Wednesday, 3/6

Even if I did have a bad day, why would I bother anyone with it?

Over the past few years I've received comments from people regarding something I do on the air, and it happened again yesterday. It's something I never really thought about, but it must make an impression on some people. The comments have to do with how I never seem to have a “bad day” when I'm on the air, how I always seem “to have a smile in (my) voice”. Apparently I always sound like I'm happy and having fun when I'm on the air, and people notice that.

And from the sound of it they appreciate it, as well.

Trust me, I do have bad days. Some days, I'm dealing with recalcitrant equipment, other days, it's dealing with a personal situation. And since September, who HASN'T had a bad day because of the weather? So I do have bad days. But I don't let it affect my on-air performance. My job is to entertain people, to make sure they have a good time getting through their days. They may tune in to try and make their own bad day better; why would I add to their troubles with troubles of my own?

I mean, I'm really lucky. Being an optimist by nature I really don't have a lot of bad days, and even if something is weighing upon me I have this freakish ability to compartmentalize. I seem to be able to shove whatever's bothering me to the back of my head for a few minutes when I need to do something else. I don't know if I'm lucky in that respect or if it's a sign of some serious mental instabilities (neither would surprise me). All I know is that if people are tuning in for fun or to relieve their own troubles, it doesn't do much for them if I'm a major bummer.

And it's something, apparently, that people notice.

So, if you don't mind, I'll just continue being me on the air. In all honesty, I wouldn't know how to do it any differently, anyway, so I guess you're stuck with an optimist with a smile in his voice.

Even if I am having a bad day.

And speaking of which, I KNOW I won't have a bad day today, if only because I'm now off to shoot (half) an episode of “High School Bowl”, and the only bad news about that is we only have a few more left to shoot for the year. So until tomorrow...

(jim@wmqt.com)