Quantum Jumping

The Infinite You

Have you ever missed someone you loved so much that you though you could transport yourself to where they were and see them even if they couldn’t see you?  On a few occasions when I was 8 years old I thought I might have achieved it.

My sister was 7 years older than me and I loved her dearly.  Typical of an older sibling she could mistreat me (take advantage of me), or even hurt my feelings at times. However, no one else should ever try to hurt me because my biggest defender would come to my rescue like a lightning bolt.

The kind of abuse I am talking about is that after mother left for work, she would tell me that mother left me a list of chores to do (washing dishes, sweeping, making the beds etc., etc.), in fact mother had given my sister instructions to get those things done (but she managed to assign me the chores).   I didn’t realize it than but it turned out to be great training for dealing with life in later years.

My big sister was a real strong willed young lady, and countered my mother’s guidance at every opportunity.  She was very loving but determined to have things her way.  In retrospect she and my mother were very similar in personality traits.  Unfortunately for my sister mother had the advantage.  All was well, until one of my mother’s bosses’ sons began to show an interest in my sister who was only 15 at the time.  My mother decided that if my sister wouldn’t openly reject his advances she would have to go live with grandma (mother’s mother).  So that was the beginning of a separation that would last the rest of our lives.  Off to Mexico my sister went, she wasn’t as upset as I expected.  I’m sure that her thinking was that she was getting away from the evil mother that all she wanted to do was look out for her wellbeing.

For the next few month after the separation, I was actually sick with worry at not knowing what was going on with my sister.  Back than even diligently corresponding by regular mail required two to three weeks, unlike today with texting, and Facebook.  Just think about the process involved; you had to buy paper and pencil, an envelope, and postage stamp, and then get it to the post office.  I can actually imagine the mail sack traveling on the back of a turtle across the land and then across the border to the opposite country.

One clear and moonlit night, I was looking at the stars, and enjoying the sight of the moon in the sky, when it occurred to me that my sister might be looking at the same moon.  I tried to concentrate and send her a message with my mind, but I never felt the sensation of receiving any response.  That night as I prepared to go to bed I began to think about my grandmother’s house and what room my sister would be sleeping in.  I told my subconscious mind that as soon as I would fall asleep, my spirit would leave my body, and fly through space the 415 mile distance to where my sister was and that I would check up on her.  In my sleep, I actually looked back at my bed and saw my body sleeping as I went out the window, and could imagine the city streets below, as I made my way south.  To make a long story short, I arrived and could hear dogs barking at nothing in particular (I imagined that they sensed my presence).  I entered my grandmother’s house through the front door and made my way to my sister’s room where she was fast asleep.  I felt relieved that she was apparently content, and healthy looking.  Not being held in some dungeon chained to a wall as I often imagined.

I returned to my house before daylight, and rejoined my sleeping body.  Not until I was eating breakfast did I feel a sense of relief knowing that my sister was fine and happy.  I went over that same ritual four more times during the next 6 months, and then just as quickly as I had initiated the quantum jumping, it stopped.  My sister went on to get married, and she and her husband had 12 children, we never again lived together under the same roof.  My sister and her husband remained married until her death in 2009. I miss her, but I will see her again someday.

I’ve tried as an adult to quantum jump while I sleep, but I haven’t been able to duplicate my early efforts.  Perhaps the mind is too cluttered, nearing overload, and I lost the ability to control my subconscious mind or maybe it just takes a young mind.  The best is yet to come….

High School Confidential

High School Confidential

Bad things do happen to good people.  Have you ever had anything happen to you that you felt wasn’t fair or deserving.  Because it did happen to me in high school.  Ever since that day I’ve learned to expect the unexpected.

Everything I ever did in school was to try to excel to be exemplary.  I had 100% attendance most years from elementary through high school.  I would even go to school when I wasn’t feeling well.  A particularly challenging time was the beginning of football season.  For my small town school, football practice began before the start of the school year.  Our coach would have the team start getting in shape in the second week of August.  He would work us until we dropped from exhaustion, and then push even harder.  I would go home and have a fever over night from the physical abuse under the hot August sun.

During the Cuban Crisis, I was asked by the high school principal to teach a class to the Cuban Refugees (a group of 6 students).  The students ended up in our town sponsored by the local Catholic Church.  Of the 6 students 2 were from the Junior High school, and 4 were high school age,  The two schools were only a few block apart so the junior high school students were transported to the high school to attend my classroom (the period just before lunch break).  I can’t take full credit, a counselor and teacher helped in the planning of the curriculum, and I was just an instrument for delivery because of my fluent bilingual skills.

