Tag Archives: radio

A Couple of Things…

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Winter Wine Walk 20161. One of my favorite events of the year is the Ventura Winter Wine Walk and this year’s event once again did not disappoint.  I love events where you run into people all night long walking up and down Ventura’s downtown area sipping wine, listening to music and have a great time.

Downtown Ventura

Milt, Dad, Carol, me and Sharon2. I was looking forward to just getting through Thanksgiving this year as Sydney Rose would not be around and there would be no home cooked meal; instead, my dad and Carol invited Carol’s sister and her husband (sharp as a tack at 90) to dine with us at Mimi’s Cafe.  Yeah, I know! Mimi’s??  The restaurant only offered Turkey dinners with all the typical side dishes and operated at full capacity like a factory assembly line, very effective getting people in and out and the meal was quite delicious.
It turned out to be a lovely day starting with a video chat with Sydney Rose and ending with the Thanksgiving episode of The West Wing.

3. Speaking of Turkey, Sydney has informed be she back to being a Vegetarian.

4. I’ve always had a problem keeping my cheese mold-free, but I thought it was because I didn’t use it quick enough.  It turns out, that some people report the worst thing you can do is wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.  They say you’re suppose to first wrap in wax or parchment paper, then a layer of plastic wrap.  The best solution for me is to stop buying huge blocks (cheaper) and just buy what I know I’ll eat in a short period of time.

5. Keeping with food for one more tidbit, I read an MSN article about fast food items you’ve been eating wrong your whole life. There were a few tips I found interesting, and some I found condescending, like the description on how to eat Toblerone chocolate, “lightly push your thumb against the top of the triangle to break it off.”  Really?  I did find value in a couple tips like using a fork to dip an Oreo in milk (or coffee), and cutting hot dogs into spirals allowing for extra crevices for condiments.

See article here.
tobleroneSide note on Toblerone, they’re shrinking their bars changing the shape to keep prices down…making it even easier to “lightly push your thumb against the top of the triangle to break it off.” 😉

Florence Henderson6. I was sorry to hear the passing of Florence Henderson, she was such a hip upbeat mom, she broke the mold of TV moms (and real moms for that matter). I’d like to think that my generation of moms all have a little bit of Carol Brady in them.

7. I’ve officially submitted my application to Cal State Channel Islands, I’ll be entering as a junior next fall. Did you know that they now ask questions about whether you are gender conforming, gender non-conforming, or both?

8. I read an interesting article from Redbook Magazine titled, “50 Things Every Woman Needs to Know about Her Body.” I figured I better read just in case there’s some mystery I’m not aware of, for instance, #18 states that not drinking enough water can make your breasts sag?  WTF, right!?? No wonder women always have water bottles about. And of course #41 is hard to face which is cellulite is incurable.  But I love the way they word # 12, “Your Hoo-Ha can change colors.”  That’s just funny. Odd…but funny.

Source article

9. I had a short discussion (private messaging) with a man who was ranting on Facebook about being accosted by police because he was sitting in his van at a local park.  They questioned his reasoning for being near children playing.  He thought it rude and started getting all kinds of sympathy from his friends on Facebook.
See, I thought it appropriate for a police officer to check on him.  That’s exactly what child molesters do. They hang out near children.   He just couldn’t see how that could be a problem, and PD was just doing their job.

10.  We actually have a Burt & Ernie who work in Public Works at City Hall.  An even funnier pair of employees who found themselves working together were Neil and Bob; thankfully these two salesmen had a sense of humor.  They were salesmen when I worked in radio and the morning show guys were relentless with them on the air.

96-ZTR 11.  Speaking of radio, looks like I’ll be hitting the airwaves soon.  The CAPS Media station has a small signal here in Ventura but they will be streaming it on the internet soon. I hope to have a weekly program showcasing local bands of course.
It will be the first time since I was in college that I haven’t used an alias on air.  I was thinking of pulling a Prince, and calling myself, Pam Baumgardner, the DJ formerly known as  Stephster (or Stephanie Rose).

