'Good Lovin' Gone Bad' A mix tape by Chip Kinney

Last night, I gave a tour of Rock 92 and 1075KZL to some Tiger Cub Scouts and I was reminded of the time that I was a Cub Scout. I don’t recall asking to become a Cub Scout, I think it just fell on me. Since my father was a Boy Scout and he enjoyed and learned a lot of things as a youth, I guess my parents thought it was a good idea for me.

They tried to sell the idea of the Jamboree and all the camping that Scouts do, but I didn’t like camping then. Hell, I don’t like it now. As a matter of fact, I generally hate the outdoors. Even as a kid, I was content in hanging around inside where it’s much cooler along with the glowing comfort of a television. I was all about entertainment then, just as I am now. Getting lost in the woods with other boys just wasn’t my idea of a good time. Give me a TV, a TV Guide, and hours upon hours of Emergency!, The Brady Bunch, Star Trek, Get Smart!, and the Wild, Wild West in the afternoons and I was a happy little mofo.

I remember telling my parents that I didn’t really like the Cub Scouts, but it fell upon deaf ears. Or it’s possible that they thought they were doing the right thing by getting me out and involved with other kids. Sure, I enjoyed the trip to the Krispy Kreme that used to be on Battleground, but I don’t remember anything else except one other time.

That time, I was dropped off at the apartment of our Den Mother. I was early and her son was playing the new record that was a sensation at the time called “Mr. Jaws”. He thought it was hysterical every time he heard it. It wasn’t a song, it was a recording that someone used to capitalize on the hit movie Jaws. In the recording, a “reporter” would ask the shark a question and it would be answered with a lyric or chorus from a current hit song.

So Mr. Jaws… The Sheriff says that he’s going to track you down and kill you, what do you think?

The answer would be a clip from a Bee Gees song…. Jive talking…

You get the picture.

The other kids came filing in with each listen of the record and it was being played over and over. I had already heard it a million times and the novelty had worn off. Then one kid said something like this… “I know that song. I can’t remember who it is.”

So I piped up with the answer. Then other questions were being asked about the other songs and I named every one of them quickly and correctly with a couple of eye rolls when no one knew the obvious ones. I knew the all the song titles and artists.

You can see where my strengths were even back then. I couldn’t care less about tying knots or learning other things in order to get an achievement badge/patch. Scouting was a chore to me that I had to do once a week. I had to go and “have fun” with the other kids.

The only other time that I had “fun” was when I was riding around in the other Den Mother’s VW Thing. We were on our way to a taping of The Ol’ Rebel Show at WFMY and we had the top down. It was a bright and sunny fall day. That most definitely sticks out in my mind. The VW Thing was an ugly shade of orange.

The Boy and Cub Scouts Award Ceremony came around and my father took me. We sat through the talking and the badges/patches and other awards were passed out. My name was never called. I received nothing. Once the ceremony was over, my father had a confused look on his face and he asked, “Why didn’t you get any badges?”

I had to tell my father that I didn’t like being a Cub Scout and I didn’t care about getting those badges. I didn’t care about doing those things. And that was the end of that.

So I went back to my life of listening to the radio and watching television. I can’t exactly say that it’s paid off, but it has been entertaining.