I'll Rise, But I May Need Some Help to Shine!

The good news is, a colleague has made the big time. She's headed to the big city - which in my line of work doesn't happen by accident. You have to be good.

The bad news is... at least temporarily, I'm working her shift. Three a.m. till noon.

Three a.m.! Even my dog doesn't get up that early. Even the toddler doesn't get up that early. At that point in the day, it's not so much "bright and early" as it is "dark and early."

That said, I work with a phenomenal team, so I am really blessed to be considered talented enough to take on morning duties and work in close quarters with these folks. For small-market radio, it's huge talent - our host could probably work in a big city if he took the notion. I was asked to do the mornings with him full-time, and I even considered it... but I decided I probably can't do this shift long term. My son needs me to be alert.

So when you roll out of bed at seven... think about how I've already been up for five hours and on the air for two by the time your alarm starts buzzing.

My Dog Can Moo... Can You?

Who'da thunk it?

Beagles can moo. At least, Charlie can. I swear, the little mutt makes this grumbly, throaty cow-noise whenever you make him move. Just to give you a "for instance," he was on my side of the bed last night, so I picked him up and moved him over a foot.

"Mmmmmooo," grumbled Charlie. He shifted himself onto DH's pillow. DH picked him up and moved him back to the middle.

"Mmmmmooo," grumbled Charlie.

This morning, Sam (the two-year-old) pulled his tail. Charlie didn't snap, bite or growl. But he did moo.

So I did a little research on the company dime, and it turns out that Charlie's bovine behavior is pretty common to beagles. They grumble when they're displeased, though they're not prone to violence... and in Charlie's case, it comes out like a moo.

Guess that explains why he eats grass.

Return of the Grammar Queen

Could "of?"

Could "of!"

Sometimes I could smack one of my reporters. Who doesn't know that it's could "have?" GRRRRR!

OK, taking a deep breath... it's all going to be just fine...

Meet Charlie, the newest addition to our family!  

He Never Thought He Was a Hero

I never get off the phone with a local World War II vet without feeling the tingling sense that I've been in the presence of a true hero.

I've never even met the fellow in person. I've only talked to him three, maybe four times, all for various stories I've been working on for use at the radio station. Today, it was because a French filmmaker had made a documentary about him.

Mister D-Day, as he's affectionately known in our area, doesn't think he did anything especially remarkable or special. He landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day, and against the odds, made it off again, to come back to a "normal" life here in southwestern Virginia. But always he had the nagging sense that people had lost the sense of sacrifice, had forgotten the importance of that day in Normandy when so many lost their lives. He couldn't get anyone else to take up the call, so he started a new battle himself - the battle to get a national D-Day memorial.

That was a battle he won. The memorial now stands at Bedford, a small community whose losses on D-Day itself per capita were the highest in the nation - the town's National Guard unit was among the first to hit the beaches.

But Mister D-Day doesn't think he's a hero. He tells me the heroes are the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice that day in 1944.

But I have to disagree. Mister D-Day is a hero. My dad, referring to his own father after his death, once said, "He didn't think he was a hero. Heroes never do." The same can be said for Bob Slaughter.

Leaky Plumbing a Mixed Blessing

So I'm feeling tons better... the headache's *mostly* gone, my air flow seems increased, and my voice didn't change dramatically (which would have been tragic, given my career in radio news!).

Except.

Except that I'm rinsing out my nose with a salt-water-and-baking-soda mix every few hours, and it's having a unique side effect. Sometimes up to an hour after I've rinsed everything out, I'll bend my head over or tilt my head to the side, and be rewarded with a flood of the rinse with no warning! I'm terrified this will happen while I'm on the air or using a computer, and I'll damage critically important equipment.

But I am getting used to it, and have learned to keep a tissue in my pocket, ready at a moment's notice to catch the drip. I guess human beings can adapt to just about anything! It could be so much worse, right? I mean, I could still have the chronic infective sinusitis.

Come to think of it... a little leaky plumbing isn't so bad.

Did Anybody Get the Number of the Bus That Hit Me?

I've got a pounding headache, but I'm told it's temporary. If that's true... in just a few days, I should be able to tell for sure how successful my sinus surgery was. Already I have to admit I *sound* better... my voice isn't any higher or lower than it used to be, but it resonates in a different spot inside my head (which probably doesn't make any sense unless you're a professional vocalist). Here's to a good start... and hopefully a happy ending!

Going Under the Knife

I'll be out of touch for a few days... maybe even a week. Having endoscopic sinus surgery on Monday. Keep me in your prayers... it's pretty noninvasive, but in my opinion, noninvasive surgery is what they do on someone else!

If all goes well, I should feel a whole lot better in the long run. Chronic sinus infections are no fun, as anyone who's ever had it can tell you.