Lewis appeared in a new video discussing his ongoing medical problems, upcoming screening connected to his continued bladder and renal issues, and perhaps most importantly to longtime listeners, the future of Ground Zero. He also opened the video by talking about executive producer Ron Patton, who has been dealing with medical problems of his own and has a GoFundMe to help with those mounting issues.
Clyde actually looks better physically than he did in some of the earlier videos released during this ordeal. That’s the good news. But it’s also obvious that this has taken a tremendous toll on him.
Lewis remains under medical care and has continued to be unable to regularly host the program. Over the past several months, Ground Zero has relied on fill-in hosts along with a steady stream of historical programs from the show’s enormous archive. Additionally, Clyde has appeared as a guest on other shows hosted by John B. Wells and Richard Syrett..
For listeners accustomed to hearing Clyde behind the microphone night after night, his absence has become impossible not to notice.
And apparently Clyde notices it too.
Several times during the update, Lewis appeared to have tears in his eyes while talking about how badly he wants to return to full-time broadcasting. He misses his listeners. Judging by the comments and concern surrounding him for months now, they certainly miss him too.
There was frustration in the video as well.
Lewis spoke critically about the healthcare system and what he sees as an agonizingly slow process of getting tests, procedures and answers. He talked about people becoming sicker—or sometimes dying—while navigating a system that seemingly keeps making them wait.
For someone who has already beaten cancer and dealt with significant health problems before, Lewis also seemed genuinely perplexed by just how badly this latest series of illnesses has knocked him down. He has fought through serious health scares before. This time has been different.
He also addressed something that has apparently generated some criticism: the Ground Zero Plus paywall.
Lewis reminded listeners that he spent more than 30 years broadcasting without requiring people to pay a subscription fee to hear him. But independent broadcasting costs money, and circumstances eventually made the subscription model necessary. Those financial realities become even more difficult when the person at the center of the entire operation suddenly can’t work.
Ground Zero has occupied an interesting place in late-night radio for decades. In many ways, it carries the spirit of what Art Bell once created: those strange nighttime hours when conversations about UFOs, conspiracies, ghosts, government secrets, strange science and things lurking somewhere beyond our understanding somehow sound better coming through a radio speaker in the dark.
Clyde Lewis became one of the most recognizable modern voices in that world.
That’s what makes this video particularly sad.
The person appearing on the screen isn’t simply a radio host announcing when he’ll be back to work. He looks like someone trying to process what has happened to his life. At times he seems frustrated. At times emotional. At times determined. And occasionally all three at once.
That’s probably how any of us would react.
The difference is that most of us wouldn’t have thousands of people watching while we did it.
Being a public figure brings with it a strange expectation that the show must always go on. People want Clyde back behind the microphone. Some apparently demand answers about when he’s coming back. But wanting someone to return and that person physically being capable of returning are two very different things.
Lewis has been hospitalized, has spent significant time in a care facility, and has been unable to independently return to the life and broadcasting schedule he maintained for decades. Earlier updates described kidney failure requiring dialysis and extensive physical therapy, followed by months of rehabilitation and continued monitoring.
This isn’t somebody taking an extended vacation from radio.
He’s sick.
And watching this latest update, one thing becomes pretty apparent: Clyde Lewis seems to miss Ground Zero every bit as much as Ground Zero listeners miss Clyde Lewis.
Maybe that’s the most hopeful thing in the entire video.
The desire is still there.
The voice is still there.
And Clyde apparently still believes there is a microphone somewhere in his future.
Let’s hope he’s right.
Here’s hoping for continued recovery for both Clyde Lewis and Ron Patton, some good news from the upcoming medical testing, a renewed sense of health and independence for Clyde—and eventually, when his body allows it, another strange night with the lights turned down and Clyde Lewis behind the microphone again.
