Jeanne Ryan’s Top 10 Most Embarrassing Moments in Her Radio Career

If any of you have ever toured a radio station you know we are crammed into tiny rooms and usually have to keep the door shut at all times. One day I was in the tiniest of the studios and was not feeling too hot, so I let one go. Of course in comes one of my co-workers, who was the sweetest most non assuming guy. He did not say anything but I was so mortified, I could hardly speak. He shut the door and I wanted to drop through an escape hatch immediately.

My old GM had come into the studio to talk to me and my morning show partner and he was none to happy about something that we were talking about. I had something on my computer screen that really got me mad and I flipped off the computer with both hands. Unfortunately, said GM had turned around at that exact moment I was flipping off my computer and said " Did you just flip me off ?" Of course the answer was no, but to this day I don't think he believed me.

I was doing a remote years ago for a cell phone company and during one of my breaks I kept stumbling over the word Cellular. I could not say it for the life of me and became very flustered. I kept saying Cell-la-lure. The D.J. on the other end was laughing hysterically and I started laughing as well. Thankfully the client was really cool about it and I had to pre-record the rest of my breaks as the struggle continued.

This next epic failure also happened on a live remote. Before I moved to Duluth I had never heard of a pasty. You know the pot pie type concoction with meat and potatoes wrapped in dough? I had heard of pasties, you know the little piece of fabric some women wear to cover you know what? Now of course I know the difference, but for some reason I kept saying the word paste-ee instead of past-ee. I was broadcasting outside of the business and did not even realize that I was saying it wrong, and nobody at the station seemed to notice either. So here comes this kind elderly lady with a past-ee on a plate and said to me "Here honey why don't you eat one of these so you start saying the name right!" It was delicious and I have never said it the wrong way since.

This past summer the crew from Mix 108 was lucky enough to try The Ze:ro Hour Escape room which entailed all of us to be locked in a cell and we had an hour to break out of 2 rooms. It was a total blast and happy to say we made it out just in time. Well, to make it more realistic they have you dress in an orange jump suit and handcuff you. For a chubby bunny like me one size fits most does not always apply. I was able to get the jumpsuit on and up but once I hit my chest area I was done. It was not going up any further, let alone zip. So I had to wear the jump suit half zipped and tied around my waist. Of course I laughed about it and the guys just laughed along with me. The struggle is real.

Again this story revolves around a remote, and it      was pretty hilarious. It was the grand opening for a business that is no  longer in the area. As I was pulling up I saw their mascot a giant cup waving to me on the side of the road. So I  pulled over and hopped out ready to say hello when the giant cup mascot  came running towards me and gave me a huge bear hug. I was caught off  guard and off balance and we both went rolling down the hill outside the restaurant.  Did I mention it was winter as well, so needless to say i was soaked from head to toe and had to do a 3 hour remote looking like I wet my pants. We all had a good laugh about it, and I think I got a free sandwich out of the deal.

I have been involved in the Polar Bear Plunge for many years and it is one of my favorite events too. The final time I vowed to actually plunge was an epic fail. Hundreds of people file down to a dock to jump in the water and everyone is vying for their place. We had a fairly big team and I was on the end of the dock in the shallow end. So everyone yelled jump as did I and plop.... up to my knees. I had no idea how shallow it was as my teammates all went under water.  I turned to run into the water to dive in as everyone was rushing towards me to get out and so I just turned around and said forget it. Brrr my legs.....ha ha. We all had a good laugh about it, so that is that.

Cooper and I were talking off the air one day about fishing and I was saying how I love to fish but, I will only put worms on a hook and I won't take the fish off the hook. So he got a wild idea for me to bait a leech on a hook. A Leech, GROSS! So I agreed and the rest is history. See the video below.

Many years ago Tony and I took some listeners on a Charter Fishing Tour here in Duluth. I was really excited about it because I had never been out on Lake Superior before and so this was going to be a blast, plus I might catch some fish!.Well this was back in the day when I used to have a cocktail or two and I went out with my friends the night before. I did not feel hung over at all, it was a beautiful summer day and I was ready. We took off and after about 1 1/2 hours the wave of nausea hit me like a brick. The lake was not even really that rough, but I was greener than the water. I knew If i had to puke I could not do it over the edge of the boat and make a scene, so I kept running down to the cabin bathroom. For the record I did not puke, but I did stay in the cabin sitting at the kitchen table the rest of the charter. I think I was the first one to run off the boat and was so happy to be on dry land. Thankfully the ladies on the boat with us were really cool and we all had a good laugh.

Back in June of 2012 my co-host Cooper came up with a great idea of a mini marathon since god knows I could not even bike the half marathon distance. So we put together a little video as a fun incentive for the runners. Seeing me running even a short distance is pretty scary, but the best part is at the end. Nobody saw that coming.