Tuesday, 1/8

I miss shoveling. And because of that I was almost—almost--tempted to take up Jen on the offer she made yesterday.

Yesterday on her daily station promo our morning personality said she'd offer up my services if anyone needed the 8 inches of snow we received removed from their driveways. I had no idea she said that; then after a listener called and (jokingly) wanted to hire me, I figured out what was going on.

Sorry, but I think I'll have to say no.

For a ten year span in the late nineties and into the 00s I was a monster shoveler. If there was a shoveling hall of fame, I might have made it in on my first try. During that 10 or 12 year Loraine and I lived in buildings where we had to remove the snow ourselves. And for some bizarre reason—especially when you consider that I abhor winter—I really got into it. I actually looked forward to getting out & shovel. But now we live in a building where the landlord also lives, and he removes the snow each & every day. And while it blows my mind, I actually kind of miss doing it.

I know. I'm a freak. What's your point?

Actually, before you call be a freak (well, okay, before you call me a freak for THIS), hear me out. First of all, even though I REALLY dislike winter, shoveling was one of the few parts of it I did enjoy. I liked it because shoveling is a great aerobic and muscle-building exercise. It’s a workout that works out parts of your body you never knew you had. It builds up your heart, your lungs, and your endurance.

It’s a great way to sweat.

I also liked shoveling for another reason. In my line of work, I don’t often have a way to measure what I accomplish every day. Sure, you guys may tell me you liked (or didn’t like) something in particular, and once every year we get a book that tells us how many of you listen on a weekly basis, but I don’t have a sense of “accomplishment”. It’s not like I can sit back at the end of the day and say “look--I made 88 widgets today”. With shoveling, I DID get that sense of accomplishment. When I was finished removing the slop from the driveway or the sidewalk, I could sit back, look at the end result, and say “look--I removed ALL that snow”. I won’t get that now.

So that's why I was tempted, if only for a second, to take anyone up who was interested in Jen's unsolicited offer yesterday. Thankfully, sanity kicked in before I could do so, but there was a moment, and it's all because I'm apparently a walking oxymoron.

And yes, as always, you can leave the “oxy” part of it out, if you'd like.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com), loather of winter, lover of shoveling.