I Hate Those Calls

The other day I received a message from a high school friend: “Hey. Are you up?” I didn’t see it because it was sent through Snapchat and I tend not to look at those right away. The following day, I texted her back and said, “Sorry I missed you. Is everything ok?”

It is sad, but it seems more and more messages that start that way bring about bad news. I know her mom really well and thought it might be something to do with her. She texted back, “I just wanted to let you know about (our mutual friend).” She then said she’d call me in a few.

The more time went by, the more I began to think about how strange this was. I had just reached out to our friend around Christmas. I messaged her on Facebook and said Merry Christmas and wished her well in the New Year. I then remembered I hadn’t heard back. I opened my Facebook messenger and saw that the message I sent her had not been read. This made me start to worry.

When my friend called back, I asked her what was going on. I was informed that our friend was in hospice care. I was stunned. I couldn’t even begin to imagine this. I hadn’t heard from her in a while, but I knew she had all kinds of things going on at home and figured she was sorting through all of that. I had no idea that she was sick.

I was told that she has an aggressive form of Bile Duct Cancer. It’s a rare cancer and it has metastasized into the brain. Within 24 hours of my friend’s call, she texted to say that they were upping the morphine and our friend would most likely be in a coma like state until she passes. I had hoped to visit her today, but wasn’t able to get there. I haven’t heard an update today.

I’m 53. We graduated together, so we’re about the same age. We reconnected through Facebook years ago, and when I was going through my divorce, she often reached out to see how I was. Our group of mutual friends all went out to dinner one night and it was so much fun. It was like being in high school all over again. Those friendships picked right up where we left off. She and I messaged often and when she started having issues in her life, the tables turned and I was there to talk with her and offer support. Now, she is in her final days.

I read a quote from someone online that really hit home:

“One of the absolutely worst things about getting old, is the loss of friends and loved ones to sickness and ultimately death. The longer I live, the more I find myself reminiscing about the folks who peppered my world with the joy of their presence, now gone forever.”

This is so true. I have so many things in my life to celebrate and that make me happy (my family first and foremost), but as I get older, it hurts to lose some of those wonderful people who shared good times with me.

The above quote from Leo Buscaglia should be something that should be on our minds daily. When they say “tomorrow is promised to no one,” they are right. In the blink of an eye, or in one millisecond life can change.

A co-worker was in a serious accident this week. She is ok, but her car is totaled. All it would have taken is a second earlier or a second later, or any other minute factor and the outcome could have been very different. You never know when it’s time.

The quote at the top of this blog is one that a good friend of mine had written on a mirror in her home. “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many” It was found by her son when they were cleaning out her home. This friend was only 5 years older than me. Now, my friend in hospice is being denied that privilege, too.

I am grateful for the times we shared together and will miss her.

Swapping Old Radio Stories

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, social media is great for catching up with old friends. However, I can honestly say that it cannot beat catching up in person.

In 1988, my radio career started at WKSG, Kiss-FM in Detroit. I met so many great people there, and many I am still friends with. A couple years before I was let go, the station hired a new Production Director.

Cam Smith was no stranger to radio. He was in radio long before that seed was planted in my mind. As a matter of fact, he worked at many of the stations (or in buildings) that I would eventually work at, too.

He’s been living in Florida for sometime and we reconnected on Facebook quite a few years back. He recently messaged me to tell me that he was coming up to Michigan and wanted to get together while he was in town. He gave me some dates to look at and we decided that today would work.

As I left the house this morning, my wife said, “How long do you think you’ll be gone?” I told her that Cam and I hadn’t seen each other in 30 years, so it could be a bit. She smiled and knew that would be the case.

We met at the Tim Horton’s close to my house. The only thing that’s changed is we’re both a bit greyer and he still has more hair than me! We grabbed coffee and a sandwich and the radio stories began to flow.

