I am not a mega-fan of the Don and Mike Show, but as anyone who commutes in D.C. traffic will tell you, there is precious little on the radio during the evening rush that can make the hour (or two) you spend in traffic less painful to deal with.
However, on Monday evening, I was surprised to hear that Freda Sorce, the wife of Don Geronimo (a.k.a., Michael Sorce) had died in a traffic accident in Ocean City, MD. Having lost both of my parents over the past few years, I can only imagine how horrible this loss must be for the Sorce family, especially since Freda was only fifty years old, and seemed to be full of so much life and energy that one could not help but think that a big part of what energized Geronimo on-air was his relationship with his wife and son, Bart.
Usually, “shock jocks” and other caustic on-air personalities try to conceal the fact that they are big softies, but with his wife (Freda) and his son (Bart) calling in, listeners were always treated to amusing moments with Don Geronimo that always seemed to show he was not the bad-ass tough guy role he played when dealing with other listeners. Whenever Freda called him “Boo Boo”, or got into mini-arguments on-air with him, she always seemed to bring out the gooey, soft, teddy bear in him which added a very human element to the show. Over the years, Freda and Bart had become just as much a part of the show as Don, Mike, and Buzz.
For a while, I thought I might be the only person profoundly impacted by the loss of a person who was part of my rush hour daily, but it appears a lot of other people feel the loss, too, and are offering their condolences to the Sorce family online.
So please join me in offering up prayers of support for the Sorce family, and wishing them peace and comfort as they attempt to cope with the loss of a wife and mother.
I’m hearing and reading a lot of voices echoing your thoughts about this. It really is too sad, but I think the only benefit that can be taken is that it’s making a lot of people think about their lives and loved ones.
[...] I checked my Webalizer stats, and… well… it appears people are here looking for number (228 and 247)s, Freda Sorce (the deceased wife of Don Geronimo of the Don and Mike Show, and the Carolina Panther Cheerleaders. [...]