A tough week
I apologize for being so quiet this week.
Now some out there might not mind my quietness much, but I enjoy stopping by here and sharing this, that, or the other thought with you...and I know a lot of you enjoy it, too. But this has been a difficult week, mostly because I've been reminded once again of our limited mortality...of the fact that we only have so much time allotted to us down here, and I'm reminded anew how important it is to take adavntage of every moment we're given here to make a difference in the lives of others.
So are my colleagues at work, brutally so these days.
We at KMJ radio are adjusting to our new leader, Skip Essick, who is doing a fine job in this, just his third month at the helm. A heritage news/talk station is often the most difficult to be a new manager of, especially when you're following a predecessor of some 26 years who did a fine job. But Skip has eased in quite well, thank you...and is keeping us in the ratings lead while simultaneously improving our sound in order to keep us at the top of our game.
But this month alone, four of our fellow radio market colleagues have been summoned home to their eternal destiny(whatever that may be), and it is never easy to replace people we've known for a long time in our lives, no matter what anyone tells you.
Two of those were radio veterans who worked for competitors, but we all knew them as friends and good people who gave our business a good name...and we miss them very much already.
One of them, Allen Tatarian, was a good personal friend of mine, whose father Roger was an award winning journalist both locally and internationally. Allen had one of the best radio voices ever, and always made me laugh with a fresh joke seeimngly every time I saw him. He was dedicated to his work, and to having a good time doing it.
The other two were salespeople who worked in our own building. One of them I didn't know as well as I could have, because since we moved into a three story building ten years ago, I seldom saw those who worked on the lower floors. But what I did know of her I liked...she had a sunny spirit and breathed life into every room she entered.
The other one I knew from back in the early 1990s in our "single-story" days...she was always friendly, witty, and full of energy. In those days she made sure all of us on-air people had plenty of work to do...she was talented, and productive.
Unbeknownst to me, she also suffered from occasional seizures...I never saw any of them, though.
Evidently that particular problem had worsened in recent years, though, and yesterday she had one at work. This of course alarmed many of her colleagues working alongside her, and they called for medical help for her.
When it came, apparently it was too late. She was declared brain dead before she could be treated.
I'll miss Carol Ray...she was a friend, and a delight to work with. All yesterday afternoon, our office was somber, as if it were in collective shock.
Anytime something of that nature occurs to one of us in our workplace, we're all concerned. And we think of what might happen of any of us someday. The reaction was much the same when I suffered my stroke five years ago, and when our leading personality, Ray Appleton, suffered his stroke just five months before I did.
Ray and I are still around, which we and our colleagues are thankful for. But when will our time finally come, and do we all have the things we need taken care of taken care of when it does?
I do...and I can only pray and hope that my other colleagues, along with Allen, Carol, Steve, and Beth do too.
That being said, and as much as I'm looking forward to my eternity, I'm in no hurry to leave...yet!
Posted on Oct 06, 2007 - 02:00 PM | [1]
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