He had already met with many radio folks over the past few days. He was posting pictures on his Facebook page. It was fun to see many of them, as I worked with some of them, too. He got together with the WSAM/WKCQ – Saginaw gang as well as the WTRX-Flint folks. He told me some great stories that I had never heard before about the hijinks from those places and the talk incorporated many of the mutual radio people we had both worked with.

It was so great to sit and talk about our Kiss-FM Program director, Paul Christy. Paul, gave me my big break in radio and he was there when Cam was hired. There were many stories about Paul and a whole lot of laughs. We were both laughing so hard at times, I thought they might kick us out.

Our age has caught up with us, though. There were way too many times that we were like, “What was the name of that promotions guy who was there?” or “Do you remember that one listener who used to come out to all the car cruises?” Then at the same time, there were plenty of things that jogged my memory about things I had forgotten. Things like former station call letters or formats, old promos that ran, and sales people I had forgotten. There are things that we talked about that I have saved as MP3 that he’s never heard that I need to send him, so I’ll be going through the hard drives later this week.

The sad thing is that there is never enough time. I know we could have easily spent another 4 hours telling stories, but I had to leave and head to work. I couldn’t be happier to spend time sharing stories and reliving great memories. I hope it isn’t so long between visits next time and that maybe we can get more folks together to share with us.

What a great time! Thanks, Cam! It was so great to see you. Safe travels back home, buddy!

Life Turns On A Dime

Just what does that even mean – “Life turns on a dime?” A quick Google search will offer up some explanations for folks unfamiliar with the phrase:

“Since a dime is the smallest U.S. coin, the ability to “turn on it” is a figure of speech meaning you can change direction very quickly in a very small space. In this case, it means that life can change course very quickly. Depending on the circumstances, it can be either good or bad, but either way it will be rapid.“

To “turn on a dime” means turning sharply and/or suddenly. To say that “life can turn on a dime” means that a person’s life can change radically in an instant (or very quickly). It’s more often used to mean someone going from a “good place” to a not-so-good place, but it can also mean suddenly taking a turn for the better.

Turn on a dime is an English idiom meaning change dramatically, suddenly and without warning or coming out of the blue unexpectedly. It usually results from a single event that dramatically alters the course of events either as a negative or a positive.

Stephen King uses that quote quite a bit in his time travel book 11.22.63. It is almost like a theme throughout it. One thing can change history (as in the case of the book) in the blink of an eye. I guess another way of explaining it is that life can change just like that (imagine a finger snap here.)

I had totally prepared to work on my article for the next round of Turntable Talk today, but some things have been tossed into our path that has led to this one instead. I write this as a reminder to you and myself to take nothing for granted. I write this as a reminder to live each day to it’s fullest. I write this as a reminder that life is a fragile thing.

In the baseball game of life, we are thrown many curveballs. Some of those we see coming and some brush us off the plate. Some of those we get ahold of and can knock them out of the park, while many of them we swing at – and miss.

Enjoy every moment. Never miss an opportunity to say “I love you.” Life is too short to hold grudges. These are all things that I have said in one way, shape or form in previous blogs.

It has been hard for me to scroll Facebook lately. So many of my friends are hurting because of sickness, death, grief, or struggle. I pray for each of them daily. Sure, there are plenty of happy moments shared on social media, but in amongst those things are people I care about – hurting. Life turned on a dime for them. Factor in some other news that we’ve been made aware of over the past few weeks and we see life turning on a dime again, this time closer to home.

The storm is off the coast. It is clear as day on the radar. Heading toward us. We will watch it’s course and the skies. We will prepare the best we can. We will do our best to be ready for it. In the meantime, we will enjoy the moments and savor each one.

Social Media Spring Cleaning

I was forced to do a bit of clean up to one of my social media accounts today.

I am not really sure how I missed this one particular person when I went through the “followers” previously, but I did. This follower decided to make themselves known by commenting on a post I made. By doing so, I again went through the followers and deleted (and blocked) those who are full of hatred and negative energy.

