hello, operator?

with a constant sniffle disrupting my cold-induced vocabulary and a tissue by my side, i took a front row seat for the last hour of the radio program this morning... in front that is -- of the audio board...

one component that i never got the chance to tamper with in my radio education days was how to man a sound board... the how-to of throwing to music or commercials, fading intro music into the background and generally making the show sound the way it does when pouring out of your speakers was a semi-mystery to me... so, today was my first of many tries to get it right... and as soon as i sat in the hot seat, the heat was definitely on...

there's a lot to remember -- which switches to flip, when, what's the next song to play, don't forget to run that commercial, is my mic still on? -- my mind raced a mile a minute... naturally there were a few first-timer goof-ups (and they won't be the last) but it was an exhilarating experience to take the reins...

i walked away as a carolyn dawn johnson tune fed into the 9:00 news feeling proud of my beginner stab at it... it'll come in time, and i thought, like most things in life, you need to establish a rhythm... and from then on it's poetry...