Ep. 345 Today's Peep Pivots From Fun, Sunny Small Talk to Medevac Crashes, A Rogue Buck Garden Raid, Band Practice Audio Samples and Beware of a Redistricting Bad Ballot Design that Shows Your Vote

Plans are great—until real life knocks on the studio door. Today’s show starts with sun over the Northern California foothills and takes a sharp, necessary turn when a medevac helicopter crashes onto Highway 50. We drop the light banter and shift into service mode: clear updates, listener calls with firsthand details, and a steady tone while neighbors lift part of the aircraft to free a pinned woman. That on‑air pivot is the heart of live radio—informing fast, staying human, and trusting the community to help fill in what officials can’t yet confirm.

When the dust settles, we lean back into the everyday stories that keep us connected. A weeklong deer guest turns garden villain, stripping bark and toppling a beloved palm. We talk humane deterrence that actually works—hello, motion‑activated sprinkler—and the comic humility of forgetting it’s armed. Creativity gets its turn as we share band‑room moments: a tight take on UFO’s Rock Bottom, the shaky courage of posting a vocal clip, and the surprising discipline behind a “simple” groove. I also pick up the harmonica and relearn the basics—draw, don’t just blow—chasing that first clean train‑whistle bend.

Civic trust threads through the back half, thanks to a listener who discovers a ballot envelope window that appears to reveal his vote choice. It’s a small design detail with big implications for confidence in elections. We widen the lens to California politics, weighing real‑world outcomes against online theatrics on addiction, homelessness, and public order. And to close, we cue a pristine 45 of Neil Diamond’s Cherry Cherry, tracing the session players, producers, and the magic of a perfect three‑chord song that still jumps from the speakers.

If this mix of breaking news, real life, and music resonated, tap follow, share with a friend who loves radio that shows up when it counts, and leave a quick review—what part kept you listening?