B is for Bubba......M is for Muckraking.

Ahhhh, technology….How else can you stir up a ten-year-old hornet’s nest from a thousand miles away?

Last Sunday night I invited Tim “Bubba” Lowrance onto my live Internet radio show. Bubs is a very accomplished storyteller and a long-serving member of the Bethalto, Illinois school board who was just defeated in his attempt at re-election.

Bubba quotes are always gold.

I saw a website where he---and another ousted board member--- were considering the creation of a live show, much like the one I do. In fact, they even said they got the idea from me. Imitation is the grandest form of flattery.

I thought……hmmm…..Why not have Bubba on my show so he could plug his new enterprise…and give him a channel to express his frustration with the election. So I contacted him, and he loved the idea.

And Bubba didn’t disappoint. Not only did he speak his mind----he also attracted a record 111 viewers/listeners. I dare say many---if not all---from my former hometown.

While we agreed on most everything….we did dredge up a very unpleasant bit of Bethalto history that started an argument among participants in my chat room. We brought up a decade old dispute concerning a bunch of high school football players who got drunk at a private residence….got caught….and leaned on a high power local attorney to allow them to stay on the field instead of serving a suspension.

I was the one that brought it up. My point was simply….there are still people that don’t talk to me because I supported the school district’s right to suspend athletes who break their pledge to not partake of alcohol while participating in a sport. Bubba made the point that no adult had actually caught the players, so, he understood the bru-ha-ha. My counter was simple. The players gave each other up. They didn’t need an adult rat-----they were more than willing to admit to the infraction.

While Bubba and I were enjoying the joust…..others were still fighting the decade long war on the chat room.

Isn’t the Internet wonderful?

Where else can a confirmed muckraker like me stir up a ten year old dispute while sitting in my underwear in Snyder, Texas? And do it before 111 of my closest friends?

God, I love this medium.

As for Bubba….don’t worry about him. He is as resourceful a person as I have known and I believe we haven’t seen the last of his name on a ballot back in B-town. And in the meantime, there is no doubt that his Internet show will be provocative and draw a crowd.

Stay tuned. More muckraking to come!