'Radio is Awesome,' says WSB radio man after 12 hours on the air while thousands in Georgia were stranded on roads

Erick Erickson is a WSB Atlanta radio host and was on the air for 12 hours during the storm in Georgia this week when thousands were stranded on roads:

1/29/14, "Radio is Awesome," Erick Erickson, RedState.com

"I just got off the radio, having gotten behind the microphone at 4pm yesterday afternoon. Weather and traffic in Atlanta are horrible. As I was signing off at 4 am, there were still thousands of people stranded on the road unable to get home. Many of them had begun their journey home at noon on Tuesday.

I was really delighted to be able to be company and a friend for these people stuck in traffic. I just took calls most of the night so they could vent, ask for help, or just chat. My call screener was worn out after about eight hours so I sent him to bed. He’ll sleep on the floor somewhere at the studio. He couldn’t get home.

After he left, I took all the remaining calls and then just chatted. I walked folks through my Sunday School lesson from last Sunday even. After I was done, I’ve hung out on twitter to answer questions of Atlanta area commuters stuck on roads who just want to get home. I am utterly exhausted and probably should not have had that glass of bourbon at 3am. But it was a wonderful time.

And I really and honestly and truly would not have been put in that position to be able to do that, but for the prayers and encouragement of so many of you. So as you are waking up, I’ll say thank you and goodnight."...

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Among comments to Erick's post at Red State:

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"qwck10th• 20 hours ago

Thank you Eric. First, I was one of those listening - for a while, anyway. After 5 hours and 7 miles in the car, I hoofed it the last 6 miles... in only 3 hours. :)

Second, to all the moronic Wednesday morning quarterbacking jerks (Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel), screw you! Gov. Deal, and Mayor Reed are doing the best they can with what they have (and I'm not a fan of either - less so, Reed.)

Third, To the guy handing out hot coffee on Windy Hill Rd, thank you. To the many, many people that were helping others push/pull their cars up the hills and out of ditches, thank you. Atlanta is different that way - even with all those Yankee move-in's. :)

Thoughts and prayers to those still stranded."

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"bgmacaw• a day ago

Your WSB colleague, Kirk Mellish, was also helpful by having one of the more accurate forecasts on any of the Atlanta radio and TV stations.

Many others were still repeating the old forecast, saying there was only going to be a "dusting" of snow. This went on up until about 2 PM, causing some businesses, and perhaps schools, to delay closing. This resulted in a large number of people getting on the road at 2:30 or later, after road conditions had deteriorated rapidly and significantly."

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"imperfectamerica a day ago

You'll probably never have any idea how many people kept their spirits buoyed for those many hours of dark, bitter cold by listening to you. Nice job."