The New Guy

You never know just how fast things can change.

I went to bed Tuesday night feeling bad. Not illness, but with the feeling that I was not helping in any way financially-- being a drain and a stress on my wife. So Wednesday morning, I pressed my slacks and a nice shirt and went hunting. I think it was my third stop, when I walked into a Domino's Pizza store, and about 20 minutes later (what, not 30?) left with a job.

So I'm doing that which I never saw myself doing-- something I was unwilling to do until recently, when I realized that I had to get going. Friday was my first day, this evening is my second. Much to learn, and ya, I'm a little nervous and scared, but it's also an opportunity. A chance to make some money and earn a little freedom for my wife and me. And maybe even buy a toy or two.

That evening, I also applied for a job with the Census Department. Basically just a cattle call, looking for door knockers/census takers and office workers, all on a temporary basis. Filling out an app and taking a test. I scored perfectly on the test (*much* to my surprise), and am getting veteran's preference points, so we'll see how that goes. I'm told office jobs are far and few between.

And yesterday, it was into Birmingham for UTEP basketball, against UAB. Good guys won in double OT. What a game and what an atmosphere. I saw right in front of the UAB student section, along the baseline, and heard some of the most pathetic taunting I've ever heard. All good fun though.

It also gave me a chance to say hello to Jon Teicher, the longtime voice of the Miners, also a friend of mine and a gentleman who has been kind enough to let me add his name to my reference list. He is the reason I got into broadcasting-- I used to listen to El Paso Diablo baseball on the radio as a kid, as well as the UTEP games. I think one time he stopped to talk to my dad and me-- I guess he was doing a little PR work and asking folks about the stadium and atmosphere. My dad talked-- I was like nine, and could barely speak.

Anyhow, I caught him during a postgame commercial break, so he was still at work, but he couldn't have been nicer to me. He remembered my name, shook my hand warmly and asked me how it was going. I told him I was looking to go in a different direction, and he explained how hard it is to break into the business, how he'd been talking to a friend of his in the profession, and talking about how there are so few jobs, so few jobs coming open and so many people on the prowl for the openings that do come up. So he was understanding, and told me to keep him posted. It was a short but warm conversation, since he still had a broadcast to tend to, so I went on my way. But it was important to me to stop by, and he was most kind.

Two Points

When I was a senior at Andress High School, I helped with statistics for the varsity basketball team. One night at Irvin I filled out the scorebook, entering our players' names into their book. Things went well enough after that, until one of our guys tried to enter the game but wasn't in the official book, because I accidentally wrote the same guy's name down twice. So we got a technical foul called on us for my mistake, and our coaches couldn't apologize to the referees quickly enough. Lost to the years is whether Irvin made the shots. I've always said they made one of the two, but who knows.

Sunday, I 'scored' two more points.

Since we've moved to Alabama, I've had the privilege of doing some of the PA work at the UAB women's basketball games. It's different for me, but it's fun, the people are nice and nobody throws anything at me. This afternoon, Houston came to visit. During play, the Cougars had a player spin into the lane and get fouled on a shot attempt. One official had the foul, but none of the three knew for sure whether the ball went in the hoop. I was watching the play from my seat at the scorer's table, and it very clearly went in.



So the game officials met to discuss the issue and apparently couldn't say with certainty, so they came to us for a consult. The gal to my immediate right keeping the official book didn't see it, but I did, and I said so. Then the next thing I see is the official signaling 'basket good,' and for UH to shoot a free throw. It was the correct call, and nobody raised a fuss, but I was taken aback at the influence I just had on the game. Later, during a brief stoppage of play, a member of the officiating crew stopped by and thanked us for our help.

What made it more important is that Houston won by one point, 63-62.

A similar thing happened earlier this season, when they didn't remember how many free throws were supposed to be awarded. I had it right and announced it correctly, but they had something different in mind. They made the correction and the game went on as before. We got a brief 'thank you' later toward the end of the game.

I try very hard to not be critical of referees or umpires during games. I think their work is very difficult. They're there voluntarily and they're paid, I understand that, but it's hard work in a very fast-paced and unforgiving atmosphere, and I'm more inclined to cut them slack. Being at the scorer's table, even on the home floor, means I'm a neutral observer, there to help the officials. It's a cordial relationship, maybe even a friendly one, and it allows me to see them as people and not as targets to spew venom at. A lot of times, they walk by us for fist bumps at the start of the game.

So I cut 'em a break.

3/5

Monday, my wife and I observed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day by driving two hours to Montgomery, Alabama to learn more about a few sad chapters of our country's history-- chapters we all would do well to read and learn about.

