was not just in the top Christmas songs. It was the number two song in the country. Do you recall that last year? Yes. Yes. And Flash and I have talked about that, so he's in the render. Yeah, they go back and forth. I know, folks, I think Mariah took over first position. But I've got to say, to be 77, she just had her birthday two days ago, the 11th, correct? Right. That's right. And she's 77. She's a year older than I am. But it's amazing, Doug, for a woman 77 to have one of the top three songs in the country, even in the year 2021. Doug, I want to thank you so much for taking my call. I want to thank you for being my friend. And most of all, my dear friend, Doug, I want to thank you for taking care of my little buddy, Brenda Lee, OK? Take care. Bye-bye. Oh, that must have made you feel good knowing that she was out and being in that parade. Well, it does, Leslie. And the Christmas story, I wish to tell people as we roll along here. And I wrote this in a booklet for my church. It was called The Advent Booklet. And they asked us to tell a Christmas story. And the Christmas story I told relates, you talked about your childhood going to the State Street Church. In 1958, I lived in a hotel right near this studio within about 200 yards. My father had passed away in 1958 on October 30, day before Halloween. And I have to tell you that it was the worst Christmas of my life without any question. And two songs came out. One was Jingle Bell Rock, which I'm going to do in another show, and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Because Rock and Roll was just just topping the charts. Elvis was just making his name. And I hated both those songs because they reminded me of my dad's passing and reminded me of what a horrible Christmas I was having. So when Brenda Lee came on the 2013 Malt Shop Memories Cruise, she came up on deck to take selfies with people. And she came over to our table. And she was standing right next to me. And I watched it. And then she went over and sat at a table with her entourage, including the gentleman I just spoke to. And she was sitting there. And it was an empty seat across from her. And I said to myself, gee, what's it like that she's going to have a song that's going to be heard until the end of time? So I said, wait, I'll just go ask her. So when I was, excuse me, do you mind if I ask you a question? And I said, look, and I told the story. And she said, why don't you sit down there for a second? She wrote her name. So I had a autograph, her telephone number, and an address. And she said, why don't you stay in touch with me? And you'll know the answer to that question. So I got up to leave. And she said, by the way, are you by yourself on this cruise? I said, well, yes, my wife doesn't come on these cruises. So why don't you come down and watch the Hermits concert with me? And I went down and sat right beside her. Herman's daughter, Peter Noon's daughter was on my right from Nashville. Brenda Lee was on my left. And we sang every Hermits Hermits song together. I'm Henry VIII. Henry VIII, the one I am. And Henry VIII, Mrs. Brown, you've got a lovely daughter. And of course, I knew every word because I was a disc jockey. She said, I can't believe you know every word. I said, I was a disc jockey. Well, I had always wanted to sing with a rock and roll style my entire life. It's my dream. And Jimmy Fallon does it every night. He doesn't get it. And so I have to tell you, it was the greatest night of my life in terms of a connecting moment. And when I left, she said, well, we'll see you tomorrow night for dinner. I went out and looked at the moon. And I said to myself, this has got to be a gift from the Lord. This has got to be a God-given gift that in 1958, that song was the worst song in history, but now I love it. And that was my story about Brenda Lee. And we became very dear friends. And the rest of the story goes like this, Leslie, that she asked me, would you do me a favor? I have a Christmas tree up for bid. And it's at the Grand Ole Opry along with Dolly Part and Charlie Daniels, the Oak Ridge Boards, all these famous countries. The same fundraiser for that. It was a fundraiser. And you could bid on this tree. Leslie, I'm telling you, I'm watching the bids go on. And I said, this number, they're at that number, they're at this number, they're at that number. And just before midnight, and this is January 15, so it was December 31, 2014, just before midnight, I made a final bid. And I got a call the next morning on my phone. I said, Mr. Ronald, you won the Brenda Lee Christmas tree. And with that prize came a visit with her in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the jukebox that I just picked up. And down there behind you, the words of rocking around a Christmas tree, signed by her and a replica of the gold record, keep on rocking, Brenda Lee, that is an original Deca record, that's an actual record with a gold plate on top of it, not solid gold, folks. It's not solid gold. But, and the lyrics to Brenda Lee's on her stationery, rocking around a Christmas tree. It's beautiful. And my wife and I flew down and we spent a few days with her and hanging around with her. And then we ended up going to Vegas with her and then going on a country music cruise with her. And she has become one of the dearest friends in my life. So that song that was so sad for you at one point in your life helped make this connection with someone who's so important to you now. Yes. I think that's a lovely story. Right. And what she said most was that she felt a look of sadness in my face when I told that story. So we're going to close with that. Hey Siri, play Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee. Hey Siri. Maybe it's Alexa. Hey Siri. Play Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee. There we go. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee. All right. Okay. Come on, sing with her, Dairy. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree at the Christmas Pine Park. Missle Toe Honey, you can see every couple tries to stop. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree at the Christmas tree. Maybe we'll have some pumpkin pie and we'll do some caroling. Merry Christmas, everybody. Merry Christmas, Dairy.