Well it was just a thought 😉

12. From my favorite quotes file:  “Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation.” – Oscar Wilde

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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mean-raccoon1.  After my close encounters with the local wild raccoons over the past few years, I’ve come to loathe these bandit-looking vermin; however, I felt sorry for what I assumed was one of our local furry scavengers last night when it apparently slipped between the two fences (about 5 inches wide) along my back yard dividing the property between me and my neighbor.  I heard a scuffle thinking my cat was defending her property, but then screams, weird animal noises, and yelling ensued with a lot of pounding and banging echoing through the 4:30 am silence.  I thought I’d have to call animal protective services when they opened in the morning (they’re actually closed on the weekend), to rescue the suffering animal, but fifteen minutes later I saw a nose pop up then disappear.  I was rooting for the suffering animal watching from my secure viewpoint out my bedroom window. Several attempts later a huge racoon climbed out, then to my surprise, two more quickly followed suit.  They were at least 40+ pounds each and they high-tailed it across  fences and roofs making additional racket along the way.  They’re usually pretty smart, so with any luck at all they won’t be returning any time soon!

Then of course there’s this:

Raccoon-on-alligator2.  And just in case you missed it, Yep, that’s a raccoon riding an alligator. A man was watching alligators when his son accidentally startled an unseen raccoon who ran out onto the gator’s back, just long enough for the man to get this shot.  Pulitzer Prize winning shot?

I’ll be honest, I’m liking the critters just a smidgen more.

3.  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fuck I hate that lesson.
I really need to trust my gut more often.

4.  Somewhere along the same subject line, there are certain people out there, when they open their mouths, you expect not-so-bright things to escape from time to time. It’s the ones you thought were bright, smarter than your average bear and tolerant of others that really floor you when they say something bigoted; and the kicker is, they don’t even realize it.

Definition of a bigot: “a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.” (Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2015)

5. I hadn’t followed the story of Tim Donaghy who went to prison for betting on games while working as an NBA referee; however, a recent headline caught my eye when it said he had joined a white power gang in prison.  “Former ref Tim Donaghy joined white power gang in prison.”  The article said he didn’t like his experience there and he was quoted as saying, “Too many criminals.”
Ya think?

6.  I am not the sum total of my experiences.  If I were I would be bat ass crazy.  Wait…

7.  I hope you won’t think less of me, but I was super jazzed to attend my neighbor’s memorial service recently.  I adored my neighbor because he was a lifelong Marine, and he was always there for you; an incredibly decent man with a life well lived.  We’d spend hours talking about basketball and his two grandchildren who played ball through high school, then college, and now the NBA (you know where I’m going with this, right?).  So I got to meet these fine outstanding basketball players, all 6’9″ of them, and even got a hug from one of them.  Aaron plays for Orlando Magic and Drew plays for the Delaware 87ers. I’m still grinning about this, and yes Dave Davis, you will definitely be missed. You rocked sir!

twitter10008.  I hit 1,000 followers on Twitter recently.  Yay!!!

9.  There were many aspects of working in radio that were either embarrassing, or difficult that put me outside my comfort zone.  But the one that always totally introverted me was when someone would ask me for my autograph.

10.  I bought a pair of those biker shorts, you know the kind that have extra padding in strategically placed sections?  I’ve never wanted to wear them because of vanity reasons (like I need extra padding, right?), but OMG, sweet!!

11.  The trick to getting a new set of pots and pans is to actually throw out the old ones.  This is a trick I have heard about, but not yet applied.

12.  From my Favorite Quotes File:  “There is nothing more dangerous than the conscience of a bigot.” – George Bernard Shaw

Thanks for your time!

A Couple of Things…

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96-ZTR around 1990

96-ZTR around 1990

1.  I’m not exactly sure when I lost my shyness and decided to just work through the panic and fear of being in front of people, but somewhere along the way I did.  See when you work in radio, you just have to overcome nervousness on one level, which is trying not to sound stupid; but live in person, that’s a whole different story and it has it’s own set of fears to overcome.

I remember watching Craig Powers from KEZY in Anaheim do live broadcasts.  He was the master and he just ate it up.  He was so calm and so “on” when that microphone went live.  I learned a lot just watching him.

After I left KEZY and moved on to Ventura and KZTR with my first full-time on air position, and later with KXBS the Bus, I knew I wanted to be like Craig, but I was so introverted and worried about what people thought of me.  I really did suck at it; but for some reason the station managers insisted on sending me out to shake hands, kiss babies, bowl in leagues, do remote broadcasts, introduce bands at concerts (I think David Cassidy at the Ventura Theater was one of my first) and host radio events and before long I calmed down and started to have some fun with it.  The dumbest yet bravest thing I ever did was to sing Karaoke, I can’t carry a tune to save my life and the audience loved it.

