Saturday, May 09, 2020

Preface To A Personal Show: Remember Being Fearful

But first, a word from our sponsor:

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That's right, this blog post is sponsored by ginseng.

& now for the main event:

Remember being fearful?  It's a trip down "Memory Lane"* with me, Gary, the host of Self Help Radio.  This is a story about being too personal, on the radio, right out of the gate, & fearing afterwards that you'd somehow revealed too much...  Like people's names you shouldn't have said.  Or maybe details about your life.  Or maybe your phone number...  Did you actually give out your phone number on the air?

We'll be back to this stressful situation after this Public Service Announcement:

Eeww.  Is it the proper reaction to most situations?  Almost certainly.  Next time, remember: Eeww.

When we last left our hero (me, Gary**), he was fretting about possibly revealing too much personal information about his life on the air.  It seemed to flow naturally, he was trying to be funny, how could anyone make such stuff up?  Riding his bike home, he wondered: Would anyone call?  Or find out where he lived?  Jeez, hadn't he seen Play Misty For Me?

But, like most worrying, it was all for naught!  No one cared.  No one, most likely, was listening.

& the next time he (I) blurted out more personal information, he was beside himself with concern.  It became something like a ritual.  What if I said something too personal?  What if I made someone mad?  What if I betrayed a trust?  Why do I keep doing that?

& on & on, even now to the present day!  & no one cared.  No one took advantage of personal information the radio host might have said or shared on the air.  No one was listening.  Or if they were listening, they simply didn't care.

We'll be back after these footnotes:

* Not an actual thoroughfare.
** This is confusing, sorry.

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