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May
/ June 2006:
10
things I learned from Being unemployed
Jimmy Baron has been the
host of 99X's morning show for years. Now he's unemployed
after a station buy out. He's learned a few things though.
List by Jimmy Baron | Photo by Fernando Decillis
It's
a recent Friday at 9 AM and Jimmy Baron is somewhere
he hasn't been in a while at this time in the morning
-- in his kitchen. In his robe. Eating cereal. And circling
the classifieds.
Bagel in the toaster, he opens the fridge. "I'm all
out of butter," he says as his hand brushes away
a flop of unkempt hair from his eyes. "You see, these
are the major problems of my day."
Unemployed. This is a whole new life for the 44-year-old
Baron. After a life littered with a string of odd jobs
-- taxi driver, actor, and even wrestling commentator
-- he just wrapped up a more than 12 year stint (an eternity
in show business) as co-host of the popular morning radio
show on 99X.
During that time, his quirky on-air persona treated us
to such shtick as the guy who drove around I-285 naked,
or the guy who shipped himself in a box to Texas, or the
guy who went undefeated for three years arm wrestling
women. And, most recently, as the godfather of our Jewish
radio mafia lineup, gracing our cover last year.
But late last year 99X was bought out by new owners and
when Baron's contract expired in April, they were unable
to reach an agreement on a new deal. So Baron walked away
from the job that had occupied more than a quarter of
his life and now finds himself with a lot of free time
on his hands. And the chance to sleep in.
So we did what any investigative Jewish magazine would
do: We dispatched our AJL paparazzi to pay an unexpected
visit to his Sandy Springs home. Successful in their mission,
they captured these off-guard photos during what has now
become a typical day in Baron's life. - Benyamin Cohen
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1. My wife doesn't work out
as much as she's being telling me.
2. I was unaware that when
you play golf a lot of courses actually charge
you money.
3. I had jury duty and was
the only person in the room hoping to get picked just
to
give me
something to do.
4. Back-to-back Cops episodes
rule.
5. It's exactly 27 steps
to my mailbox but, oddly, it takes only 26 to get back.
6. It's hard to find a weekly
canasta game at the Jewish Home that's not
already
full.
7. The Randstad waiting room
needs better reading material.
8. There's nothing more pathetic
than a 44-year-old man working on his MySpace
page in
the middle of the day.
9. It's literally impossible
to get through when Bert asks for caller number nine.
10. Unemployment checks:
$310 a week. Going to the Georgia Department of Labor
to
apply? Priceless.
Pick up a copy of our May/June issue to see the
complete photo spread. 
If you'd like to comment on this article, email
us a Letter to the Editor.
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