But I do remember the very first time ever I did something live on air was when I was in college taking radio broadcasting classes and doing shifts on KBPK, and one of the assignments was to go out during “A Night in Fullerton” and do some interviews with random people.  I don’t think I said a coherent thing (and I even had questions written on index cards) and I certainly didn’t hear a single word the person was saying, which is a critical point when doing an interview, you actually have to listen to them while preparing your next question. I was a frazzled mess by the end of the evening.

My advice: “Practice, practice, practice!!!”

2.  The title of an article found on The Onion website, “Poll Finds the Majority of Americans Have Never Met Willem Defoe.”

Classic!

Kevin Bacon3.  Great news! I was telling a co-worker about my one degree of separation from Kevin Bacon and she pointed out that since she knew me, she now only had two degrees. So I thought I’d inform you that since you know me, you too now only have two degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.

You’re welcome!

(click here for original story)

4.  One of the funniest blogs I’ve read in a while was called, “Ode to the Medium-Sized Woman,” by Isabel Foxen Duke.   Before I started exercising, I could totally relate to a couple of these:

  • “I can literally wear S, M or L depending on the brand, and sometimes, I’ll size out of a brand altogether.”
  • “I would never be called “overweight” or “plus-size” or “heavy” or “the F-word” (you know, Fat).”
  • “I’ve definitely had sex with guys that weigh less than me, but I don’t think they knew that at the time.”

Too funny!

Once is enough5.  There are some movies that I can watch over and over, others that were a complete waste of my time and I soon forget, but there are just a few which really left a lasting impression, but I could never watch again for their disturbing nature:

  •  Requiem for a Dream
  • Adaptation
  • The Butterfly Effect
  • Ted
  • Cape Fear

Yeah I know, Ted?  Really?  REALLY.

6.  I have a confession.  I will not miss David Letterman.

He use to be clever and funny, but since his open-heart surgery, he just became more pessimistic and mean.  I am pleased that Steven Colbert will replace him.

7.  Recent MSN article on Healthy Living called, “The 14 Best Things You Can Do For Your Body”.

“You don’t need anyone to tell you to have more sex, but it doesn’t hurt that research is piling up about the benefits of getting busy. Regular time spent behind closed doors can make you look and feel younger, reduce stress, boost immunity, enhance sleep, protect against prostate cancer and improve cardiovascular health. What’s more, a 25-year study from Duke University found that the more sex you have, the longer you’ll live. Guys, I think we’ve discovered the fountain of youth.”

What’s funny to me is that they spent 25 years studying this.  LOL!!!  “Um yeah Dean, we need more grant money to continue this study, because (wink wink) it’s really important work.

I’m guessing, these people who lived longer were actually mentally and physically healthy and as a result, they enjoyed sex more often.

8.  I hope when I die, that my wake is a celebration, especially for my family and close friends. I’m pretty sure I won’t be hanging around, I’ll be ready for my next adventure, so feel free to talk about me behind my back. 😉

9.  Typically when my father calls me “Little girl”, I know I’m in trouble. Thankfully after the age of 21, I stopped caring.

Sydney at Cross April 2013                                         (Sydney at the Cross April 2013)

10.  I had to call my daughter up in Oregon from my tax accountant’s office to ask whether she had claimed that she was a dependent or not when she filed her taxes earlier this year; then she started to upbraid me because she said it was just a few days before taxes were due.  I had to stop her right there and point out, “No baby, they are actually due tomorrow.”

That didn’t help my case.

11.  People who are intentional cruel, who seek to bring harm are even more scary because they truly believe they are justified in their actions.

People who are intentional nice, who seek to bring happiness to others rock even more because they truly believe in the brothership of mankind.

Thankfully the truly evil are only 2%.

People who are just typically mean and in a bad mood are not included in the two-percenters, because a lot depends on their environment and so they are constantly at effect…instead of at cause over their life. They just need an attitude adjustment…or a vacation or better still, get rid of the assholes in their lives.  🙂

12.  From my favorite quotes file:  “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
― Albert Einstein

A Couple of Things…

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1. The Ventura Fair is in full swing!   The theme is Boots, Barns & Banjos.  It was so much fun walking the parade route last Saturday with Kat and Totally Local VC.   The float provided live music from Dan Grimm on guitar & Ian McFadyen on banjo and Jonny Reese of Amigos on air guitar.  Photo above has Mary McGrath who represented locally grown pumpkins, Kat Merrick of Totally Local VC and myself supporting local music.   The float took first place!!!