I know that it is only a quick fix. I would not put it past you to create fake accounts with fake names and follow me that way. I wouldn’t put it past you to recruit others to spy for you. On Facebook and other social platforms, I can keep on blocking – and no doubt, you know about it. I am sure that once the block happened today, it was the talk of the day! One less connection to feed you things to gossip about. Don’t be hurt that I blocked you (and others before you). They were the first to block me as I recall.

At What Point Do You Move On?

That’s a good question. There are other questions that I can pose as well. Does your new man realize that you are probably spending more time on me and what I am doing than him? Are you that desperate to know what I am doing that you need to have your friends stalk my page? You claim that I am playing the “victim”, but isn’t what you have been doing for years? You have everything you ever wanted now. With all the time you spend focusing on me and my life, when will you ever open your eyes to enjoy what you have?

I have to believe that your friends, your man, and your family would be sick of hearing about me by now! Maybe they are just like you, however, and take joy in being miserable and making others miserable. You are the great manipulator. You have them all believing what you want them to believe. You have done no wrong in anything. You must control every situation and get what you want when you want it. You will do whatever you have to do or say to get people to believe you, stand with you, and buy into your narcissistic world.

Do yourself, your friends, and your family a favor – MOVE ON!

Misery loves company. It also must love jealousy, and toxicity. All I need in my life is my children and those who love me.

All 8 of those things should sound familiar to you – as you fit every single one of those things!

Take a look around your circle of “friends” or “family” for that matter – you love to talk about every one of them when they are not around. The backstabbing and gossip that happens to people who are not there is brutal and venomous! I wonder if they have any idea that you wear a different face when you are with them? You have to know that they do they same thing to you when you are not there. Each of you have two or more faces. Oh well, let them be the subject of your evil and selfish “game.”

Have a nice life ….

Oh, one more thing….

Professional help!

A Smile Amid Chaos

All you had to do this week was turn on the news, check your social media page, or surf the internet to see the chaos going on in the world. As an American, it makes me sad to see the state of the country. The division within the country is just sickening. Abraham Lincoln quoted scripture when he said:

Facebook was full of friends who stated that they were leaving Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms to go to MeWe and Parler (whatever those are!). I utilize the “snooze/mute” and “unfollow” features so I don’t see a lot of the content that aggravates me. However, even taking advantage of those features, I still end up seeing things I don’t want to.

When I am feeling angry or upset at the world, politics, or whatever, I need only turn to the smile of my little girl…..

Ella is oblivious to all the craziness in the world. She loves playing with mommy and daddy. She watches Elmo and reads books. She chases the cat and gets into things she isn’t supposed to. She finds joy in simple things, like me making a stuffed dog “bark” at her.

She got to go outside and sit in the snow for the first time in her life. Even though she wasn’t quite used to the snowsuit and boots – she smiled at the peacefulness of a winter day!

Having her in my life is better than any medication a doctor can prescribe! I love my daily dose of Ella – her smile is contagious!

Keep Smiling!!

“Hello Again, Hello …”

Long time … no blog

Hello, my friend. Sorry I have been away for a bit. My last blog led to many friends on Facebook reaching out to see if I was okay. I wasn’t. When I wrote that blog, I obviously was a bit frazzled, but had yet to reach my breaking point. That only took an extra few days.

I’m not going to go into a lot of detail, but I finally cracked. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. The stresses alluded to in my previous blog, and the stress of everything that is going on eventually led to this. During a visit with my physician, she stated that she was very concerned about me. She decided it was best for me and my health to be off work for a few weeks. I am hoping she is right.

Quarantine

Since the doctor visit, I have been home. I have only ventured out in the car a couple times – to pick up groceries we ordered online and once with Sam (more on that in later). Many think I am crazy, but after the things I heard and seen at the hospital, the first thing I did when I brought the groceries home was set them on the porch. With gloves on, I went bag by bag and wiped everything down with bleach wipes. How do I know who touched the things we bought?

