"Ladies and Gentlemen...This is Your Captain Drinking..."
When A.L. "Skip" Mahaffey's mom would send him off to visit his father, she'd slip a piece of paper in his hand and tell him, "If he tries to kidnap you, give this to a stranger."
Such was the dysfunctional existence growing up with one of the strangest, most bizarre people Mahaffey ever encountered-his dad. Adventures with My Father is a greatest-hits collection of incidents like those, leavened with the kind of humor only Mahaffey can muster.
A gifted commercial pilot who was also an alcoholic, Mahaffey's father abandons his family one day at a California motel to live with his girlfriend. But that doesn't end his troubled, complicated relationship with his children. On visits with his dad, young Mahaffey travels the country, stopping at nearly every dive bar along the way. He learns to grocery shop at liquor stores, rubs elbows with the Hollywood elite, wakes up on strange couches in strange countries and encounters the one person who could out-weird his dad: his stepmother. Through it all is a sense of terror, awe, disgust and curiosity at the events that remain vivid decades later.
At once profoundly moving and laugh-out-loud funny, Adventures with My Father is a soul-searching attempt to come to terms with one man's unique coming of age.
Hello and welcome to the bio page for my Amazon AuthorCentral website. C'mon in and take a look around.
For those of you who have already purchased a copy of "Adventures With My Father" I thank you. You have put me one step closer to paying for my daughter's college education. Now if you could get about 55,000 of your closest friends and family to do the same, it would be deeply appreciated!
Okay, I know this is the bio page so here's what it says about me on the back cover of my book:
"A.L. "Skip" Mahaffey is one of the country's most identifiable country music radio personalities. He has been honored three times by the Country Music Association as Radio Personality of the Year and was similarly recognized by Billboard Magazine. Well known for his many charitable efforts, Mahaffey is the father of three and lives with his wife of 28 years in Tampa, FL".
Let's make it absolutely clear that NOBODY calls me "AL", "A.L." or any form thereof. I only used the initials in tribute to my father for the book. Everybody calls me "Skip", just "Skip"
That's about all you need to know. But if you have time to kill and for some ungodly reason need to read more about me, here you go...if you were to log on to my website (www.skipshow.com) and check out my bio (cleverly marked "Skip's Bio Page") here's what you'd find:
Skip Mahaffey
Biographical:
DOB: 9-6-61
Married 28 years
Children:
Sean - 26
Carleigh - 22
Meagan - 15
Broadcast History:
CMA Major Market Personality of the Year Winner: 2001, 2003. Nominee: 2000
CMA Large Market Personality of the Year Winner: 1996. Nominee: 1995
**The first broadcaster to win the CMA Broadcast Personality Award 3 times**
Billboard Magazine Air Personality of the Year Winner: 2001. Nominee; 1998
Academy of Country Music Personality of the Year nominee: 2005
Radio & Records Magazine Country Air Personality of the Year Nominee: 2002-03
CMA member: Lifetime Member
Academy of Country Music Member: 1991-1994, 2002-present
Host of Westwood One's Country Six Pack Specials 1999-2004
Country Music Field Reporter, WTSP-TV (CBS) WFLA-TV (NBC), Tampa
Co-Host "Hot Country Hits" on WFTS-TV (ABC): 2001-2002
Halftime Host: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1998-2003, 2005-2009
Host of the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning's "Drive on Ice": 1999-2003
Founding member of "Bit-kicker" morning show prep network 1994-2009
Skip Mahaffey has been in broadcasting for over 25 years in the Country format in the following markets:
* WFUS - Tampa, FL 2005-2009
* WQYK - Tampa, FL, 1998-2005
* WCOL - Columbus, OH, 1994-1998.
* KSON - San Diego, CA, 1992-1993.
* KIIM-KCUB - Tucson, AZ, 1984-1986, 1987-1989.
* KVOO - Tulsa, OK, 1983-1984.