The 6 students were made up of two families four girls and two boys.  The junior high students were related to the high school students.  Every one of the six was matured beyond their years.  Julio the oldest of the six students went on to become a very successful architect in Madrid Spain, I don’t know what became of the others, but I know that every one of them was capable of achieving excellence.  Julio and I became good friends, but like many of my friends I either leave them behind or somehow lose track of them (I am sorry to say that I’ve always been busy making my way through life).

Two big perks for me where; the beautiful Cuban girls had a crush on me (I can’t say I didn’t notice their beauty, but even then I was aware of boundaries), the second and most important perk was that I got to meet with all the other teachers in the teacher’s lounge.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Cuban students' progress.

Here is the confidential part.  One fine day I was summoned to the principal’s office by the principal himself.  On the walk back to his office, he asked me to stay calm, and not be afraid.  That little chat alone got my legs to shaking.  When we arrived at his office there was what I considered the most beautiful girl in high school with her parents whom I immediately recognized.  The girl (whose name will go unmentioned) was a very popular blond blue eyed cheerleader, whom I always was friendly with but deep inside I felt that she was out of my league.  Even though I was a letterman in 3 sports, and a 4.0 GPA student, she was the focus of every male student (basically it meant that she could have her pick).

As soon as I greeted the gathering, I asked the principal what was the reason for the meeting.  It seems that the beautiful young girl was pregnant, and she had confessed to her parents that I was the father of her unborn child. I didn’t know if I should cry out of fear or jump for joy at the thought that I had fathered her child (not).  I knew the girl and her two brothers, I had also previously met her parents, and liked them.  The next development was amazing.  The father spoke next; he said that I had brought shame to their family, and he was prepared to offer me a car, and two thousand dollars cash if I would move with their daughter to a different State.

My fear and/or joy didn’t last very long.  When the girl heard her father’s statement, she came clean and told the gathering that I wasn’t the father.  As it turned out the father was a young Hispanic individual that worked on her father’s farm.  The girl was afraid that her father, and brothers would harm him, and she felt that I stood a better chance of handling the repercussions.  Thanks, I guess for having confidence in my strengths, but I would have preferred the 2 Grand, and car (I guess I would have taken the girl too).  The best is yet to come….

Lucky vs. Prepared

Prepare

Luck ·       The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events; fortune ·       Good fortune or prosperity; success ·       One's personal fate or lot ·       To gain success or something desirable by chance ·       Enjoying success; fortunate. Prepare to make ready beforehand for some purpose, use, or activity to put in a proper state of mind to work out the details of : plan in advance

Do you have the type relatives and acquaintances that often tell you how lucky you are to be doing so well?  I have a handful in my life and even though I don’t show it, it irks me to hear that.  My most usual response is yes I am, the harder I work, the luckier I get.  To balance those statements: I also have a handful of relatives and acquaintances that are concerned for my health because they see how hard and diligent I’ve worked all my life to achieve my blessings.

What most people don’t realize or see is that I may be working hard but mostly smart.  As the saying goes, “there is a method to my apparent madness.”  I seldom do anything, by accident, there is always a planned purpose to any action I take.  I have enjoyed a few positive and unexpected outcomes from actions taken, keywords being; from actions taken.

In the past I’ve tried to show people how to make positive things happen in their lives, unfortunately almost every time these individuals were unable to sustain the required pace.  You can never compare success to a snowball rolling downhill, where at some point gravity takes over, and no additional effort is required by the snowball.  I like to think of success as a merry-go-round; it takes a level of continuous effort to get it going before you can climb aboard for the ride.  However, once the merry-go-round gets going you can’t just decide to get off, because you are likely to fall on your face.  Once I decided that I wanted a better life, than I could attain through mediocre effort, I had to keep it going until I could get on board and enjoy the ride.

My generation is very old school in that we believe that it’s not always whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.  A loss is not always a loss; if properly applied there is much to be learned from a loss.  The best is yet to come…..

