I've been meaning to blog about this. Jerry Williams died the other day.

Jerry Williams was a long-time talk radio host primarily here in the Boston area. I used to listen to one hell of a lot of the guy back in the day.

Jerry was never easy to pigeon-hole. He was an avowed and proud liberal, but rabidly anti-tax and anti-government waste. In that way he truly viewed himself, I believe, as being for the little guy.

I remember quite well his tirades against the Big Dig, not just saying that it would be millions, or hundreds of millions , but billions of dollars over budget. At the time I thought he was nuts. I figured the damn project was something that had to be done, so what's the alternative? He sure as hell was right about the money, though. I supposed with as much experience at scoping out the seedy, irresponsible side of government spending as he had, the future of the project must have been as clear as glass.

At one point I sent away for one of his free, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more" bumper-stickers.

I actually called his show once. He used to have some guy on that claimed to be able to channel the spirit of Mark Twain. Christ, did that drive me up the wall. For a guy who was always railing at the people to think more critically and skeptically, here he is giving a respectful, serious hearing to this drivel.

So I decided to call and suggest he have famed skeptic James Randi on the show. I called, got through, and proceeded to be about the worst, most boring caller on the planet for all of the ten seconds I had anything to say before practically crying and hanging up the phone in shame.

Lesson learned: Before calling any radio talk-show, do what the hosts do and have a few pops before making the call.

After particularly annoying or boring calls, Jerry was known to say "That's it, I'm getting out of the business."

He had another line, too. About politicians who's positions he didn't much care for, he'd at least say, "Well, he's not a bad guy."

Jerry Williams...not a bad guy at all.

Here's a link to his page at the Radio Hall of Fame.

Here is a link to what Dan Kennedy of the Boston Phoenix had to say. (Via Hub Blog)