Pat O’day gave me my first job in radio back in 1995. He owned a tiny AM station in Oak Harbor at the time (1110 AM KJTT). I did news, weather, sports and local high school play-by-play. He’d roll into the station intermittently, and one day he pops his head into the studio...

and says, “I need you to spot for me in Tri Cities (hydroplane radio broadcast). We’re leaving tomorrow morning. I’ll have somebody cover your shift.” So off we went from Oak Harbor to the opposite corner of the state. I had only experienced hydro races on Lake Washington...

at that point. I had no idea what I was in for. When we arrived, fans had already lined the shores, festival atmosphere, perfect weather, etc. Pat was easily the biggest attraction there. Everybody would come up to him. He probably shook 500 hands and signed a thousand autographs

and I realized how much the hydro racing community revered him. So, we’re walking by this tiny pond area and there are people racing some mini RC hydros on a tiny scaled down course. Of course, Pat grabs the starters bullhorn and greets everyone. People went bat shit crazy...

and once the little RC race started, Pat started calling the race like it was real. There were 7 or 8 replica boats (Miss Bud, Atlas Van Lines, Pay ‘N Pak, etc) and Pat is identifying each one and talking about the drivers and results while describing the race. This is *cold* we

just walked up on this scene and Pat is absolutely nailing a race call like he had prepped for weeks. It was the single most amazing play by play feat I have ever seen. I could not believe how good he was off the cuff and completely impromptu. Next day was the real race. I’m in

the watch tower with him and he goes over the boats and hand signals he likes me to use (rooster tails obscure view sometimes) and he starts calling the heats. He never missed. Once. Not a stutter, not a stammer, not a misidentification, nothing. It was like an audio book...

so the final heat is upon us, and Miss Budweiser is running away with it. Not even close. With a lap and a half to go, Pat pulls out a legal pad and just starts reading. “Bernie Little never dreamed of being a hydroplane owner when he was a young boy...” and on and on and on...

He just kept flipping page after page. He probably wrote down 20 pages of script. As Miss Bud is crossing the line, he’s finishing his essay “100 career wins for the man who once worked at a hardware store...” etc, etc. He knew the exact timing of the script and when to read it

and I am completely blown away. The race ends, he cuts to commercial break, and looks at me and quips, “Remember kid, the best ‘ad-libbing’ you’ll ever do on the radio in your life is the one you write down ahead of time. Don’t forget that.”

RIP Pat. Thanks for my first job .