Remember the blog I wrote about things to do while at home? Yeah, despite the sudden abundance of extra time, I haven’t really had a chance to do much of what was on that list. The stack of unread books remains unread – for now. Exercise – I took a walk or two and put leaves in bags (does that count?). Plenty of movies I have yet to watch. Clear coat on the wall in the kitchen – can’t do any home improvements. Organizing digital music and folders and radio stuff – you would think I’d be on the computer more than I have been, but I am not. Clean the basement – I did this partially. So many things on my list that I just haven’t done. Sigh. How damn sad is this? I finally have the time, but just can’t put myself in the right frame of mind to do them.

Social Media

While I am trying to limit my time on social media, I admit, I still get on Facebook more than I should. It’s not that I don’t like it, it is just that it is flooded with so many things I am trying to avoid.

Political Bullshit. Blaming Republicans and Democrats for everything. Trump bashing. Trump Praising. Governor bashing. Governor praising. Polarizing stuff. The world is full of division and it shows on Facebook. You have your right to your opinion and to post what you want, however, I have programmed myself to scroll by this stuff.
Corona Virus – Covid 19 stuff. Being in the hospital setting, I know the numbers. I know the severity of it. The various theories and conspiracies and people re-posting every article they find to “prove their point” is NOT what I need to see. The only things I pay attention to are the things posted by the CDC and World Health Organization.
Sad stories. There are PLENTY of them. Emotionally, I know they are out there, I just can’t handle them.

I have a page I update called Celebrity Passings. When a celebrity dies, I post a picture and farewell. There have been more than I can count lately – some Covid 19 related, some not. My heart is just not in it right now.

One thing I am enjoying are some of the Facebook “games” that are out there. One of the ones I am doing right now was a challenge to post an album that influenced your musical taste for 10 days. In support of the 2020 seniors, some are posting their own high school senior pictures (I need to do that). Another one that was fun was to zoom in on a picture of an album cover, or a scene from a TV show or movie and post the zoomed in part to see if people can guess what it is. I zoomed in on Doc Brown’s eyes from Back to the Future – LOL! Great Scott!

Family Time

The one thing that I have been able to do is spend time with my family – at least most of my family. It has been very nice to spend time with my wife and daughter. This certainly has been a wonderful way to de-stress. Ella is getting so big, and it is amazing how her features seem to change every day!

I have been feeding the baby more lately. She often will fall asleep while eating. When this happens, I usually let her sleep in my arms. I may have mentioned this before, but one thing that I love is when she smiles in her sleep. It is just so cute.

She is actually smiling a whole lot more. She has a little floor mat with toys that hang down from it. She loves lying on her back and looking at the toys. She’s also been able to hold her head up for longer periods of time. She has a “Bumbo” chair, and she loves sitting in it.

Ain’t it cute how she is giving us a “thumbs up” in that picture?

When the weather cooperates, we’ve been trying to get out and walk the neighborhood. The other day it was 70 degrees. The following day we had temps in the 30’s and 40’s with rain, snow, wind, thunder, and some sunshine! Only in Michigan! I had the chance to do a daddy/daughter walk through the neighborhood. It was very relaxing and she enjoyed the time in the fresh air.

This will be Ella’s first Easter. We had hoped to have some professional pictures done, maybe one with the Easter Bunny. Obviously, with the current situation and social distancing, that can’t happen. So we’ve been trying to get some pictures here at home. We’ll post them on Facebook for Easter. During today’s shoot – I had to laugh. In one picture, she curled her lip up like Elvis! Just typing this makes me laugh. Here she is channeling her “inner Elvis.”

Her hair continues to baffle us. Some days it looks brown. Some days it looks blonde. Some days it looks red! A red-headed Italian?! Oh boy, am I in trouble!!??