A Mother's Day Tribute

A Song for Momma

What’s your favorite holiday?  For most children there is always Christmas, and Halloween, for young adults and young at heart there is St. Patrick’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo. For all those that know what’s important, the rest of us and those just mentioned as well, Mother’s Day is definitely a most favorite Holiday.  If I am not mistaken up until recently that’s when most greeting cards are sold, and a day when the most long distance calls are made.  I mentioned up until recently because the internet and cell phones have change commerce so much that the old marketing records may no longer apply.

Throughout my whole life it didn’t matter where I was, who I was with or whether I was working or on vacation, my mother could always expect a visit or a phone call and flowers from me on Mother’s Day.  How can you ignore such an important opportunity to thank the woman that brought you into this world?  While my mother was alive I never passed the opportunity to send her a card on my birthday to congratulate and thank her for giving me life.

As I am now retired I’ve had the privilege to stay home and look after more than one grandchild at a time.  I can say with experience and authority that I now know for a fact and have always suspected that being a full time mother, and/or a working mother, is a job that not everyone can do, and unfortunately children don’t come with instructions or operating manual, making it that much more difficult. 

For those of us that no longer have our mothers, we can celebrate the holiday, by remembering the blessing that they were in our lives, and by joining with our children in the celebration of honoring their mother.  All my respect and appreciation goes to all the special mommies everywhere as we celebrate Mother’s Day!  The best is yet to come….

Happy Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day

For all those of you that are fortunate to still have your mother alive. Enjoy her and make her day and life special!  Otherwise, I hope that your Mother’s Day is made easier by remembering all that she meant to you.

My mother loved me very much and told me so every time she had the opportunity.  Growing up I made sure that I didn’t cause her any embarrassment or pain.  Some of the worst pain that I ever caused her was whenever I would hurt myself while playing, or when I insisted in playing sports like football in school.  Another sport she hated was collegiate wrestling because she didn’t know that there was a difference between school wrestling and Hulk Hogan type wrestling.  She never attended any of my school matches in four years of participation, because she was afraid I would get hurt.

She would regularly pick me up after football practice, and she used to say that even with the helmet on she could tell me apart from the other players by the hairy legs.  My mother would say thing about me that sometimes embarrassed me, but it was always in a loving well-meant way.

I remember one special injury at the age of 10, I was on my way to my mother’s place of employment for lunch (a restaurant).  On the way there a friend and I were cutting across a city park when we noticed a football game in progress.  We stopped to watch a couple of plays, and we were asked if we wanted to play.  The game was almost over but they were short some players.  On the very first play I was handed the football and I was supposed to run it through the line.  Somehow a player from the other team hit the ball I was carrying on my left side, and as I attempted to avoid a fumble, I was tackled chest high and went backwards landing on my left arm twisted behind me.  My elbow became dislocated, and I was coming in and out of consciousness. 

When an adult came to help, he rolled me over, and noticed that my elbow was out of socket.  After a very short assessment, he pulled my arm and twisted the elbow back in place.  Even at that age I was a tough little guy.  The man asked me if I wanted to be taken to the hospital.  I lied and told him my mother was nearby and she would take me.  I tried to be tough and not show any pain as I walked away.  I really felt sick to my stomach and felt like I was going to vomit.  Yet my biggest challenge was ahead of me.  We still had to stop at my mother’s place of work and have lunch.

As we walked the couple of blocks to the restaurant, with my friend’s help I took my left hand and tucked in my front left pants pocket.  The arm hurt just to let it dangle by my side.  When we walked into the restaurant my mother greeted us at the door.  One look at me, and she immediately asked what was wrong and I said “nothing.”  She said are you in some kind of trouble, again I answered “no.”  At that point she grabbed me by the left elbow and shook me, as she said,” tell me what you did.”  I dropped to the floor with pain, and almost passed out again.

When she realized how swollen my arm was, and that I was hurt, she immediately told her supervisor to call a taxi, and that she would be gone the rest of the day.  Fortunately the restaurant owner’s daughter was a nurse at the hospital, and was expecting us when we arrived.  The restaurant owner had called her daughter (the Nurse) in advance and asked that we be given every consideration, and that she personally would pay the hospital bill.

I eventually got over the pain, but my mother couldn’t apologize enough for grabbing my elbow the way she did.

For the rest of her life, every time we talked on the telephone or in person, she would always end the meeting or conversation by saying; “May God Bless You Always.”  Even though I spent many years traveling, and away from my mother, I never felt alone, until the first morning after she passed away.  I woke up knowing how much I loved her and that she would never again be just a phone call away.  I miss her terribly but I know that we will meet again!  The best is yet to come….

