1000 Things

Do nothing…veg out…chill out…watch MeTV for endless hours.  For nearly 50 years in broadcasting I was on-call 24/7/365.  I didn’t know how to relax because I never could.  Now that I am retired, it’s taken me a while to learn how to “do nothing”.  I’ll just keep practicing til I get it right.

Make a list.  I love making To Do Lists…ask anyone that has worked with me.  When things start to go crazy, I stop, pull out a notepad and starting writing down everything I need to accomplish in list form.  It keeps me on-track, and there is nothing more satisfying than crossing off something on my list…a feeling of accomplishment. I’m also a big believer in Pros/Cons lists when trying to make a decision on something.  Once you list out all the pros and cons, usually the correct decision becomes obvious.

As a former radio DJ, I can name MANY, but the one that sticks out the most is Terry Jacks – Seasons In The Sun from 1974.  A close second would be Billy Don’t Be A Hero – Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods also from 1974. Debbie Boone and You Light Up My Life is also on my list…only because one day I was so sick of the song, I played barking dogs in the background.  That got me in trouble with one of the stations advertisers and I had to go down and apologize.

My weight.  In High School I was 177, then the old “Freshman 15” hit at college, and off we go.  My job had me sitting all day, either behind a radio control board or at a desk.  The fast food pounds started to pile on ever since, especially the last 4 years since I was driving an hour each way to work and back home.  Once I get a handle on this retirement “thing” I hope to be able to lose a lot of it…well, okay, SOME of it. Maybe.  We’ll see.

Well if I told you, they wouldn’t be a secret now would they?

Being patient.  The world today has lost basic Common Sense, and that frustrates me to no end.  I wonder sometimes how these people actually get up every morning, and get dressed!

Bite my nails.  Age old habit that I’ve been trying to break.  Same thing for scary or intense movies.

I admire him for all that he has accomplished during his young life.  By the age 29, he had accomplished more most do in their entire lifetime.  Plus he puts up with my rambling phone calls, but I enjoy the conversations and I never leave without learning something.

Well, it wasn’t so much “touching” as it was short.  In Middle School we were assigned to find a poem to write a report about.  My Mom had a paperback book of poems so I started paging through looking for one that I could use.  They were all so boring to me.  I decided to change my strategy and look for the SHORTEST poem I could find…and I found a doozy:

Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.

I was too young to know what it meant.  Needless to say, Mom didn’t let me use THAT one for the report.

Heights for one, and believe it or not, speaking in front of crowds.  You would think that being a DJ for all those years I wouldn’t have such a phobia, but in reality most DJ’s HATE crowds…they like being in their small little studio, alone.

It was a trip with a friend to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands in June 2007.  The water was so clear, the sunsets were spectacular, and the food was amazing.  We talked with some people at the bar and they all had the same story; they came down on vacation, fell in love with the place, called back to the Mainland and told the rest of the family to pack their stuff and ship it down because they weren’t coming home.  Now THAT is Paradise. I also was blessed to take a European trip during the summer of my sophomore year in High School…we saw England, France, Portugal and Spain.  6 weeks, all food, plane, hotel, $400! Also went on a cruise more recently and it too was amazing.  Everyone should go on at least one cruise in their lifetime.

Well, it wasn’t so much “touching” as it was short.  In Middle School we were assigned to find a poem to write a report about.  My Mom had a paperback book of poems so I started paging through looking for one that I could use.  They were all so boring to me.  I decided to change my strategy and look for the SHORTEST poem I could find…and I found a doozy:

Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.

I was too young to know what it meant.  Needless to say, Mom didn’t let me use THAT one for the report.

A belly rub for Nick and a head scratch for Miss Pearl.  Yes, I spoil them…don’t judge me.

I am pissed off to the max and biting my tongue.  Just let me be.  I’ll eventually get over it…maybe.

There is not one…maybe four.

• My fur babies.
• Politics (yea, I know, not supposed to but if you open the door, I’m probably gonna walk through it).
• Radio.
• My Seeburg 1000 collection.

Sleep.  I just retired and I am still getting used to not being on-call 24/7.  Each day that goes by I am letting things go and not worrying about “work”.  It’s a slow process.

The Sopranos.  I watched the entire series in one 4-day weekend.  Did the same for Game of Thrones.

It was the day of my High School graduation.  I was in charge of the Audio/Visual stuff, including the lighting and sound in the school auditorium.  About an hour before the event, I noticed one of the house lights was burned out so I figured I better crawl up there and replace the bulb.  So up the scaffolding I crawled to the ceiling walkway, but wouldn’t you know it, the fixture was nowhere near the catwalk, so I had to step over the railing on to one of the steel beams.  I worked my way over to the fixture, leaned over to pull it out and I slipped, putting me foot through the ceiling, causing plaster and insulation to fall about 30 feet on to a bunch of seats below.  Needless to say the custodial crew was NOT happy with me.  They ended up putting yellow caution tape around about 9 seats for fear more of the ceiling would come down.