Today, March 10th is my birthday! Thanks for all of your nice calls and emails and the Facebook greetings. I've had a great birthday, despite being at work.

When I was about five years-old, I made my first TV appearance as the Birthday Boy on a popular daytime talk show. Of course, you know why most TV hosts love having kids on their show? Kids are likely to say anything, share family secrets and make the audience laugh. My appearance was no exception. And, everyone admired my great big smile as I sat there in the giant green Birthday Chair. By the way, that famous birthday chair is now sitting in the county museum. How cool is that?

While I didn't share any family secrets, I've been told that I made a lasting impression. In fact, the host of the show invited me back on her radio talk show almost ten years later. And, that same host was instrumental in helping me move toward my lifelong career in radio.

Here's my famous line from the TV show:

Host: "Happy Birthday, Ted! What's your favorite birthday cake?"

Ted: Black!

Host: "Black? You mean chocolate, right?

Ted: No, I mean black!

And, so it goes whenever I have a reunion with my childhood friends. These decades later, they still remind me of my answer and they laugh. If I was that same five year-old boy today, my answer would be something like Red Velvet. And, how likely is it that I would get a good laugh from that one?