Do you ever think you are the most boring person to draw oxygen from the atmosphere? Do you ever feel like no one would be interested in anything about your life since you have nothing to add to the mix, so to speak? Well I’m here to tell you to cease in that line of thinking right now!
I hope that opening paragraph seized your attention. First of all this week I’m feeling a bit warm and tender so I must take advantage of any opportunity to let that escape into the aether, as it’s so very rare. Second of all, I don’t really have a second of all but it is always good to follow “first of all” with a “second of all.”
As many of you know I’ve been with the paper since 2006 and have covered many events, meetings and other items of interest during my tenure. (I’ve always wanted to use the word “tenure” so there you have it.)
I haven’t carried out a whole lot of human interest stories in the past few years but that doesn’t mean that I don’t find most every human being to be interesting. (I can’t think of another word to use in place of “interesting” so I shall probably use it repeatedly in this piece—fair warning.)
I’ve mentioned this before but I’m nothing if not redundant. I find that there are people in our own neighborhoods who are fascinating in some manner. For instance, if I’m not mistaken there was a gent who lived in the vicinity of Roseanne in Espyville who was a pilot on Air Force One. That is just one example. Of course I have the most intriguing neighbor on earth as I live next door to Mother. (I hope this scores me some brownie points with that woman as every little bit helps.)
Even if we live in the middle of the “Boondocks” as many of us do, I think that there is a person who has led a life worthy of discussion within striking distance.
I also find that whether we realize it or not, all of us have had some sort of impact on other people—in a good way! (I guess some have impacted others negatively but for the most part, I think it’s the other-way-round so just go along with me, would you?)
Just taking the time to have a friendly hello with a person at the post office or the grocery store can really brighten their day. (Evidently my father must have blinded some people on occasion as he’d go to the post office and remain for HOURS as he cornered some unsuspecting citizen. One time he forgot to retrieve me from the Golden Dawn because he got carried away in conversation at the post office and simply drove home without me. I think I’ve imparted this before but it’s so adorable that I had to mention it again. Also I’m digressing just a tad here in parenthesis to boot.)
I celebrate a lot of birthdays on my YouTube show and have discovered just how thrilling some people can be. (I’m trying to replace “interesting” with other words now.) I have a wide range of personalities who take part weekly from a retired Chinese art dealer to a concert pianist and everything in between!
Many of those same people have claimed to me in private that they were too boring to celebrate or that they just had one talent, and one talent only. This is total male bovine excrement as there was/is way more to all of them than they think or realize.
Even though it’s entertaining and rather delightful to learn about other people’s lives, etc., it’s the little things that bring me the most joy. I will try to explain what I mean here. What I’m trying to say is that even though there are some pretty “yuge” personalities in the lounge (Lounging with Lisa), it’s oft’ a private message that gives me pause and leads to soul searching of sorts.
I was recently contacted by a person who has struggled with substance abuse for many years. In her particular case the drug of choice was alcohol and yes, it is a drug. She would “fall off the wagon” quite a bit and really had issues with it.
She told me how much she enjoys the show and then said that I had some sort of impact or influence on her in terms of giving up the drinking. I was super stunned (not stoned) when she told me this as I had no idea how I could possibly play a role in her recovery.
She explained that the show is just an easy-going and uplifting bit of fun and she wanted to really get to know other people. She found it difficult to do so in her then “current condition” and decided to really put in the effort to change. I was more than moved over this and it’s not the first time someone has thanked me for this or that but it’s the most recent.
I’m not trying to brag here but it kind of sounds like it. I am just trying to point out that people ARE interesting even if they think they are a “snooze fest.” Also I wanted to emphasize that whether we realize it or not, simple everyday or weekly things can and DO influence others. (I hope my illustration explained it. I am much more accustomed to ranting in this space so coming up with something like this is kind of foreign to me.)
In closing, and heaven knows it’s time, just please consider how much you might mean to another person—even one who has never met you in “real life.” I am still pretty surprised over that message from the recovering alcoholic.
Dare I say I think I’ve become a touch humbled over it? Nah, I best not go that far as you might surmise that I’ve been switched for some sort of clone.
THE END (Interstate Crosscheck, “War is a Racket,” by General Smedley Butler