re: Tom Fitzmorris moving to WGSO

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I thought it was great

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If Tom suggested you go try a grilled turd sandwich from Chef Andrea, you would think it was great as well.

Friend,

I must say I have been listening and enjoying Tommy's show from the beginning. It was unique and entertaining.

Today while driving to Jacksonville, I was able to listen in on his show on tune in radio. What I listened to was a combination of weekend at Bernies and a Joe Biden interview, mixed in with Muhammed Ali's last fight.

Something is medically wrong with Tom and I really feel sorry for him. Mary Ann should be ashamed of herself and pull the plug on this show.

FWIW, I listened to Tim McNally after and to say it was better than The Food Show would be damning it with faint praise.

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Their ramblings together with the amateur sound quality makes me think I'm listening to a skit on the old Saturday Night Live. Only it's real.

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That’s unnecessary

Friend,

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Something is medically wrong

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Something is "wrong" with all of us, if we look close or examine close enough. Has Tom aged and become more forgetful? Yes. At 69, he is not the same radio host he was at 49. But at 49 he wasn't the radio host he was at 35. What is clear when listening to Tom is that he still enjoys talking about food on the air. What is also true is his voice, his presence, and his show bring great joy to thousands of New Orleanians.

For all those who criticize him for his sarcasm and pomp, where is that criticism now? The new iteration of his show has an avuncular Tom who has lost that biting side. Today's Tom is affable and affectionate and warmly talks with callers. He doesn't insult restaurants. He seems now only to say positive things. But the same people who criticize him for his previous criticisms now criticize him for not being critical and hurling insults.

Tim McNally in the same sentence as Tom Fitzmorris? LOL. One is an accomplished writer and bon vivant, America's authority on food criticism and journalism. The other is a blogger whose fragments, one sentence paragraphs, split infinitives, confused personal pronouns, and other examples of indolence and apathy toward good writing would make me embarrassed to post as a status update on Facebook.

When Tom hangs up for the last time, he will do so on top. That time, though, is not just yet. I hope for years of continued blessing, graced with that gravy-laden voice. It's the world's most beautiful.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

Friend,

I you have a smart device, please download the tunein app (It is not necessary to use the paid app).

Search for wgso on the. app. The show is played at 2-4 pm CST monday through friday.

Kindest regards,

Ruzil

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When Tom hangs up for the last time, he will do so on top.

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Too late for that.

Let's face it - he was sent out to pasture when they relegated him to HD2. Now he escaped his room and found a low power semi-amateur station to blabber on.

And on.

And on.

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Something is "wrong" with all of us, if we look close or examine close enough.

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C'mon, you know that is not what he was saying.

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the same people who criticize him for his previous criticisms now criticize him for not being critical and hurling insults.

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I have not seen this at all.

Paul and TulaneLSU,

My parents are close friends with the Fitzmorris’s. My father is a physician. Last time they went out to eat, he noticed Tom’s lack of speed in the mental capacity. He has early onset Alzheimer’s. I love them both. Family friends. Why Mary Ann would continue this show is beyond us. It’s difficult to listen to a once encyclopedia of food knowledge to someone trying to remember what he had for breakfast the previous day. I wish their family the best but I think she’s in denial.

I know you two are big fans. I can confirm this information.

I hope this does not wind up being too long to read.

I do not know Tom Fitzmorris. All I know is that people have stated here that he loved the restaurant business in New Orleans - maybe the biggest draw the city possesses. Since I am from Jackson, I have never heard his show, so these comments are general in nature.

In reading this post, I see those who claim Tom is suffering from onset Alzheimer's. That seems like a reasonable conclusion if his on air performance is faltering.

My experience with that problem comes from my father, who died several years back after the disease wrecked his brain and destroyed the man I loved, respected and always called my hero.

Dad was a genuine WWII hero and eventually became a department head at the Mississippi Baptist Hospital in Jackson. He was a master mechanic, craftsman, and served as Baptist's authority during construction of the new hospital and then Manager of the hospital's Physical plant until his retirement, which came as the result of his understanding what he had and what it was doing to his memory and ability to reason the things out that were his responsibility at the hospital.

My mom, watched her husband die of this terrible disease and at 93, now lives in painful longing to join him in death. She loved her husband, so that has been her desire for the seven years he has been dead.

There was never a day she did not take up for him and during his last months she carefully covered for his painful realization that his brain was dying faster than his body.

I can remember with perfect clarity the day I walked into their den to find my father did not know me, then an hour later watch the light come on and see him realize I was there and who I was. From that point, it only got worse.

I only share my experience to support my belief that I understand the potential reason for Tom's change and what he and his wife are going through. My belief is that Tom wants to work as long as possible, probably in the belief that when he gives up the things he has done for so long, it will be the last worthwhile thing he has, other than wife and family. To give up what he does announces to the world that for Tom Fitzmorris, it is over.

Why does his wife cover for him on the radio? It is because she loves him and wants to see him hold onto the dignity of work as long as physically possible. Why do I think this? I saw my mother do it for dad. Why does she not urge him to stop? Would you want to do that to the one you really love? Would you want to say, "You are no good anymore and should stop doing the thing you love.

I understand from your comments that Tom isn't what he once was. I bet most of the time Tom knows that better than you do. Why do I think that? Because my Dad knew very well what was happening to his brain and that it was going to kill him.

Eventually it did and I saw it as a blessing. In the last weeks, he would occasionally have lucid moments and away from my mom, beg me and my brother to somehow let him die.

My hope for all of you is that you do not experience what happened to my Dad and what is happening to Tom Fitzmorris. I could say that Karma is a bitch, or that you reap what you sow, or what goes around comes around. Those are just words.

Could we agree to be gentle with Tom going forward. Let him have his thing as long as he and his wife can keep it going?

Thanks for letting me have my say.

What if that’s his only joy in life? What if he feels like he’s going to make your dining experience better?