Saving the Planet

Recycling is One Way

There has been a big movement to save the environment (the planet) and it’s all wonderful but I take offense that some would point a finger at my generation as the ones that would cause all the problems society is facing now.

All the slogans in the world are well and good, but actions are much better than all talk and slogans.  A very small item that comes to mind immediately is the basic need to drink water.  My generations used to drink water form drinking fountains, somewhere along the way a marketing genius started a revolution, and duped the population into being cool and run around with a bottled water in hand.

The numbers are in for 2012, and they are shocking. The Beverage Marketing Corporation, which tracks sales and consumption of beverages, is reporting that sales of bottled water grew nearly 7 percent between 2011 and 2012, with consumption reaching a staggering 30.8 gallons per person. And since I (and some of you) consume almost zero bottled water every year, there are people out there drinking far more than the average.  Thirty-six years ago, this industry didn’t exist. Americans drank fewer than two gallons of bottled water per year, and almost all of that was in the form of water from big office coolers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                -[Peter Gleick is author of “Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water” published in 2010 by Island Press, Washington DC, available from Amazon or Island Press or your local bookstore.]

The information on bottled water is just the tip of the iceberg, here is some more proof that we did the right thing we just weren’t marketing it, we lived it.

Back in the “real” environment friendly days, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles, and beer bottles to the store.  The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.  That was real recycling, but I don’t think that word was in our vocabulary as presently used until late 60’s and the first Earth Day in 1970 (April 22, 1970).  Grocery stores used to bag our groceries in brown paper bags, that we would put to use on among other things bagging our household trash, and covering our school issued books (book covers) to keep them new looking for the next user.

Back then we walked up the stairs because we didn’t have an escalator at every store and office building.  We also didn’t start our car every time we had to go two blocks, we walked to the grocery store.  We washed the baby’s cloth diapers because we didn’t have the throw away kind.  We hung the diapers out to dry in the real solar and wind power not the electric dryer.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers and sisters, not always new clothes like today’s children.  Most houses if lucky had one television set for the whole house, not one in every room, and most affordable television sets were the size of a handkerchief.

In the good old days we blended and stirred things in the kitchen by hand because we didn’t have all the power gobbling appliances of today.  When we did package a fragile item to send by mail we would pack it with wadded old newspaper, not plastic bubble wrap, and Styrofoam.  To hear people say it we were the ones that were destroying the environment.  The best is yet to come…..

Remembering My Grandparents

Mexican Lucha Libre

How many followers of www.being50.com  remember fondly spending time with your grandfather as a child?  In my case my memories go back to the age of 5 and 6 years old. I recall that my grandfather was a tall proud Spaniard, he was born in Galicia, Spain, and somehow ended up in Mexico and met and married my grandmother.  My grandmother and grandfathers story is a lot more than a bit hazy to me. 

When my grandmother was in her late 70’s I flew her to Washington State from California to visit with my mother (Posting: My Mother vs. Hulk Hogan, 2/16/13).  She and I didn’t sleep that first night she arrived, we spent the whole night talking about family history.  I now wish I had asked more information about how she and my grandfather met.  I did get important details about my grandfather; where he was born his full, name and his parent’s names, where he lived in Mexico.  I do have one living relative that still has all her brain cells intact, and may be able to fill in the blanks.

My grandmother was one of three daughters born to her father and mother.  Her mother passed away first, and when her father died the three daughters were left to handle the land and cattle operation they inherited.  The girls were treated more like princesses than business partners, consequently they were not prepared to handle the responsibility.  In time the land holdings (a couple thousand acres) and cattle operation fell behind in every way including government owed taxes.  Eventually the government put a lien on the property, I remember that even as late as late 50’s my father had a family discussion about what it would take to pay the back taxes and recover the land.  By then the taxes and other charges were very unreasonable and definitely not the prudent thing to do.

My grandfather was a traveling salesman and for that reason he was rarely around but when he was, he would take me to sporting events, Lucha Libre (Mexican professional wrestling) bull fights, boxing, baseball, and soccer.  I was always proud to hang out with my grandfather.  He was a tall good looking man close to if not 6 feet tall, with proportionate weight.  At around age 5 and 6 he most usually carried me on his shoulders, so I always had a bird’s eye view of the surroundings.  He always had plenty of money to spend on me, it seems we were always eating or drinking something.  It was very difficult not to feel spoiled.

