"Nothing beats Gandy Boulevard," Jay Marvin said. "WFLA was the best job I ever had."
For those in Tampa who lean to the left, a radio station with right-wing talk shows and conservative credentials would seem the least likely place for a radical leftist to feel at home. Yet Jay Marvin, talk show host and agitator extraordinaire, worked for WFLA during the early 1990s and liked it more than any other station.
This is a man whose career took him to Chicago and Denver. Yet Tampa was his favorite.
Back when the first Gulf War raged, I was a college student and anti-war activist. My friends and I protested with crowds of angry kids frustrated about the state of our country. We rarely heard our viewpoints expressed in local media or on the radio. We had Creative Loafing and WMNF, but otherwise felt very much alone.
Late one night, my future husband called and said, "Turn on your radio."
I expected to hear vitriol about left-wing activists ruining the world. Instead, the host raged against an ignorant caller, the war, and a constituency that allowed it all to continue.
At one point, his caller yelled, "You're a stinkin' liberal."
"No, I'm not," the host snapped.
"You're not liberal?"
"No. I'm not that conservative."
I smiled.
That's the day I became a Jay Marvin fan.
He inspired more than just a few college students ready to take on the world. Conservatives and liberals alike would tune in each night to hear a unique perspective, one that couldn't be found anywhere else on the dial. At one point, I called and introduced myself simply as Catherine. I was young and nervous, writing down everything I wanted to say and reading it out loud. I sounded ridiculous.
But something important happened: Jay Marvin asked me to call again.
So I did.
For two years, I called his show several times a week. Jay allowed me to try out new ideas, challenged my views without condescension, and laughed at my jokes. In other words, he encouraged me. When I spent a summer traveling through Colorado and California, he insisted I borrow his books about Che Guevara and Jack Kerouac, hoping I would "learn a thing or two."
Then he left Tampa to broadcast his left-wing words of wisdom elsewhere. I never forgot him and reveled in the success he found all over the country. But recently, my heart broke to learn that he's fallen ill. No longer broadcasting, Jay has grown discouraged and is recovering from a suicide attempt.
I reached out to my old mentor and hero, exchanging phone numbers and finally speaking a few weeks ago. From his home in Denver, where he is cared for by his lovely wife Mary, Jay's voice still boomed with thoughtful and incendiary tones. The pain from a spinal infection is debilitating, and medication to control the pain makes him feel foggy. Comprehension is sometimes difficult.
"How do you remember Tampa?" I asked.
"That was a good time," he said. "WFLA supported me 100 percent and Gabe Hobbs, my old operations manager, is a radio genius. I loved fighting with callers."
Jay laughed. His body may be weak, he may not feel as sharp as he once was, but to me, Jay Marvin sounded as dynamic as ever. In no time, our conversation drifted to the current political climate.
"Talk radio is responsible for polarizing this country," he told me. "They don't encourage you to form your own opinion. They attract listeners who already agree with them. If I was still in radio, I'd talk about the way the middle class shields corporations. We're living in a corporate dictatorship. Corporations took their profits and bought votes."
He ripped off a series of ideas. I closed my eyes and felt like a college student again.
"I always thought the GOP was greedy, but now that I'm on disability, I really see it."
"Rand Paul makes me nuts."
"People throw out the word socialism as an insult, but what are they really talking about? Lenin's ideas? Trotsky? Or do they mean philosophies that shaped the movement before World War II?"
When I complained that the nastiest hate mail I receive comes from fellow liberals, he chuckled.
"The left eats its own," he said.
Marvin is considering a few options, like podcasting, and would like to write a column that mirrors his old radio show. He already writes a blog featuring flash fiction about the life of "Frank" and another blog dealing candidly with mental health issues. He has also published a book of poetry.
He loves hearing from fans, touched that listeners still care, happy that he isn't forgotten. Articles and columns about his recent troubles reminded him of something else, too.
"Change comes from within," he said. "I'd almost forgotten that."
He paused and took a deep breath.
"What I did was selfish and stupid," he said, referring to his suicide attempt. "Now, when I wake up, I get depressed for about 8 or 9 minutes. Then, when I've had contact with Mary, I come out of it. She's the best gift I've ever been given. Mary is making it happen; she's so honest and directly to the point. I'm a lucky man."
At the end of our conversation, we promised to keep in touch. Jay Marvin may be down, but he's still in the game — enlightening those who take the time to listen. I hung up the phone, thinking about his views and passion, and smiled.
I'm still a Jay Marvin fan.
This article appears in Aug 18-24, 2011.