2. The second photo is courtesy of my friend, photographer Amanda Peacock.  When I saw this when she posted it on Facebook I laughed because I had no idea she was shooting me.  Then my second thought was, “What happened to my ass?!!!” Seriously!  I use to have one!

3. My birthday, by the way (thanks for asking!), was amazing!!  Went to the Getty Museum with Sydney, band practice with Christine & Charles Law, then drinks with the Laws, Eve, Kat & Chris, then a delicious dinner with the family, Staci and the Mimiagas at Aloha.  My birth week started with dancing to Rey Fresco the weekend before with Maggie at Bombay’s and ended the following Friday with Linda (my oldest & dearest friend) for great music from Shawn Jones at Peirano’s.
Dancing, amazing music, delicious food, the best friends and family.  Life is good!!!

4. I’ll be reviewing the no gift birthday policy with Kat.  (See last blog)

5. Oh!  I learned “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics at band practice on my birthday, the Marilyn Manson version that is.  But it sounds more like the White Stripes doing Marilyn Manson.

6. Double Oh!  Thought of another life hightlight:
Interviewing Neil Patrick Harris while he was taking flying trapeze lessons in the Valley, then at the end, he surprises me with a free try.  I can still recall the adrenalin rush with safety harness on, standing on tippy toes grasping the bar, and then taking a deep breath and swinging out.    SOOOO SCARY!!!   I was high for days!

7. Soon after I wrote that list last week of some of the highlights in my life I saw this and smiled.  This is why I wrote it’s the PG-13 version:  “Some of the best moments in life are the ones you can’t tell anyone about.”

8. I wonder, “Is it better to have the last laugh or to just take the freakin’ high road?”

9. I recently took a break at work and walked downtown to a local bakery where I not only knew 7 out 9 people there, but one of them was the mayor of Ventura himself! Love this town!!

10. I had my co-workers over for a beach day recently.  One of us was brave enough to jump in the cold water.  The rest of us…not so much.    I need to toughen up if I’m going to learn how to surf!

11. Congratulations to my old friend and radio colleague, John Vance, who recently accepted the Fire Chief’s position in Minnetonka, Minnesota.  He’s relocating his family from Granger, Indiana.  Best wishes Chief!!   Of course this means he’s only 1900 miles away as opposed to 2100 miles!

12. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:  “He who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of the power to love. ”   Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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Last year’s Bike-to-Work day

1.  Bike-to-Work week starts Monday!!!

2.  Is saving $20 worth it for a used wet suit, knowing someone most likely has peed in it? The gal at Play it Again Sports said, “Well you can wash it!”

3.  Mother’s Day has always been a tad bittersweet for me because I miss my mother so much, on the other hand as a Mother I get to celebrate being Sydney Rose’s mom, which has been the greatest adventure of my life.

4.  I absolutely love the sound of a basketball swishing through a metal net. Especially those 3-pointers!

5.  I wrote a blog for VenturaRocks.com on The Worth of an Artist and was promptly attacked for supporting RAW which does in fact require their Artists to sell tickets to their events. I’m going on the record as saying that RAW actually offers a great service when done correctly to all artists. And I’ve heard nothing but great things about our Ventura chapter. That being said, I’ve asked Sara from RAW to remove VenturaRocks.com from their posters because technically it is Pay-to-Play. We’re still listing RAW, just not a sponsor now.

6. The other morning at work as I was trying to wrap my mind around why Sergio Albarran listens to Hall and Oates all the time, I asked him how old he was and he said 27. It just doesn’t make sense! And then he said and I quote, “Hall and Oates are gangster.” Life is a mystery. Some things are just not meant to be understood.

7.  Just learned that Hall and Oates are playing the Ventura Fair this year.

8.  I found an old aircheck from when I worked weekends on B95.1. No comment.

9.  All spiders are Brown Recluses to me

10.  I’m not a big fan of Westerns, western music or rodeos. But man, certain cowboys make me swoon!

11.  From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:  “When one door closes, another one opens. Or you could just open the closed door, that’s how they work.”

Thanks for listening.