Whenever he returned from a trip he would always bring me a gift that was unique to the area he was returning from.  Since I was the first born grandson, and the next born grandchild was a girl, I never had any competition, I guess that was the beginnings of the good old boys club.  Within the next couple of years my family moved to the USA, and soon after my mother and father divorced, and I never saw my grandfather again.  I heard that he passed away in the late 70’s, and I had a pang of regret for having lost contact with him.  The best is yet to come…. 

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo Celebration

Every year just as spring like weather starts to be enjoyed in most of the USA (with emphasis on most), people come together to eat, drink and make merry. I thought I would write a post on the subject because there seems to be so much mis-information about what exactly is being celebrated.  The last person I heard tonight about plans to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, referred to it as Cinco de Bud Light.  Two things it definitely isn’t;

• Mexican Independence Day
• The Mexican St. Patrick’s Day

Cinco de Mayo celebrations are probably more popular in the US, than in Mexico, but also very different levels, styles, and reasons for (of) celebration.  One might even suspect that the US beer distributers are behind the hype build-up as the day approaches.  Almost every ad campaign by restaurants and grocery stores, nightclubs etc., involves the sale of alcohol.  Another major push of the celebration is Mexican music, and authentic Mexican food.

Cinco de Mayo has to be the most celebrated holiday, and least understood.  Here are a few facts about the what, where, how and when of Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo:

• Literally Cinco de Mayo means the fifth day of the month of May
• The Celebration is about: the Battle of Puebla, which took place on May 5, 1862. In 1861, France sent a massive army to invade Mexico, to collect on some war debts. The French army was much larger, better trained and equipped than the Mexicans struggling to defend the road to Mexico City. It rolled through Mexico until it reached Puebla, where the Mexicans made a stand, and won a huge victory.
• A common misconception is that the celebrations is about the Mexican Independence. Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16, because it was on that day in 1810 that Father Miguel Hidalgo took to his pulpit in the village church of the town of Dolores and invited all present to take up arms and join him in overthrowing the Spanish tyranny. Independence Day is a very important holiday in Mexico and not to be confused with Cinco de Mayo.
• In Puebla and in many USA cities with large Mexican populations, there are parades, dancing and festivals. Traditional Mexican food is often served or sold. Mariachi bands fill town squares, and a lot of Dos Equis and Corona beers are served. It’s a fun holiday, really more about celebrating the Mexican way of life than about remembering a battle which happened 150 years ago.

Have a happy Cinco de Mayo and remember to assign someone as DD (Designated Driver).  The best is yet to come…

Internet Curse or Blessing

Internet

Did you really believe the rumor that Vice President Al Gore invented the Internet?  He can be a little too relaxed in his talks, and maybe even a little clumsy, but he never made that claim, as he is often quoted, and ridiculed about.  The following information is more factual than the rumors that have circulated since soon after he was interviewed in 1999;

• Gore co-sponsored the legislation that created defensenet, a project that military computers and later grew into the worldwide web.
• He was pretty much the "Alpha Geek" in the senate from the early 80's, sponsoring and promoting internet related legislation and helping remove the legal obstacles to make the modern internet possible.
• While the claim, "I invented the internet," is exaggeration to the point of hubris, Gore was instrumental in the rapid growth of the information superhighway and with Bill Bradley led the group of technogeeks which became known as the "Atari Democrats."

Many times over the years, research and development, initially meant for the benefit of the Military, has ended up changing society’s everyday life.  NASA is another fine example of how we have achieved so many advances and improved our lives.  I’ve always made the most of life despite what society may be doing at the time.  I prefer to think of it as ingenuity, and entrepreneurship spirit.  Consider that before the Internet (world-wide-web) news traveled very slowly.  My belief was that trends happening in Los Angeles, New York, or Miami would actually take about 5 years to finally arrive in the Northwest and other far corners of the continental United States.

It was during that period prior to the Internet that I would physically travel to the major cities known for starting trends and then come back and introduce a new item or idea to my turf.  I once made a trip to Los Angeles when the DVD was just starting to take off, and purchased five hundred used rental movies in VHS format at a time.  I found many listing in the Classifieds offerings of used Spanish language rental movie DVD’s for sale for $8 each.  When I started talking quantity, the price was lowered to $4 each.  I shipped them to the Northwest and sold them for $12.99 or $9 each if purchased in quantities no less than 25 at a time.