Missing My Boys

As I stated above, I have had the chance to spend time with almost all of my family. My sons are with their mom as this quarantine continues. I haven’t seen them in almost a month, maybe more (all the days are running together). I have video chatted with them a few times, but I miss them. When we do talk, I always have the feeling that their mom is looming over them and they aren’t free to talk.

One call from my oldest made me especially sad. The 4th was my mom’s birthday. She would have been 72. Every year, my sons and I visit her grave at the cemetery. I was planning on going, but that day, I took a new medication that was prescribed by my doc and the side effects hit me pretty hard. I was dizzy, lightheaded, and felt sick. I took a nap and when I woke up my sons had called. I called them from bed to tell them I was staying home. They video chatted with me from the cemetery. It was sad that I wasn’t they with them. They were both in tears. My oldest was upset because he was close to her. My youngest was upset because he never had the chance to meet her and it still bothers him. I told them that when this was all over, we’d go and visit.

It has just been awful not seeing them. I miss them terribly. My oldest video chatted yesterday and was showing me that he is growing his beard. He turns 18 tomorrow. I won’t even be able to hug him! I have a gift for him. I plan on wrapping it and driving it to his house and leaving it on his porch for him. I told him I bought a cake and will make it and celebrate when we get the chance to be together.

Special Trip

Outside of going to the grocery store, I have only left the house one time. Actually, it was me, Sam, and the baby. I was feeling down. Sam said we were going somewhere. She said she had wanted to do this for a few weeks. It obviously wasn’t a restaurant or anything, so I had no idea what she had in mind. We all got in the car and she drove. She drove to the cemetery. She knew I was upset that I didn’t get to go with the boys, but she also wanted to take Ella. She said it she wanted Ella to see one of the Pamela’s she was named after.

As you can imagine, it was emotional for me. Sam brought a blanket and Ella and I laid on it by my mom’s grave. My mom always hoped for a granddaughter. I know she would have spoiled her big time! Just like with my youngest son, it makes me very sad that she never got to meet her grandma. Sam’s grandpa is also buried at the same cemetery, so we took Ella to see her great grandpa, too!

It was a very special trip.

No Moe

One of the changes that happened recently is that we had to find a new home for one of our cats. We had two. Moe was our first. Then we got Maizey. Moe was huge. He ate so much! When we brought Ella home, we worried. How were they going to react? They both did well, so we didn’t think we were going to have issues. We didn’t, until one night we found Moe in Ella’s bassinet. He was laying on her, and we knew this was dangerous.

We didn’t know what to do. By a stroke of luck, my sister-in-law’s ex’s parent’s cat had died recently. They were looking for a cat! They took him and treat him like a king! We heard he has eggs for breakfast – at the table!! He has his own heating pad on the couch. He is living it up. I miss him, but am happy he found a good home.

As for Maizey, well, when Moe was here, she was moving. She never laid by you. She never let you hold her. She never purred. Well, that has all changed. She loves being by us now. She meows and likes her tummy rubbed. She always seems to be by me now. She loves to be petted and now purrs like nobody’s business.

Happy Easter

We’ll be staying home for Easter, obviously. We’re not even sure what we are doing for Easter dinner. But we plan on dressing up and enjoying our day as a family. We have an Easter basket for Ella and a very cute Easter outfit. I am sure there will be many pictures!

Faith

I’m not one to push religion on anyone. I understand that everyone believes what they want to believe. I realized how far from my faith I have been through this whole situation. Over the past two weeks, I began watching messages from pastor friends of mine, and got back into reading my bible. A friend asked me some questions about the Antichrist and it was fun to re-study that topic and chat with her. Bottom line, my faith is important to me. It is a key element in my coming out of this in a better frame of mind. I plan on spending a bit more time focused on that (and Him) in the future.

A friend of mine took this picture in Grand Blanc this week (about 30 minutes south of here). It was such a beautiful picture, I want to share it here. Enjoy your holiday. Happy Easter. Count your blessings.