We started at the Civil Rights Museum, which is attached to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and we were in awe immediately. There is a memorial dedicated to the many who died during the civil rights movement, as well as the Wall of Tolerance with a quote from Dr. King. Very moving stuff. Hallowed water flows over both memorials, one was the wall, and the other resembled a sundial without the centerpiece. Seeing the events and seeing the names of people who were killed for no good reason, and that most of the time there was no justice and no accountability, made me very sad, and embarrassed to be the same race as the aggressors. And in thinking on the courage on display by those people, made *me* feel like 3/5 of a human being, knowing I very likely would not have that kind of courage.

We also walked down toward the state capitol, where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as first President of the Confederacy in 1861, where the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march ended in 1965, and came across a parade, which we stopped to enjoy. Lots of bands, lots of kids and a lot of fun. Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Dr. King was the preacher, is a block away from the capitol. We stood on the street corner and could feel the history all around us. There was a vibe of hope in the air, and it felt wonderful.

Our last stop was the Rosa Parks Museum, in honor of the woman whose courage sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Another enlightening experience, well done, and informative. The heroism and the courage of the oppressed stands in stark contrast to the behavior and cowardice of others. I was (and still am) in awe.

I aspire to have *half* the courage of those who stood up for what they believed in.

Free at Last

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sort of made this line famous many moons ago. I don't mean to cheapen his words, but it fits how I've felt these last few days.

I've pretty much severed my emotional ties to radio as a profession. I consider myself a play by play guy, and I really and truly love the number crunching that goes with preparing for a game, as well as calling a game for broadcast. The people I've met, places I've been, stories I've told, close scrapes and ass chewings are all part of the mosaic.

But I have come to the realization that I've progressed about as far as I can, given the skills I have. The actual prep and pbp are small percentages of the whole job, which includes a bunch of PR, glad-handing, coaches' shows and what not. And advertising sales. I have a friend in St. Louis who is prob better than me at pbp, who is selling his own games. Loves the games, hates the selling. If I were to move up in the profession, selling is where I'd have to go. I've tried sales before. I hated it, I wasn't very good at it, and I've made sure every job I've had since then has not had a sales component. Life is too short to spend any amount of it doing things we hate.

Plus, in clinging to radio, I'm clinging to thought processes I've had for 30 years. Radio, sports and pbp are all very different monsters from when I first wanted to call ball games. And being in sports and radio often mean sports talk radio, which means conflict at some level (no conflict, no listeners). I never have done conflict well.

So in coming to these conclusions, I feel free and liberated to choose the next direction my life takes, and how the next chapters will be written. And it doesn't have to be something I do for the next 30 years, either. Who knows what I'll think and who/where I'll be 5-10 years from now. The challenge is what direction to go. But somehow, I'm not as frightened as I was before.

And separately, I've printed a running plan for the next four months, in order to get my mileage back up. Looking forward to it.

14,220

That's how many people attended last night's gymnastics meet between Alabama and Georgia. The defending SEC champs against the defending national champs. We had free tix, since the wife got them through a new faculty get together. We were warned that this is a big thing here in T-Town, but as with everything else we've experienced, we just had to check it out for ourselves. It was as advertised--parking lots were full and traffic in front of the arena was a bear. Event-wise, I didn't know what to expect, since I only watch gymastics every four years at the olympics. But I was wowed. The crowd was really into it, the 'game' presentation kept people interested, and the athletes were tremendous. I don't know how those girls do the things they do and bend themselves the way they do. There was a good pace to the events, and the crowd knew its stuff. And we beat the snot out of the Bulldogs. We had a great time.

Today we went to Bryant-Denny stadium to honor the 2009 National Champion football team. Cloudy and cool, but the rain held off til later in the night. There were about 20-25 thousand there. It lasted about 45 minutes, and we heard from the captains, saw really cool video stuff and what not. Had a good time here too. Have I mentioned lately just how much I hate Texas?

I've come to some conclusions, personally and professionally, also. And I feel free and liberated about these decisions. More to follow.

Dixie's Football Pride

We spent Thursday night in the company of Alabama football fans, and we had much food, fun and libation, also much to cheer about, in a 37-21 win over Texas. I got to root for the Tide and against Texas at the same time. This is the first time something like this has ever happened to me, being in a town that's celebrating a championship like this. It was close to midnight but we drove to campus anyway to survey the activities. The campus was pretty quiet, but a quarter-mile to the west, it was different. People already in line for national championship t-shirts, just seemingly orderly gatherings, albeit with temperatures in the teens. It made it pretty hard to believe that Friday was a workday, or, at least, not a holiday or a weekend. It's the 13th national championship for the Tide. I'm happy to be rooting for a winner, although I don't have nearly as much of an emotional investment as our friends did Thursday.

My big thing of the last several days has been practice. I've been drilling on Microsoft Excel and Word tutorials, since I have skills tests on both Monday, and to pass both is required to apply for staff-type jobs on campus. It'll be about the fifth time I've tried the Excel test, and I've alreay passed the Word exam, but a higher score is needed. My wife really likes working on campus, and I'd like to work there too.