I repeated the same process with t-shirts and iron on decals.  In quantities my purchase price dropped from 90 cents per decal to 35 cents in quantities of 60 at a time, in a variety of designs.  My T-shirts price went down from $6 each to $1.80 each when purchased in quantities of 144 at a time.  The opportunities even today are still out there even easier (thanks to the Internet) to get into, you just have to remember it’s not how much you make, its how much you keep.

So everything today is a lot easier to get into, the problem is that in the past a sharp mind was all the resource you needed.  Today any person or child with half a brain and Internet access can compete with you.    In the old days long as you protected your sources, you could limit competition.  Today the playing field has been leveled, if you can Google, you can compete.

As shown recently with the incident in Boston, the social media helped capture the culprits (the good side of the Internet).  Very likely the culprits were able to communicate and learn how to make the devices thanks to the Internet (the bad side of the Internet).

Curse or Blessing; the fact is, it’s here to stay.  Evil will use it for Evil purposes, and Good will use it for Good things, there will be a few victims along the way; don’t be a victim. You may as well put it to work for you, and give yourself the advantage you need to be and stay competitive.  The best is yet to come…..

The EGO Factor 2

The EGO Factor 2

The EGO Factor was posted on March 30, 2013.  It has taken me a month to get back to the sequel, and this post is # 103 in less than a 3 month period since the www.being50.com started.

This post addresses the EGO effect that takes over a person that has the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience or even over the airwaves, and is fortunate to be well received.  Since that very day off my first break a monster was created.  If anyone following this blog has ever done on air radio station work (or television for that matter) they will attest that a high level of ego that goes with the feeling of being on the spotlight (especially if well received).   That, however, was only the beginning of my battle with my EGO to ultimately do the right thing for myself and my family’s future; you have to place your family’s needs ahead of your personal satisfaction.

As far as I am concerned the opportunity to work the drive time slot at a popular radio station (local or Network) is like being the television anchor person at one of the three major networks (back in the early years of television) but on a smaller scale.  You’ve probably heard the comparison between a fish in a small pond versus being a fish in the ocean.  The saying is: “I’d rather be a small fish in a pond than a big fish in the ocean.”  In order to make a better than average living while working radio, you have to be one of the main drive personalities, if not the main personality.  Everyone else getting air time is a small time player limited to local interest, filling the radio stations air schedule.

Even within the small town radio scene there is different types of radio station licenses; some are licensed for 24/7 broadcast, and others are only daytime stations (meaning they start broadcast at sun-up and go off the air at sun-down).  Many people become so obsessed with being involved in broadcast that they sacrifice their life to be in the business hoping that someday they will be discovered and offered a job in the big city markets of New York, Miami, Chicago or Los Angeles.  For a short period of time I experienced the addiction of being in front of the microphone in the radio station control booth.

I was smart to realize that there is only so many drive time slots, and the rest are going to get by if they are lucky.  Even in the early years of the 1970’s, radio was ever evolving (including the payola scandal of the recording industry).  You knew, you were a main character if a representative from a record company called you are dropped by to take you out for a meal or drinks.  Somewhere during the socializing you would be given tickets to a concert or sporting event, maybe a watch and yes, even cash in an envelope.  I for one had no clue early on that the practice was illegal.  The whole process was a bribe so that the radio personality, would play the newest releases produced by the recording company.  Often the benefits of those exchanges were worth more than the compensation from working for the radio station.

Pretty much all my life I’ve been able to see the whole picture, and in so doing I was able to see that I needed the stability to raise a family, and to always work for the long term outcome, and not just to satisfy the ego.  Even after all that talk about common sense, once you are bitten by the bug to perform in front of the microphone, you never get it out of your system.  I’ve gone as far as to volunteer half a Saturday every week to work in front of a microphone at a University Public Broadcasting Radio Station.  The benefits are, you get to hear yourself on the air, you get your followers that stroke your ego and compliment you regularly with their phone calls and letters, and the station management, appreciates your time.

I’ve often considered that if I ever won the lotto, I would invest in a radio station.  Unfortunately the radio station that I have enjoyed being around is evolving itself out of existence, and is not likely to be as much fun as I remember even if it sticks around.  The best is yet to come….