Jay and Gary Show

When Jay Pearce was in the hospital in August 2024, when it was becoming clear that he didn’t have long to live, family and friends came to visit and share a little time. Literally dozens of them from around Illinois and beyond. When he did finally pass, one year ago today, 4:20 AM on August 21, his closest family and friends were at his bedside.

One year later, family and a few of those friends got together on Zoom and live on YouTube for this episode of the Jay and Gary Show. Jay’s wife Melisse, daughter Sara, brother Gary and hius wife Cyndi, and friends Margie and Wade Roberts and Jay Hedblade chat about Jay’s life and career, listen to some recordings from the 70s and 90s, talk about radio back in the day, and just miss him. Jay’s son Dale was missing, down with a bug, or “as sick as I’ve ever been” as he put it on a family chat.

If you knew Jay well or even just a little… or just discovered us on the podcast, you’re welcome to evesdrop on the conversation. As always, feel fee to slide around the timeline, drop in and out, listen to as much as you want and then go. Just like it was on the radio.

It’s Sara, Cyndi and Gary this time. A little Parenting (for a potty-mouth little Jay), some school and job dissection, then we see who remembers the ‘most memorable song’ each year for the past 100 years, in a YouTube Takedown Marathon.

Dale and Gary yak about the First Amendment. At the end, Gary talks about his car ‘crash’ (and new car).

(Almost) on the 1st anniversary of the Jay and Gary Show, we're back. And we're pretty upset at the way Trump is tearing the country apart, piece by piece. Gary is joined by Jay's kids, Dale and Sara, and his wife Cyndi. And we carry on.

#16 Ain't Nobody's Happy 😣

Jay's son Dale and daughter Sara join Gary to restart the Jay and Gary Show. Our conversation is general up to the about the one-hour mark, when we 'begin the show' and talk about the time between Jay's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and his death (May to August 2024). It gets a little raw.

We expect to continue the show in one form or another, perhaps every couple of weeks. Jay and Gary were ‘building this plane as we were flying it’ up to Jay’s death. That’s where we pick it up and carry on.

Pleae consider donating to the Jay H. Pearce Memorial Scholarship fund at Southern Illinios University: https://give.siu.edu/jay-h-pearce-memorial-scholarship

As Jay begins his chemo for pancreatic and liver cancer, we've decided to put this show on hold and start a new one - "The Jay and Gary Pancreatic CancerCast" - to focus on his journey through treatment. We'll launch that new show in a few days.

If things go well... and they're not off to a great start... we'll do more of this show when Jay is feeling up to it. This episode was recorded on June 18, 2024 with Gary visiting Jay at his home near Champaign, IL.

The bad news: severe pain (and Millisse) drove Jay to the hospital Friday night.

The good news: they figured out why.

The other bad news: a tumor on Jay’s pancreas grew and blocked the ‘outlet’ duct, causing the pain.

The other good news: they got Jay’s bowels moving again 💩, and they’re going to put a stent in to bypass the pancreas blockage, so hopefully that will reduce the pain.

Up in the air: getting the chemo infusion started ASAP, either in Chicago or Champaign.

Speaking of ‘air’💨: we referred to something called the Crepetation Contest, brought on, so to speak, by one of the ‘after effects’ of uncloging Jay’s lower GI. Hey, you should know by now that when they go low, we go lower. Well, Gary had the contest cued up, but never played it… we moved on. So if you’re curious, here it is: https://youtu.be/uPplyQWf-u4?si=GFb0oeFPcnyXEWwW

Turns out that it was produced in 1946, and the origin is somewhat mysterious. We obtained it as teens in the mid ‘60s, maybe on tape? The link goes to something called “Part One”, but ends where I remember the program ending. I’ll let you search for more, if you’re interested.

Just a typical rambling episode. Not as much on the ‘guilty’ stuff as you might expect.

So yeah, Jay has Stage 4 Cancer. Tumors on his pancreas and liver, and on a lymph node. Yeah, it’s bad.

Gary went through lymphoma, Stage 1, in 2000. Chemo, radiation, done. He did two podcasts about it in his old Triangle Talk Show. That’s why this is CancerCast #3.

We’ll let the show tell the story.

CancerCast #1
CancerCast #2

Oh, and that Springsteen/Dolly Parton thing? Listen here and decide.

Jay has a new granddaughter and a new roof, and he beat the State of Illinois bureaucracy at their own game. Oh, and he’s got some intestinal thing that’s driving him nuts. Can’t sleep, can’t eat. Amazing that he’s doing a 2-hour pod. Gary would be curled up in bed… except Jay can’t lie down, either😮

Gary came back from Hawaii with a cracked tooth and a home movie. WARNING: he shows the tooth... close up. He'll give you ample warning to look away. Oh, wait... this is audio. never mind. And he shows the movie. Hm, once again, audio 🙄