Everyone's Best Friend

On most days, I think that I have the best job in the world. Those hours between six and nine in the morning,when I'm on the air , are generally enjoyable. But like anyone else, there are times when the daily, mindless minutia can get the best of me. That's when I had just as soon be the guy with the shovel who follows the elephants in the circus parade. I've had several moments like that lately, but when it seems that I've reached the point that I simply would like to walk away and grab that shovel, something always happens to put everything into perspective.  Recently a friend and listener ( and I've found out that indeed my listeners ARE my friends) lost her husband. On the day that he was to be buried I got a call from her. She was, of course, in a terrible state of mind. We talked briefly and I expressed ,as best I could ,my sympathy and sorrow at her lost. I asked if there was anything I could do. She said, with her voice trembling, if I could do her a favor. And of course I said "yes, just name it." She said, "I want you to play me a song. I want to hear Keith Urban's Makin' Memories of Us". It of course includes the line. "And I'm gonna make you a promise, If there's life after this, I'm gonna be there to meet you with a warm, wet kiss." What a terrific song, what a terrific line, and sentiment. I immediately played it and for a brief moment shared her grief. And was honored to do so. It meant a lot to me that she would call me. It's at moments like this, that I realize I do indeed have the best job in the world. And the next time I want to throw up my hands and walk away, I'm going to remember this moment, when a listener and friend, made me realize how fortunate I really am. Fortunate to be everyone's best friend.

Get Over It!

I have a confession to make and I really don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Might be a character flaw or a gift, I just don't know. I do realize that I have not always been this way. Probably only in the last few years have I gotten to this point, and only today do I have the courage to admit it.  I SIMPLY CAN NOT STAY MAD AT ANYONE!!!...Seriously!  You'd think I could harbor some resentment, a bit of a grudge, something!! BUT NO!! Ex-wives, ex-girlfriends, ex-casual acquaintances, ex-friends..(that's not to say that they might not have every right to be pissed at me)..I have the ability to just move on, wipe the slate clean. You can waste a lot of valuable time being ticked off and it takes a lot of energy too. I for one would rather use that energy, along with the emotional investment, on something far more enjoyable. One of my favorite quotes is by Catherine Ponder-"“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.”   Two of the most important things I have learned over the years are this: First, Jealousy is a total waste of emotion, and second, hate and resentment will burn you up from the inside out. Well I guess I've learned other stuff too but I have to save something for the next blog!. Sometime it's best to move on, let it go, or as The Eagles said so well, "Get Over It".