I appreciate you reading. Sorry to have been away for so long. I’ll get through this. It just may take some time.

I hope to be back to my normal blogging self, soon.

Be safe. Be well.

Keith

Expanding on an earlier Facebook post.

I am on vacation. I have the next week off and will have my sons all week. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to have them over. I am hoping that the weather will cooperate and we’ll get to do some fun things this week. This vacation could not have come at a better time. I’m not sure why, but I just need the break. I have so much that has been on my mind.

For example, Thursday was typical for me. I slept for about 3-4 hours. It is my day to switch from “midnight” mode to “days.” Normally on Thursday, my head hits the pillow and I am asleep quickly. That was not the case. I actually broke my own rule (and what I tell all my patients about electronics before bed) and was surfing the web and reading stuff hoping to make myself tired – it didn’t work.

I read once that if you can’t shut your mind off, just jot all the thoughts down. The thought process is that it can help free your mind of them. I hoped that this would work and posted the following on Facebook. In posting it here and re-reading it, I may or may not comment on these thoughts. Some of them are repeat thoughts, some are not. Here goes:

“Been here in bed since 10:30. Sam is already sleeping. The cats are both on the bed, too. Mind won’t shut off. Trying not to think about something that happened earlier that really just made me angry. Random thoughts/wishes:

* As much as I love to sit and write, I wish I could find a gig that paid me to do it.

Comment: The more I think on this, the more I wish I could do this! I believe that you are always your own worst critic. I have often wondered why anyone would even want to read what I write, yet, here you are. I’m sure many authors have wondered if people would want to read their stuff too. Writing is therapeutic for me. Much like radio, I can take my observations and share them. You won’t always agree with my thoughts or opinions, and that is OK with me.

* In talking to an old radio buddy, it makes me miss doing it full time (even though it has changed dramatically)

Comment: While I am not doing this full time, I need to acknowledge that I am very lucky to still be doing it part time. Even if it is once a week, whether it is live or recorded, I still have my foot in the door and I get to “create” and “perform.” I still love it and radio will probably always be in my blood.

* I wish I could review music, bands, or movies and get paid for it. Neat to see some friends of mine doing it and having success with that!

Comment: I follow some blogs that write movie reviews. I know they don’t get paid for that. However, I have a friend who writes a lot of political stuff for websites and gets paid for that. I also have a buddy who always seems to be out and about interviewing celebrities about their films for various news stations, TV and radio. What a cool gig that has to be. When I interviewed people on the radio I was always told I was a “good interviewer.” Maybe I am. Pardon me while I digress and share two instances come to mind:

When I was at B95, Craig Morgan was scheduled to come by the studio. At the time he had a minor hit, and some tunes that weren’t being played on the radio. I was told by my boss to put him on the air for a few minutes, ask him about his new song, play it and move on. I did my research, and there were a lot of things about Craig that I found interesting. Yes, I was going to ask about his song, but there were other things I wanted to as about. I asked about his military career, his family, and such. Craig is a very funny guy. He and I hit it off instantly. We laughed a lot and had a bunch of fun. About 5 or 8 minutes into the interview, my boss went into the studio in the next room and stood in front of the window. I thought he was gonna give me the “Wrap it up” signal because we were going longer than anticipated. Instead, he gave me the “keep going – stretch it out” signal.

I don’t recall how long the interview went, but it was FUN. My boss said, “You just took a guy who no one was really familiar with, and made the listeners love him, because you related to him. You asked questions that made him so real. It was entertaining, and enjoyable. That’s the best damn interview I have heard in a long time!” The kudos I received were unexpected.

