Sunday, July 26, 2009

Treasure in the basement

People that follow me on Facebook have been teasing me about my posts for the past two weeks about working in our basement nearly everyday. Lots of speculation on what all must have been down there that it was taking so long to go through.

I have to admit after about a week of it that it was getting discouraging. I swore, no more pack rat.

People that work in radio normally move a lot, so it is best to kind of travel light. But I had been pretty lucky with my last two gigs. Five and six year runs, respectively. But even with that there were still boxes that had been moved that dated back as far as 20 years. I found airchecks of my old shows that were on reel to reel. Memos from old P.D.'s that dated back to my college days. And an unbelievable assortment of odds and ends.

So after about a week, I was ready to adopt a new philosophy. I decided that it might be a good idea to just toss the boxes without even looking in them. After all, if I had not missed it in ten years, or 15 or 20 years, how important could it really be?

And just when I decided that I would implement my plan I opened one more box. In it, among other things was a 20 plus year old letter handwritten to me from my Grandmother. She passed away seven years ago at the age of 99. She was a remarkable woman and to see her handwriting again brought forth a rush of memories.

Then I found a picture of my Dad and his High School Basketball team. And some family genealogy that he had given me many years ago. In another box I found some items that he had given me from his extensive collection of coal mining items. And some funny cartoons drawn by my Mother

And a sympathy card from my entire air staff at WOLX when a family member had died. And then there were boxes and boxes of pictures. Some happy, some sad. All ones that I was thrilled to see.

So needless to say, throwing the boxes away without looking would have been a horrible mistake. Sure, I might not have actually known what I tossed but I would have been deprived of so many memories.

It also left me thinking about my own legacy. Am I doing enough each day to make sure that when I am gone, that someone will come across some act of kindness, silliness, or just a good memory left behind by me?

The point being, some of the little things we do each day may seem insignificant at the time, but 20 years later when someone is cleaning out their basement, it might just make them laugh, cry or just pause with a smile.

I promised myself that I would try harder to remember to do those things, so that hopefully someday I will make someone's day like finding those things made mine.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

That's all I can stand, I can't stand no more.

The famous quote of Popeye, one of America's legendary cartoon characters when he had hit the limit of his patience.

That's the way I feel today about losing something else that I feel passionate about. First thanks to the John Hogan's and Lew Dickey's of the world I lost my passion for radio. An industry that I had worked in my entire adult life. The last nine months before Clear Channel made me a statistic with their downsizing were so miserable that there are only about four or five radio companies left that I care to work for.

But today, it it not radio it is politics. Most of my life I have been fascinated by the political process. Over the years I have volunteered countless hours working for candidates and causes I believed in.

And oh boy.... then came the news channels and talk radio. I became a total news junkie.

MSNBC is the most watched channel in my house. Keith Olbermann was a nightly appointment.

Now everyone that knows me knows that I lean to the left politically. Some have even said that I am to the left of Russ Feingold. But which side of the aisle I am on really has nothing to do with why I am fed up.

What's bothering me is that our elected officials are no longer worried about doing what is best for the country, or for their district or city or county. It's about one side trying it's best to stop the other side.

I think what finally brought all this to the forefront for me was when an elected official actually said the other day that if the Republicans could stop health care that they could derail the entire Obama Presidency.

Now I wasn't a fan of W, but if one of the Democrats had made a similar statement I would have felt the same way. You can disagree on issues but to say that, or to say what Boss Limbaugh said about hoping the President fails. It's just too much.

Now make no mistake. I think both sides are guilty here. It is not about Democrats vs. Republicans, it is about just trying to destroy the other side at any cost.

So, I am swearing off talk radio and MSNBC for awhile. Whether it is Ed Schultz, Glenn Beck, Limbaugh or Olbermann. I can't take it anymore.

I will still fight for the issues I believe in... but listening to and watching this endless, mindless drivel is too much.

I have installed a ipod jack in my car.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Welcome

So I have decided to enter the world of blogging. I'm not really sure who, if anyone will read them but it sounds like a good idea to have an outlet to comment on things or just simply share something cool that I have found. So I guess I will see if it is another phase with me, which I am famous for and then lose interest in, or if it turns into something fun. But like they say, give it a try... don't cost nothing.