Coast to Coast AM

I discovered the Coast to Coast AM radio show back in 1993. During a bout of insomnia, I decided to move the dial of my analog radio across the AM band in the hopes of coming across something more interesting than discussions of sports and politics and religious sermons and Spanish music. I listened as the host (Art Bell) said that one of his upcoming guests was a man by the name of Gordon Michael-Scallion (www.matrixinstitute.com) who had something to say about upcoming earthquakes. Obviously, this got my attention. How often do you have someone come on the radio predicting earthquakes? As each evening passed, Bell had on his show a wide variety of guest ranging from the odd (two twins who claimed to have been abducted by aliens) to the serious (the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese Communist). As the month and then years passed, Bell interviewed ghost hunters, experts on serial killers, researchers who saw man-made structures on the moon and Mars. While these topics would not be considered cutting edge science, they were definitely on the edge--and sometimes right over the edge. Broadcasting from his home in Parumph, Nevada ("over the hill from Las Vegas"), Bell dominated the overnight radio ratings. He did more to bring the paranormal and parapolitics (conspiracy theories) into the mainstream than ten syndicated television shows hosted by people who could talk to the dead. I must admit that Bell's style of letting his guest say anything they wanted to did get way out of hand in the months leading up to the year 2000. There was a time period where it seemed as though every month Bell had a guest on who claimed that things would become very dire for America and the world. And each sceanario was always different from guest to guest. A comet would hit the earth, the Russians were going to launch a sneak nuclear attack, a plant pathogen embedded in a metor would come to earth and wipe out all of the green plants on earth, California would break up into a series of island (see Scallion's Future Map of America--he keeps changing the dates on his maps. I believe one printing of his map had the time period of the big California earthquake in the late 90s. A new printing of his map now shows the time period ending in 2012.) At his peak, Bell hosted Coast to Coast AM Monday through Friday, 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. West Coast time. On Sunday evenings, Bell hosted a show called "Dreamland." (Dreamland was later taken over by author Whitley Streiber. The show left the airwaves and the new permutation can be found at: unknowncountry.com). There was a Saturday show hosted by San Francisco radio personality, Barbara Simpson. Ian Punnett covered the times when Art took off on vacation.

Then Bell's life seemed to imitate the flavor of his show. His teenaged son was kidnapped and raped by a school teacher with AIDS. The last I heard, the teacher was doing time in prison. Bell abruptly retired from the airwaves saying that he needed to be with his family. A series of fill-in guest hosts tried to take Bell's place (Hilly Rose, Barbara Simpson, etc.), but no one could emulate Bell's unique on-air style. The ratings dipped. Then Bell returned again. After a period of time, Bell semi-retired and a new host was brought in, George Noory. Coast to Coast AM is no longer as wild and woolly as it once was in the late 90s. Even with the topics covered by this program, there are limits to how far the hosts can be pushed. There was the time where Bell kicked off the Amazing Kreskin live on the air. Noory did the same to Wayne Green and David Booth when Booth refused to tell Noory what a nun told him regarding the Third Secret of Fatima.

Presently, there is Coast to Coast AM Live with Ian Punnett (who has a great sense of humor) on Saturdays from 6:00 p.m to 10:00 p.m. Noory handles the Monday to Friday slot from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. And Bell handles the Saturday and Sunday evening time slot. In January 2006, Art Bell's wife, Ramona, died in her sleep suddenly of an asthma attack. Yesterday evening, Bell announced that he had returned from the Phillippeans where he had just married his new wife. She is in her twenties and Bell is 60. Since his new wife is unwilling to move to America, Bell said that he would be going to where his wife is. Plans are in place to have Bell continue his broadcast career from the 19th floor of his apartment in the area near Manila. A far cry from the high desert of Nevada.

Tonight's guest is Edward (Ed) A. Dames. Dames is a teacher of remote viewing. In a nutshell, remote viewing is an "attention management skill." In other words, with this skill, one can become a psychic on command. By his own admission, Bell says that Dames is "the most hated and the most loved guest he has ever had on his show." In due time, I will post Dames' predictions. Most of the time, Dames' predictions never pan out. But his predictions do make for great entertainment.

I hope you all have had a happy Easter.