Also at B-95, Jewel came by the studio and I interviewed her on the air. She had recorded a country album and was promoting it. I did my research and prepped for her interview. I found a lot of stuff that I could ask about. Jewel was homeless for a time. She lived in a van. I wasn’t sure if that was a topic she would want to talk about. When she arrived I asked her off air if there was anything that she didn’t want to talk about, she said to ask whatever I wanted to. Naturally, I asked about her album. I also asked about her family life and pop hits. I also asked about her being homeless, in which she shared some great stories about writing songs.

One of the things I asked about was some Wizard of Oz TV special she did in the mid ’90’s. She started chuckling and joked about it. She asked “How did you find out about that?!” This led her to talk about some plays she was in in school and some other childhood memories. She was so moved and excited to be talking about those things. It was so cool for me to see how moved she was to remember those stories and it was great radio!

After Jewel left the station, about a half hour later, I got a call on my cell phone from the record rep who brought her to the station. He said, “I wanted you to know that Jewel just told me that you were by far the best interview she has done on this radio tour! She was blown away that you asked her about that Wizard of Oz thing! She said she felt so comfortable talking to you and she really enjoyed herself. She said you made her remember some great stories that she has never shared with anyone before. Nice work, cowboy!”

Again, a high point in my radio career!

back to my original thought – I think it would be very cool to get the chance to hear an album before it hit stores, see a movie before it hits theaters, or read a book before it hits the shelves and then offer a review.

* It’s a shame when an entire team has to be punished because of a few others.

On my hour drive to work each night, it is often the time I catch up with friends on the phone. We talk about family, friends, and work. In discussing work, there was this common theme. Rather than dealing with employees individually and holding them accountable for whatever the issue was, bosses made a knee-jerk reaction and punished the entire staff for the issues of a few people.

I am not in a position of authority at my job. I was a boss on more than one occasion. Observations that I made as an employee, helped me to manage. Managers motivate! When employees are motivated, they will go above and beyond for you. Many managers tend to demotivate. Jay Trachman, one of my radio mentors, wrote an article geared toward radio managers, and it holds true for any manager, really. It included things that managers do to demotivate, with or without knowledge of doing it. They included:

Ignoring employee ideas
Setting unattainable goals and holding employees responsible for them
Treating employees like children
Ignoring that employees have lives outside of work
Making rules for the entire staff because of the behavior of a few members
Focusing on errors or mistakes, no matter how trivial (Incidentally, the facts show that when you dwell only on problem areas destroys the employee’s confidence and self-esteem makes the employee more error-prone!)

* I hate when an opportunity seems right, but no matter how many ways you try to make it work, you can’t.

Comment: Without going into detail, an opportunity presented itself. It was one of those opportunities that doesn’t come around too often. I took it all in. Asked questions. Weighed options. Re-weighed options with different scenarios. Crunched numbers. Re-visited scenarios. Made a pros and cons list (my wife swears by these!). It was an opportunity that just was not something I could jump at. I am ok with that, though, because, it doesn’t change anything I am already doing. No big deal.

* I am hoping the scale shows a loss tomorrow at weigh in.

Comment: It did. My total weight loss now is at 24 pounds!! I couldn’t be happier! I was a bit worried because last Saturday I DJ’d a wedding and the dinner didn’t necessarily have the most healthy choices. Oh, and they had a doughnut bar! LOL. I am determined to get back down to 199 (where I was about 20 years ago, and the last time I was on Weight Watchers). The journey continues!

* I am not looking forward to a visit to the dentist tomorrow.

Comment: Uneventful cleaning. No cavities, so I was happy with that!

* I wish I could do more voice over work.

Comment: I looked into a few voice over services, but most cost money to be a part of. They also require you to do many auditions daily. I could probably do this on my days off, but it is hard to do working midnights, and without a home studio (or the money to build a home studio)!

I am lucky to have the relationships I have with The American Way, Whitetail Journey, Modern Craft Wines, Fox 66, and RPM Auto Sales. I would love to add a few more clients to that list. If you know anyone looking, I can certainly send a voice sample to them.

