cellar.”
Then, turning to face the booth, she said, “Good luck on your new job, Jack. I hope you love it. But can Topeka compare with Indian Springs?”
“There’s just one way to find out,” he answered, adding, “One minute.” Ginger and Cassie consulted their notes. Then, doubling as station announcer, Jack keyed his mike and intoned, “WAAA-AM is proud to present the premiere of Chocolate and Vanilla, a new talk show with your hosts Ginger Clanahan and Cassie Danton.” He turned off his mike and pointed to the two girls.
“Hi. I’m Ginger—and I can be very spicy, just like the spice I’m named after. But I’ll watch what I say on the air. Don’t want to get in trouble with the FCC, you know.”
“Hi. I’m Cassie, and I have my moments too. Our show is called Chocolate and Vanilla. If you haven’t guessed, I’m black…”
“…and I’m white,” Ginger chimed in. “Sometimes we let our ethnic backgrounds inform our opinions, although most of the time our thoughts and feelings and beliefs are strictly our own. And we have a lot of thoughts we want to share with you, on a variety of subjects.”
“But we want to hear your thoughts and opinions too,” Cassie added. “We’re coming to you live, and our phone lines are open, so call us at 555-9889.”
“We’re ready for you, Indian Springs,” Ginger put in. “Are you ready for us? If you didn’t catch that number the first time around, it’s 555-9889.”
“Well, until the first call comes in, I guess it’s up to us,” Cassie said. “Let’s start with politics. Things have been pretty quiet on the local front, at least here in Indian Springs, but I hear over in Wissdale the mayor got caught with one hand in the cookie jar and the other up the council president’s skirt.”
“That’s right,” Ginger agreed. “Mayor Blackthorne is in the midst of a double scandal, involving both sex and money. He was skimming city funds for his personal use and he got caught canoodling with Sheila Margate, the president of the city council.”
“Just another day in politics,” Cassie observed, “and—oh, I see line one lighting up. The first caller to our new show! Welcome to Chocolate and Vanilla. Who do we have on the line?”
“This is Martin McCloskey. I live in Wissdale, and I want to remind you that this is America, where a citizen is innocent until proven guilty. I’m a big fan of Mayor Blackthorne, and I hate to hear you sully his name like that. At least wait till there’s a trial, and if he’s proven guilty you can talk then.”
“Three members of the city council walked into Mayor Blackthorne’s office and caught him with Sheila Margate in what’s politely called a ‘compromising position,’” Ginger broke in. “We hardly need a trial to establish his guilt on that count.”
“That’s the trouble with you folks in the media,” the caller snapped at her. “You’re all muckrakers and sensationalists. You’ll drag a good man’s name through the mud just to get listeners or readers.”
“I hardly think we’re the ones dragging Mayor Blackthorne’s name through the mud,” Cassie said. “I think he’s doing that to himself. He doesn’t need our help.” She chuckled.
Martin McCloskey sputtered at the other end of the line, at a loss for words to defend the miscreant mayor. Cassie cut him short. “Thank you for calling.” She clicked off the line. “You’re listening to Chocolate and Vanilla on WAAA-AM, Indian Springs’ hometown radio station. I’m Cassie Danton,” she pointed to her blonde cohort.
“And I’m Ginger Clanahan,” Ginger put in. “Our phone lines are open, at 555-9889. Call us and sound off. We’ll be right back after this commercial break.”
Jack cued up the two back-to-back taped commercials and Cassie asked him through the mike, which was not live, “How’re we doing so far?”
Jack flashed them a thumbs-up. “You’re both naturals,” he said. “You’ve never done
Then, turning to face the booth, she said, “Good luck on your new job, Jack. I hope you love it. But can Topeka compare with Indian Springs?”
“There’s just one way to find out,” he answered, adding, “One minute.” Ginger and Cassie consulted their notes. Then, doubling as station announcer, Jack keyed his mike and intoned, “WAAA-AM is proud to present the premiere of Chocolate and Vanilla, a new talk show with your hosts Ginger Clanahan and Cassie Danton.” He turned off his mike and pointed to the two girls.
“Hi. I’m Ginger—and I can be very spicy, just like the spice I’m named after. But I’ll watch what I say on the air. Don’t want to get in trouble with the FCC, you know.”
“Hi. I’m Cassie, and I have my moments too. Our show is called Chocolate and Vanilla. If you haven’t guessed, I’m black…”
“…and I’m white,” Ginger chimed in. “Sometimes we let our ethnic backgrounds inform our opinions, although most of the time our thoughts and feelings and beliefs are strictly our own. And we have a lot of thoughts we want to share with you, on a variety of subjects.”
“But we want to hear your thoughts and opinions too,” Cassie added. “We’re coming to you live, and our phone lines are open, so call us at 555-9889.”
“We’re ready for you, Indian Springs,” Ginger put in. “Are you ready for us? If you didn’t catch that number the first time around, it’s 555-9889.”
“Well, until the first call comes in, I guess it’s up to us,” Cassie said. “Let’s start with politics. Things have been pretty quiet on the local front, at least here in Indian Springs, but I hear over in Wissdale the mayor got caught with one hand in the cookie jar and the other up the council president’s skirt.”
“That’s right,” Ginger agreed. “Mayor Blackthorne is in the midst of a double scandal, involving both sex and money. He was skimming city funds for his personal use and he got caught canoodling with Sheila Margate, the president of the city council.”
“Just another day in politics,” Cassie observed, “and—oh, I see line one lighting up. The first caller to our new show! Welcome to Chocolate and Vanilla. Who do we have on the line?”
“This is Martin McCloskey. I live in Wissdale, and I want to remind you that this is America, where a citizen is innocent until proven guilty. I’m a big fan of Mayor Blackthorne, and I hate to hear you sully his name like that. At least wait till there’s a trial, and if he’s proven guilty you can talk then.”
“Three members of the city council walked into Mayor Blackthorne’s office and caught him with Sheila Margate in what’s politely called a ‘compromising position,’” Ginger broke in. “We hardly need a trial to establish his guilt on that count.”
“That’s the trouble with you folks in the media,” the caller snapped at her. “You’re all muckrakers and sensationalists. You’ll drag a good man’s name through the mud just to get listeners or readers.”
“I hardly think we’re the ones dragging Mayor Blackthorne’s name through the mud,” Cassie said. “I think he’s doing that to himself. He doesn’t need our help.” She chuckled.
Martin McCloskey sputtered at the other end of the line, at a loss for words to defend the miscreant mayor. Cassie cut him short. “Thank you for calling.” She clicked off the line. “You’re listening to Chocolate and Vanilla on WAAA-AM, Indian Springs’ hometown radio station. I’m Cassie Danton,” she pointed to her blonde cohort.
“And I’m Ginger Clanahan,” Ginger put in. “Our phone lines are open, at 555-9889. Call us and sound off. We’ll be right back after this commercial break.”
Jack cued up the two back-to-back taped commercials and Cassie asked him through the mike, which was not live, “How’re we doing so far?”
Jack flashed them a thumbs-up. “You’re both naturals,” he said. “You’ve never done
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