Apparently this past weekend was final time Casey Kasem broadcast his Top 20 Countdown.  This is the end of an era; it really meant a lot to me.

In 1995, finding some decent 80’s music on Erie radio was an exercise in futility. Those bastard DJ’s wouldn’t even consider my requests:

“What? There is NO WAY that I will play ‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell! OH MY GOD! That song is SOOOOOOO lame! You wanna hear ‘Boom Boom Boom’ by The Outhere Brothers instead.”

Grrr.

I couldn’t listen to the music I wanted too, since no one would play it, and I was strapped for cash. So after enough denial of the 80’s cheese that I so desperately needed, I hatched a brilliant scheme to get my songs played. I would sit around and write sob stories, and then I would send them in to Casey Kasem as “Requests and Dedications.” I sifted through my archives and found a few. They went something like this:

“I’m Casey Kasem. Well now we’re up to our request and dedication. It’s about friendship. It comes to us from Trixie, who writes:

Dear Casey,

I’m a seventeen-year-old girl living in Pennsylvania.  All my life I felt lonely and awkward.  It seemed that I always felt like nobody was there for me.  That was until one day, when I met Alex.  Alex was cute, charming, smart and witty.  No matter how bad things got, he could always brighten my day with a joke, and he helped me get though the toughest moments.  One day when I was at his house, we were listening to the radio, when I told him my true feelings.  He told me that he had a crush on me for years, but was to shy to say anything.  We both agreed that “This will always be our song.”  We were in love and were to be engaged as soon as I graduated from college.

That was until he was killed in an automobile accident last year.  When Jessica, my best friend since Kindergarten, told me that he was dead, I just couldn’t believe it.  How could it have happened?  How could somebody so wonderful be dead?  There isn’t one day that passes that I don’t think of my beloved Alex.

Casey, could you please play “Wishing,” by A Flock of Seagulls for my late friend Alex?  It was our song.  Oh, and Alex, if your out there listening, I just want you to know, that I love you.

Thanks,

Trixie

Trixie, Here is your request, and dedication.”

What? You honestly thought those people were real? A few weeks later they played this one too (its my favorite):

Dear Casey,

I am writing this letter today to tell the world about the woman, who I had loved so dear.  Linda was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.  She was funny and outgoing but also kind and gentle.  During our junior prom, her boyfriend left without her so that he could attend a wild party.  She was distraught by his callous action, but I managed to calm her down and give her a ride home.  Soon after that, Linda and I became the best of friends, a friendship that grew — into love.

Linda and I did everything together. We’d spend hours after school talking about nothing at all.  I cherished every moment I spent with her.  I would learn to cherish it even more after what was yet to come.  You see, about a year ago, she was diagnosed with melanoma.

When we found out, we cried for hours, but soon found out that we had to make the most of the little time we had on this world to spend together.  And as she fought the cancer that was slowly eating her life away, I was there to support her, every step of the way.

That was up until last month, when cancer claimed another life, and I lost my beloved Linda.

Casey, there isn’t one moment of one single day that I don’t think of Linda.  So could you please play “Look of Love,” by ABC, for Linda?  I want her to know that even though she has passed on, I shall always love her.

Thanks.

Adam

Adam, Here is your request, and dedication.”

Writing fake letters got old after a couple of months, so I found a new hobby – submitting false information to “Unsolved Mysteries.” I would just walk up to a payphone and dial their 1-800 number:

“Unsolved Mysteries.”

“I saw Jessica in Toledo last week boarding a Greyhound bus,” I’d say, then I’d quickly hang up and scurry away. I couldn’t wait for “Unsolved Mysteries” to come on, and I would tingle with anticipation until Robert Stack got to my story:

“Update! Sheriff’s deputies have stopped dredging the Florida Everglades for the body of Jessica Johnston, because there is a chance that she is still alive. Thanks to an anonymous tip from one of our viewers, Jessica was reported as boarded a Greyhound bus in Toledo, Ohio and traveling to some unknown destination.

Jessica Johnston was reported as being a dark haired female between five and six feet tall. She may be suffering from amnesia, and may fervently deny that she is Jessica Johnston. If you see anyone who matches this description, call your local law enforcement agency, the FBI, or our toll free hotline, 1-800-876-5353.”

Life was so boring before the internet, you have no idea…