Radio Experience Outside Country:
* St. Louis-KYKY, Phoenix-KMXX and Los Angeles-KYSR
Community Involvement:
* "Skip's Kids" - A group that provides VIP trips for underprivileged children of Tampa Bay to places like Sea World, Disney World, Adventure Island, Busch Gardens and more.
* Federal Bureau of Investigation - Graduate of the FBI Citizen's Academy. Winner of the prestigious Director's Community Leadership Award.
* "Good Kid of the Week" - A weekly on air feature where local children are acknowledged and awarded for good deeds, heroic actions, positive behavior or outstanding accomplishments.
* St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital - Helped raise over $1,000,000 in four years. Served as organizer and host of the Second Chance Prom, a one evening event that raised over $12,500. Pennies For St. Jude- As part of the Radio-thon, collected 1.4 million pennies in 8 days.
* "Postcards From Home" - In the past 9 years, sent over 275,000 holiday postcards from listeners to troops overseas
* Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office - (Honorary Deputy). A weekly on-air segment devoted to crime prevention and other law enforcement issues. Emcee for annual event with over 20,000 bicycle helmets given to Bay area children. Host HCSO Memorial Services 2002-2008. Host/emcee for HCSO promotional ceremonies, 2003-2009.
* Police Unity Tour - Participated in a 3-day cycling event to raise money for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. 2004-2009.
* Honors and Other Notables - Emceed the Change of Command ceremony at US Central Command for Gen. Tommy Franks; Emcee for "Freedom Concert" for US Central Command broadcast to US Military installations over the world; Honorary Deputy Hillsborough and Pasco Counties; Honorary Sargent, United States Army Recruiting Battalion, Tampa.
If you made it this far and are still paying attention, you have no doubt learned: A- I've been kinda busy B- I moved a lot and C- I can't seem to hold down a job.
There's a whole lot more to list but seriously, if you've come this far and still want to know more, give me a call, we'll set up lunch and I can dazzle you with bull from 30 years of broadcasting!
Thank you for visiting and please go buy a few dozen copies of "Adventures With My Father". Remember, if you don't like the book, it makes a lovely coaster!
This review is from: Adventures With My Father: Childhood Recollections of Divorce, Dysfunction and the Summer of Love (Paperback)
Admittedly a gifted storyteller already, this recollection is brilliantly well written; the pictures that are painted make you feel as if you're seeing the world through Skip's eyes. It's as if yours were the pudgey little toes that were peeking up at you from the warm sand in 1965 and the one who soberingly stared mortality in the eye 40 years later in 2005.
Histarically funny at times, and at others make your eyes well up from the emotion pouring off the page; what little boy didn't think his mother was the most beautiful woman on eart at one point, anyway?
Pick it up, read it you will not be disappointed. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you're shudder from that uneasy feeling you get when you hear a story that you think can't be real but yet someone went through it (just be happy it wasn't you!) and lived to tell about it. But most of all, you will simply enjoy the journey. Even hard core, reading "refusers" said they had a difficult time putting this down.
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This review is from: Adventures With My Father: Childhood Recollections of Divorce, Dysfunction and the Summer of Love (Paperback)
I read this book in 3 days because it was so hard to put down! I loooove a book that I can't wait to get back to and Adventures With My Father is one of them. I could absolutely relate to being the victim of a rotten older brother's antics and... I'm not sure but I think my brother had that same Lost in Space shirt!
This story is told with a great sense of humor and draws you in from the first page. It's kind of like The Wonder Years but funnier and crazier. It's a great read and you won't be disappointed.
This review is from: Adventures With My Father: Childhood Recollections of Divorce, Dysfunction and the Summer of Love (Paperback)
I enjoyed reading this story, but was distracted by the poor editing. There were a few typos and some of the stories need editing. I also found myself wanting to know more information about his Mom and especially the story about how his older brothers came to be a part of the family.
If you like Jeanette Walls "Glass Castle", you will most likely enjoy this.
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