I'm really wanting to contribute around here, and try to find out what this stretch of my life is gonna look like, since I've started to understand that radio won't be part of it anymore. There are a lot of things mentally and emotionally that I just don't have. Work and going to school seem like good possibilities right now.

My running continues... three miles Wednesday and three more Friday. 30 minutes each time. I used to spend a lot of time trying to load an ipod, but I've not done that yet. I know running on a treadmill is pretty tedious, but I've spent a lot of time in prayer, and I'm getting a little better at it. Next week, four runs at three miles a shot.

And oh yeah-- been pretty cold around here the last several days. Not Kansas cold, with double-digits below zero and buckets of snow... I think we've made it as far as the low teens, so it's still pretty chilly.

I've also started playing a little chess again, against the computer. I give as good as I get on low skill levels, but what I find myself learning is that I have to solve these problems. I can get into a bind pretty quickly on a chessboard, and there's nobody to bail me out. It's my problem, and I have to solve it. I can't run from it-- deal with it by not dealing with it, as it were-- I've got to do something about it. It's new for me, and quite useful.

Football

Been watching a whole lot of football this week... Glad Boise State won, but sorry they did it at TCU's expense. Both deserved a shot at the big boys. I'm very ready for the Alabama/Texas game. People seem to think that since I'm from Texas, that I must root for the Horns. But El Paso is not close to Austin. Actually, El Paso is not close to anything, except Alamogordo and Las Cruces. So I'm a UTEP fan, and a grad of Texas Tech, which is where this hatred began. So it's handy, one-stop shopping. And the Tide football program signs my wife's paycheck.

You may notice I've added several blogs to my 'follow' list. They're places I like to go, and obviously will tell you something about me.

My runs have been going well-- three pain-free miles yesterday, and three more set for tomorrow. Really focusing on a slower buildup. It's weird, because I don't have a running goal at this point, or a real training plan. Just to build miles.

I head over to the Bryant Museum on campus Wednesday, to volunteer one day a week. It's sports, it's history and the preservation of said history-- a perfect storm for me. Hopefully it becomes something more. We'll see.

Sunday

Spent much of the day on the couch. The day started at 7:15 with a stomachache. Four tums tablets seemed to do the trick, but I stayed home from church, which was disappointing. Did feel better as the day went on.

I finished my book on Harry S. Truman over the weekend, so I started in on 'Our Boys,' which has Smith Center football as its topic. More to come on that book.

Listened to KSU hoops, and then to UTEP hoops-- a win for the Cats but not for the Miners. And I'm OK with it. I don't react well to losses by my teams, since these games have too great an importance in my life, and what they do has too much an impact on the rest of my day. So I did a good job of moving on today.

Also practiced on excel spreadsheet, which has been a big stumbling block toward getting a job. It's a way in which I think I can contribute.

And Monday means the holidays are truly over. Back to work and some semblance of normalcy. Back to advancing the ball and finding out which direction to go in.

Happy New Year!

The end of one year and the start of the next is a great time for reflection. I think about what a difference a year makes-- where I was last year at this time, where I am now, and about where I'll be in a year. At the start of 2009, I was still working at the radio station in Clay Center, doing the same thing I'd been doing for seven years. Alabama wasn't even on the radar, though I knew what situation I was in, and that relocation was a solid possibility at worst.

But Ann interviewed in February, accepted the job not long after, we got married in June (after I quit my job) and moved to the Deep South in late July. It's funny what a difference a year can make. And the start of 2010 looks so much different than the start of 2009. It's why I'm 'outside the box.' There is nothing about my life that's the same as compared to the start of 09.

As for last night, I stayed up too late and drank too much chocolate milk with Ann, and I had a great time! We just camped out at the house and ate great food and watched TV. So many times before, we'd been traveling to and fro during the holidays, and it was nice to spend time at home without any obligations, or having to hustle somewhere. Now it's New Year's night, and we're parked on the couch again. Watched a lot of football. Some of it good, some of it, not so much. And ate hoppin john. Ann is absolutely a tremendous cook, and it's one reason (of about 9,428) why I'm so fortunate to be her husband.

Wednesday was the 30th, which was my parents' 48th wedding anniversary. There are a lot of things I don't understand about the relationship my mother and father have, but I do know they're still together after all these years and after all the things we've endured.

Went for my second run Thursday, on my way back from that calf thing. Three pain-free miles. Three more scheduled for Saturday.

I've also spent time today crafting the mission statement at the top of this page. I hope to adopt this as a pattern of life. Too often I've let things happen to me and let myself become a spectator in my own life. I intend to change that.

My resolution for 2010: to speak, write and think positively at all times.