A 'Girlfriend' says farewell

Five minutes into my morning commute Friday, I was suddenly more wide-awake than I had been in quite awhile.

Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Did Kathy O'Malley - of radio's long-running "Kathy & Judy" show - just announce that this was the duo's final show? That their morning program on WGN 720-AM had been canceled?

I never like to say goodbye to friends, and I certainly don't like the shock of saying goodbye at 50 miles per hour, as I turn my Toyota's steering wheel to merge onto Rand Road. This was a very short-notice farewell to two radio personalities with whom I spend about one hour of their three-hour weekday morning show.

For the past few years, Kathy O'Malley and her on-air partner Judy Markey have been with me via the radio dial as I ran my pre-work errands - dropping bills into the outdoor post office box or filling my car with gasoline. The two kept me company as I sat motionless for hours in traffic jams, and zipped through the Starbucks drive-through lane.

I chuckled at accounts of Kathy's adventures with a raccoon caught in a humane trap on her porch, and cried as "Kathy & Judy" listeners called in with stories of everything from bullying in school to dealing with an illness. The two "Girlfriends" - the affectionate term O'Malley and Markey have given to themselves and their listeners - offered up their own views of celebrities (Goldie Hawn's facelift looks terrible, they decided) or the latest on the political scene (they love President Barack Obama).

The conversations between O'Malley, 63, and Markey, 65, were comfortable - talks between women who know each other well, and were not afraid to speak their minds.

I listened as both women and men - "Girlfriends" - called in to the "Kathy & Judy" show to share a moment of their lives with the two hosts and WGN listeners.

My shock at Friday morning's announcement told me that I had become a "Girlfriend" without even realizing it.

News reports give accounts of declining ratings for the decision by WGN management to end the 20-year run of "Kathy & Judy." Since I'm not great with numbers myself, I won't try to analyze any radio rating spreadsheets or flow charts or percentages.

But I will wish Kathy O'Malley and Judy Markey all of the best.

I don't know who will be taking over the 9 a.m. to noon time slot on WGN-AM 720 next week. And I don't even know if I will tune in to hear.

But I think my Starbucks vanilla latte will be a bit more bland next week as my Toyota chugs along to work.

And my morning commute will certainly seem a little longer.

Farewell for now, "Girlfriends."