Subscriber Spotlight: Writer, Rocker, and Former Political Aide Keith Jajko
Everyone has a story. Someone needs to buy the film rights to Keith's.
IN CASE YOU’RE NEW HERE, Jenna’s Side Subscriber Spotlight is a perk for paid subscribers who have something they’d like to share with the class. Think of it as show-and-tell for grown-ups—except instead of a potato that looks like Danny DeVito or your very first speeding ticket, it’s your business, project, purpose, Substack, side hustle, or genius idea. Upgrade today and get yourself on the list!
I’m not gonna lie: When I started this Subscriber Spotlight, the motive was mostly selfish. I thought/hoped/prayed that offering it would convert a few more subscribers from free to paid (on account of this being my primary source of income and the sucker-upper of at least sixty hours a week of my time). But the unexpected upside—the part I didn’t see coming—is the sheer joy it brings me. Like, actually. Getting to learn about you guys, watching you show up for each other, support each other, cheer each other on… it’s like a weird little internet enclave where everyone actually likes their neighbors. (Fine, except maybe that one weird dude who’s always running his leaf blower and only ever brings crap sandwiches to the potluck—but every ‘hood has one.) I may not have planned that part, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Which brings me to Keith (surname pronounced JAY-ko). He shows up in the comments a lot—never to antagonize, often with a zinger of his own, and almost always with an “LOL” or an “atta-girl” for me. That tells you a lot about a person, I think; that “I will stop and take time out of my day to acknowledge you and let you know that I appreciate what you do.” Not everyone does that. What I’m saying is I liked Keith already, long before he filled out my spotlight questionnaire. But now I like him even more—and I have a feeling you will, too. Enjoy. :)
WHO EVEN ARE YOU?
I’m an aging punk rocker on the senior end of Gen X (b. 1966) who survived college, journalism, politics, marriage, homeownership, parenting, Y2K, Obama, pimple-faced college dropout Facebook “fact” checkers, the Plandemic, and the ingestion of dubious amounts of brain-altering poisons long enough to accidentally land in Hawaii.
I lived in the Greater Los Angeles area (the Valley and Ventura County mostly) until the dreadful pandemic response nudged a girlfriend and me to stay on Maui for a month. That was June 2020. I never went home.
Today I write and edit, help out at my church, and drop truth bombs and pointed, over-caffeinated dispatches in Substack comments sections. I would drop killa memes there, too, but Substack doesn’t allow that with comments (yet).
I like baseball and punk rock a lot, and sometimes tap my past work experience as a news reporter and political aide to educate online readers and commentators. In that vein, I guess you could call me an enlightener. Or serial agitator. Depends on from which angle I’m being judged.
WHAT’S YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH?
After 16 years of failed attempts at recovering from addiction to alcohol and drugs, I wrote a book, Rehab All-Star, about my rehab experiences. The singular goal was to help others avoid all the mistakes I made along the way. Note for some of Jenna’s readers: it’s most definitely *not* PG-13.
I’m now writing a follow-up book, on sober living house experiences — which is rather timely with the President and RFK Jr. recently announcing the Great American Recovery initiative. I have utmost respect for Kennedy in overcoming heroin addiction — I have lost more friends and colleagues to opiates and fentanyl than I can possibly count — and maintaining recovery for over four decades. We couldn’t ask for a better person in that position. Fentanyl is a crisis of epic proportions in the United States.
GIVE US SOME DIRT.
I have a hard time working for paychecks. While most everyone who’s worked with me would say I work hard, deep inside I always question whether such work is our destiny in life. An over-contemplator, if you will. Or, maybe more accurately, a philosophizer. Rebel without a clue. In the end, I always had doubts about the real value of working for money by the hour. In America, these are not traits to make public. Luckily I finally reached an age where I can be truthful about it, along with my addiction struggles. Screw ‘em.
In reality, I’m a nightmare for deep staters and elitist ghouls who expend a lot of energy attacking the livelihood or reputations of those of us who challenge them. I survived the true hells of alcoholism and addiction. They are candy store clerks in comparison.
I have learned that the more money I make, the more trouble I get into. Every time, like clockwork. It took me a very long time to accept the fact that I just need to generate enough income to live, nothing more. I haven’t had a car or driver’s license since 2013, and quite honestly do not miss all the costs involved. One might be surprised to learn how liberating that feels.
NOW YOU GET TO BRAG!
I’m wicked good with baseball statistics. I am nowhere close to being a math wizard — in fact, I capped out in Algebra II-Trig in 11th grade — but I can look at years’ worth of stats and tell you pretty quickly if a player sucks. I wish our brains’ memory capacity could be erased like computer hard drives. I can tell you who won the 1948 World Series, including highlights from key games, but I can’t remember what I had for breakfast. Maybe one day they will invent expanded RAM upgrade chips for human brains.
I also have this bizarre trait that seemingly surfaced in recent years. I can fairly quickly see things broadly, like the bizarre pandemic response, and identify pure, absolute baloney. Biden comes to mind. My first thought was, *elder abuse*. Then he went on and proved it beyond any reasonable doubt! I think by this point my BS Detector has reached Pro+++ Level. Still, algorithms, social media “Keepers of Community Standards,” and DNC talking point writers keep me on my toes.
WHAT’S A HILL YOU’D DIE ON?
A no-doubter: freedom of speech. My father instilled deep into my psyche a lot of very American stances on governance, national spirit, and fighting for your rights. As author Evelyn Beatrice Hall stated, in summarizing Voltaire’s attitude about free speech: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
SHARE SOMETHING GOOD.
Two things come to mind:
1) The Golden Rule of Luke 6:31, the principle of treating others as you want to be treated yourself; and…
2) Pete Townshend’s lament in The Who’s “Cry If You Want”: “Once it was just innocence, brash ideas and insolence; but you will never get away with the things you say today.”
Remember kids, hope I die before I get old! LingOL!
WHY DO YOU SUPPORT JENNA’S SIDE?
Jenna’s Side provides everything I need to know each morning about matters of import, delivered totally in my language. That is, packed with sarcasm, and backed by just enough facts to get by. Nothing more, nothing less.
In reality, I cannot remember a time when I disagreed with a premise in a Jenna’s Side article. I don’t know how she does it, TBH. But I do know this: laughter releases serotonin, which makes you feel better. Who doesn’t like to feel good first thing every day? They say increasing serotonin activity is similar to the effects of some antidepressants. So… my Jenna subscription costs way less than mood stabilizers or psyche pills. So far, I haven’t discovered any side effects. Plus it’s a constant reminder that with politics and public affairs in America, we should never forget Rule 62 in Alcoholics Anonymous: don’t take yourself so damn seriously.
WHAT IF WE WANT MORE?
My website is KeithJajko.com. For book stuff, either Amazon or the Rehab All-Star Facebook page, and if you like satire, you can see my work on Maui Insight—it’s basically the Babylon Bee just for our island (its Facebook group has been long shadowbanned by the Meta Gods).
Give it up for Keith in the comments! He’s walking the walk and I’m truly honored to have his support. (Please note that Keith is on HI time, so this post will drop before 2AM his time. He’ll be here to weigh in, promise.) :)