Michael Perry's Voice Mail

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 322. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode, a number of factors converge, causing me to revisit a terrifying experience with a clown. Forward! Mike MARGINALIA (Annotations from books Mike is reading, or annotations related to the episode) The history of Carson Park . La...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 321. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I share how the lingering scent of smoke in my car got me to reflecting on the powerful part fire and emergency services have played in my life far beyond the calls themselves. Thank you for listening. Scroll down for photos re...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 320. This one’s paid subscribers-only. Click the player above to listen. In this episode, hummingbirds and an evening with a poet drive me to consider the concept of aesthetics as they relate to the blue collar life. Forward! Mike MARGINALIA (Annotations from books Mike is reading, or annotations related to the episode) Mike and Nicholas...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 317. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I share how fixing my snowplow led me back to one of the most popular live humor excerpts from my book Truck: A Love Story , as well as a piece I used to perform at open mics when I was long-haired and much younger. Thank you f...

*Kinda their real names kinda not. But definitely my real brothers. Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 310. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen (and be sure to watch the related video in the marginalia section below). In this episode I acknowledge the ?spring? melt and revisit memories of my friend Ricky by reading and...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 304. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In today’s episode I return to a piece I wrote about my daughter and the music of Lightnin’ Hopkins. Thank you for listening,Mike MARGINALIA (Annotations from books Mike is reading, or annotations related to the episode) Here’s the version of...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 300. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. As we hit 300 episodes I figured it was time to look back and talk about how and why this Voice Mail came to be (including the “unfortunately…” story) , why I might be stuck in New York City, the advantages of being a paid subscriber, why all...

Howdy folks: Welcome to the Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 299. This one’s subscribers-only. Click the player above to listen. This one’s also longer than usual, so I just dove right in. It’s something I wrote for the Italians. About the Packers. You’ll see. There’s always next year. Although Joan Didion would warn you about that. Mike MARGINALIA (Annotations from books Mike is reading, or an...

PHOTO ABOVE: My nephew attempts to snow surf. He’s actually a very talented athlete, which makes the payoff all the more sweet. Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 296. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode, I reference my recent success on the slopes (sadly only my failures were filmed so I can’t prove i...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 293. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I wonder if humans getting back together again might be the secret to a new bliss, even though I wouldn’t call it that. I also explore the balance between the mystery of life and the mystery of what’s under the refrigerator. Sc...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 291. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I reveal how I agreed to allow my children to have cats only after making it clear the cats would be allowed only under my rules—but of course rather than living under my rules they snuck under them. And over them. And around t...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 285. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode, I describe how we arrived at the cover design for the new book . And what it’s got to do with rock ‘n’ roll posters. To see the images mentioned in this episode (and link to the fish story), scroll down. If you’d like to recei...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 280. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I discuss my enduring affection for The Rockford Files , how I have failed to recruit my own family as fans of the show (but did introduce them to the music of Isaac Hayes), and share a piece of writing tying the art of Edward...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 275. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode, I celebrate the return of Truck: A Love Story to Wisconsin Public Radio’s longest-running program, “ Chapter A Day ,” by revisiting all the twists and turns it took to come up with a cover for that dang book in the first place...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 271. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. This episode is in honor of my mom—a mother to many. She passed away peacefully last Sunday. Mike An earlier episode about mom (subscription required). An even earlier episode about mom (no subscription required). Thank you, folks. We’ll conve...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 269. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I revisit the adventures of two cousins—Herbie and Delmar—and bid Delmar good-bye after over a century of a life well-lived. In the Marginalia section (scroll down) I share related photos and videos. I also have two announcemen...

Howdy folks: This episode is free to all subscribers, and random. Did a lil’ soliloquy up there in the garage and decided to share it. Thank you. All of you. Mike If you’d like to receive all episodes of Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, click on the button below (it says “Subscribe Now” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm): You can share this episode with a fr...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 263. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I explore the evolution and nuances of the Menards rebate form and why some of us are so excited about the new version. Then I tell the story of the exploding pink tape measure. And then it all ends up back at Menards again. If...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 262. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I sit down to read about canoes with a cup of coffee at hand, wind up reading an essay about autodidacticism and have my day lightened by a line about dandelion fuzz I wish I woulda wrote. If you happen to be in the Eau Claire...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 258. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I talk about a brief and impromptu neighborhood get-together, then head off in a slightly different direction than usual and request your input. I also reveal the phrase I used last week to describe why I’ll never be a fashioni...

Howdy, folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 253. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I start out to share my latest dunderheaded derp-stunt only to realize I already covered that in this episode , which we have switched to free so you can access it without a subscription. Then I switch gears to discuss eggs an...

Howdy, folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 250. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In today’s episode I go from talking about snow to talking about a first responder call I just made to talking about the mockumentary “ Best in Show ,” then share an essay about dog shows, as if I know anything about that. And tell a funny st...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 245. In honor of the final week of the NFL football regular season, this one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I explain how the very first time I attended a professional football game, I was on the field with the team. As has often been the case with my career, I got there...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 243. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. In this episode I start out to wax poetic about my snow plow truck then detour into talking about my tour van instead. There is also a hubcap update. And be sure to scroll down …and finally, please scroll down to the Marginalia section where I...

Howdy folks: Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 242. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike . Click the player above to listen. Ten years ago I wrote a book called The Scavengers . Then I started the sequel. And then…well, as you’ll hear in today’s episode, some life came up. But I’ve kept pecking away at it, and am currently powering through, bound and determined to h...