* I probably could have wrote a blog instead of this. Maybe I will just copy and paste it….lol.

Comment: That’s what I am doing!

* There is so much sadness in the Facebook feed this week. My heart goes out to my friends who have lost loved ones or have loved ones in the hospital.

Comment: Scrolling the Facebook news feed this week, I was saddened to read of some friends coping with the loss of someone special to them. I also read of a dear friend who is now home with hospice care. Some friends have been Facebook silent, but I am aware of some health struggles that are dealing with.

Many people state that they hate Facebook. They say there are too many political arguments, opinions, etc. I would agree, but I also utilize the “mute” button. There are ways that you can unfollow those who post stuff you don’t want to see. You remain friends, but you don’t see their stuff. You can also post things while making sure that certain people can’t see it.

I happen to like Facebook. It is a great way to keep up with friends. I almost never forget a friend’s birthday! I always love the pictures of weddings, first and last days of school, band concerts, dance recitals, and the addition of new babies or grandbabies. There are sad things, too. The passing away of parents, prayer chains for those who are sick or suffering, or the loss of a pet. Without Facebook, I’d never know these things. It can be a place to offer words of support, encouragement, or better yet, prompt you to reach out to your friend on the phone.

While I love social media, I also feel that it is important to reach out and actually talk to friends. I have decided that I am going to try to do that more. Yes, texting and messaging is easy, but you know what? I want to hear your voice!

* I hate change. I am a man of routine. Sometimes, change is inevitable. Sometimes change is exciting.

Comment: I take the same way to work every day. I am a creature of habit. One of the things that helps me stay focused on Weight Watchers is that I know the point values of meals. I tend to find something I like, and will stick with that meal. I have been eating a lot of veggies and fruits. I am also eating a lot of salads. However, to change things up we had turkey tacos last night. Not going to lie, changing it up was exciting! That’s right – I was excited for Tacos!!

* Guy on TV said to his gal, “I couldn’t be happier.” I think you can always be happier. Happiness can grow, much like love can grow. Each day I think I can’t love Sam any more than I do, but that love grows deeper. Happiness can grow too – that’s cool to me.

Comment: Just re-reading that made me smile. Think about this – “Happiness is a habit – cultivate it” (Quite attributed to Elbert Hubbard)

* The wrong motivation can kill morale and desire to give their all for you.

Comment: See above comments about punishing the entire team because of a few others.

* I wish I was an expert on something. With the recent talks I have done for conferences and small groups, I would totally love to do that for a living.

Someone commented on the original Facebook post and said I should be a motivational speaker. I don’t know that I’d go that far. I have many obstacles of my own that I have yet to conquer. I am not sure how motivating I can be.

I have always enjoyed doing career days at schools. I think it would be cool to host classic movies at a theater. I have no problem public speaking. I thought about teaching a public speaking class at one of those community education night class type programs. I don’t know, it’s a pipe dream perhaps. I just think it could be a very fun thing to do and would be great to get out and meet people.

* Was hoping that by jotting this stuff here, I’d get sleepy … Maybe I should at least try to go to sleep.

Comment: I didn’t.

* Even with all of these random thoughts, one still remains true. I am one lucky man! I am blessed beyond measure.

Comment: The Bible says in I Thessalonians 5:18, “In EVERYTHING give thanks.” What powerful instruction, and a very difficult thing to do! I have always tried to make this one of my “life mantras,” but some days are harder than others. At one point in my life, nothing could make me feel better. I was deep in that depression and suffering with so many feelings. I was struggling bad.

Today, however, I am a new man. Those quotes that I always had in my mind are back and help keep me focused. This one still remains difficult, because “everything” means “everything!” In good times and bad times – give thanks! What a challenge! Despite the fact that I had a variety of things (both good and bad) running through my head Thursday night, I remind myself of just how thankful I am to be alive! I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my job. I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for YOU. Thanks for reading!

Now, I am off to enjoy my time off!