What’s Up, TULSA!!??

Hello! I am so very honored and ecstatic to begin a new journey with you. My name is Lynn Hernandez. I was a rock radio DJ in Tulsa for the last 16 years on 97.5 KMOD. It was a dream job of mine. Alas, like so many others, the Coronavirus Pandemic economy swept me up in its downsizing dustpan of destruction. Last November (on Friday the 13th, no less), I was shown the door. I love the people I worked with and have many fond memories and crazy stories, some of which I’ll share in the coming blogs.

About ‘Dad’s Rock!’

But as my iHeartRadio door closes, my TulsaKids Magazine window opens! Don’t get me wrong, rock radio has been my passion since college in the early ’90s, so I hope to be back on the airwaves soon. But for now I am super stoked to hang with you each week on… [ in deep loud radio voice] Two For Tuesday! I also encourage you to reach out to me and follow me on social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, tic-tac, Knick Knack Paddy Wack Give A Dog A Bone…Whatever popular social media platform comes out, I try to be a part of. MySpace seems like a whole lifetime ago.

I was asked to give my perspective of being a single dad of two kids while living in and loving Tulsa, Oklahoma. My first blog will be a brief background on how I came to reside here in Tulsa, but just like you, my family is everything, so you’ll hear a lot about them in every blog.

Music, concerts, nightlife, hanging with fans and hearing their stories were all a totally awesome part of my long radio career. However, one thing that was most enriching to me was the local community involvement. Ten years ago, the position of Public Affairs Director opened up, and I volunteered immediately. Unbeknownst to me, it became a passion that I embrace even now after being let go from the radio. So, each week I’ll also be asking you to join me and help a non-profit as we get through this pandemic and life thereafter. This week it is, drum-roll please…Up With Trees!

But first, my family. 

Mi Familia

Do you have a tattoo? I have one, which I got 16 years ago, shortly after moving to Tulsa. It’s about 10 inches long on the inside of my left forearm. It’s two words: “Mi Familia.”

Like those that get tattoos, especially your first one, I wanted something that exuded my personality and something that meant a lot to me. And I didn’t want just “wall art,” although the eyeball creature with short, stubby claws looked kind of cool. No, I knew what I wanted right away; it was just a matter of getting the right font. Dramatic, thick, two-inch size old-school calligraphy with swirly underlines, John Hancock style!

My family consists of a 7-year-old daughter named Angel and a 10-year-old boy named Atticus. I’ll keep a fence of privacy around my family, so you won’t get everything. However, as you’ll see on my Facebook page, I am, like many other parents, proud and eager to show off some pictures of us having fun. We are not unlike many modern families, divorced. Happy, loving, but not without struggles, some of which I’ll share with you in future blogs. 

How I Came to Tulsa

From Ohio…

My path to Tulsa was by way of Texas but began in Ohio. They say when you’re in radio you’d better start a U-Haul frequent miles membership. Especially when you’re starting out, it can be a very transient career. I began at my college radio station, 88.3 WLFC at University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. Yes, a small school compared to OU & OSU. However, they had a great radio station!

To Texas…

Upon graduation I moved to Austin, Texas, to be with my twin sister and older brother. They’d moved there many years prior to me. I started my first full time radio station job there and loved every minute of it. However, that U-Haul truck wasn’t going to drive itself, so after my radio company got bought out and terminated everyone, I took my chances and moved to Big D! My dad, who was from Texas, made sure I grew up (even in Ohio) a Dallas Cowboys fan, so I was nervously excited to crash on a friend’s futon and work part time for the radio company that, ironically, had bought out my previous company. 

My three years in DFW were so much fun. I made friends that I keep in touch with today. Alas, I hear that U-Haul truck a callin.’

To Tulsa!

The day the radio door in Dallas shut, my radio window in Tulsa opened! I got a call from a friend that was at KMOD (and who I worked with in Austin…NEVER BURN A BRIDGE). He offered me a job doing the midday show coming on the radio after the legendary Phil and Brent Morning Zoo. I was so crazy excited I couldn’t hardly stand it, till I walked in the studio for my first day and Brent said to me: “Who the hell are you?” Ah…radio. I loved it. 

Things were going so great so quickly that I decided to cut up my U-Haul membership card and buy my first house in Tulsa and drive my stakes in deep. I can’t wait to tell you about some of the incredible stories from my radio career and family adventures in future blogs!

Up with Trees

This week, I am volunteering at Up With Trees. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to see a video of my son Atticus and me painting their wooden signs at their shop downtown Tulsa. 

To close, a BIG thank you and socially distant fist bump to Betty Casey, Tara Rittler, and all at TulsaKids Magazine for allowing me some space to describe some of the crazy antics from Casa de Herrrrrrrnandez!

Again, it’s so nice to meet you, the reader! Please follow me on social media, and I’ll follow you back! 🙂