I Was a Bone Marrow Donor

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Back when I was still using Stephanie Rose, I wrote this article in 2004 and it was published in Buzzine Magazine. Since then, the methods and statistics may have changed, but the back story remains the same.  Here is my article:

Original Bone Marrow Article

In February 1996, I helped host a bone marrow drive that was being sponsored by the family of a little girl who desperately needed a bone marrow transplant. Her family contacted the radio station I was working at and we were happy to help. During the event, our listeners were invited to find out more about the National Marrow Donor Program, or NMDP, and to register in the hopes of becoming a potential match. I was asked if I would like to participate. Having donated dozens of pints of blood over the years, I was open to the idea so I read the brochures explaining what was involved and signed up. A small sample of my blood was extracted and put into a couple of vials and that was that.

Time passed and I was not contacted to help this little girl. I continued raising my family and taking care of business that is until the call came in August 2001. The American Red Cross called to tell me that I was a potential match for a bone marrow transplant. All they could tell me about the recipient was that he was a 1-year-old boy who, without the transplant, had little chance of surviving. I was asked if I would authorize further testing through the NMDP for compatibility and I agreed. After more tests and examinations and then several months of waiting, I was notified that I was a match and a date was set.

People have often asked me if I was donating for a family member and are shocked to find that the recipient was a stranger. It never ceases to fascinate me that they then ask why I would do this. I recently discovered that only 11,000 individuals have donated bone marrow for unrelated patients. 50,000 – 60,000 family members have done so to date. I have spent a long time thinking about why I would want to put myself through such an ordeal and it all boils down to this – nothing more or less – just to be able to help.

On the day of the procedure I was treated like royalty. I was a little embarrassed by the attention, which kept my mind somewhat off what was about to happen. My Red Cross liaison was by my side the whole time, even when I came out of the fog of anesthesia. The procedure had been flawless and she informed me that at that moment my bone marrow was on a plane, on its way to the little baby boy.

The gravity of the situation hit me hardest at that point. Here was a family I had never met doing all they could to hang in there and wait for the arrival of my bone marrow.

I was discharged before I knew it. The doctors warned me of the pain that would follow, likening it to muscle soreness after hours of gardening. They were right. The first day afterward I was sore, but I was still able to get around and make dinner for the family. Each day was better, and within five days I didn’t really notice it all. I’ve talked to other donors who endured worse pain, or perhaps their pain threshold is different from mine. But the way I see it and the way most donors do, is that the pain really isn’t the issue in the long run. The issue is the possibility of saving a life. That is all that matters.

The following weeks and months seemed almost surreal, like the transplant hadn’t really happened. I had heard no news, which is standard (the donor is not given news for at least a year, as conditions can change). I contacted my Red Cross liaison and she recommended writing a letter. In my letter I told this family of strangers who are so intimately connected to me about myself and my family, giving no specifics, no names, no cities and such. I sent the letter to the American Red Cross who then forwards it to the baby’s family. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t want this family beholden to me. But I also didn’t want them to think I didn’t care, and I certainly wanted them to know how much I hoped their baby boy was doing better. I felt awkward.

I received a letter from the little boy’s mother telling me that for the very first time in months they had taken their baby home. They were scared at first because there was no longer a nurse outside the door, but time was passing. At the time of her letter, it had been eight months since the transplant and she said that all was looking good, but only the future would tell of the long-term effects. She had been told her baby would die before the age of 10 without the treatment and that the treatment needed to occur before he turned two for the most effective results. He was 18 months at the time of the transplant. The thanks she gave me were superfluous to the news that her baby had been given a second chance. A little being is alive and doing better because of the science available to us, the American Red Cross, the National Marrow Donor Program and because people care enough to take a simple little test one day with the off chance they may save a life.

During the holiday season I am reminded of this gift that I was able to give and the inner joy of being able to help. I look at my own little girl and realize that she could have been that little baby and could have been at the mercy of strangers. I am reminded that the choice I made the day I registered was one of my better days as a member of the human race.

Now I would like to invite you to think about making yourself available as a possible bone marrow donor. The team at the American Red Cross is incredible. The National Marrow Donor Program is creating miracles. These organizations are dedicated to saving lives. It is their job and they are proud of it. They welcome your help. Please contact them for further information

: http://www.redcross.org.

Issue of Buzzine with Bone Marrow article in it.

Stephanie Rose
Editor-in-Chief
Buzzine Magazine

A Couple of Things…

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Boys playing in the ocean.

1. Saturday in Ventura was picture perfect!  Sunshine, Earth Day celebrations along the promenade at the beach.  Boys playing in the ocean (see photo above), music at the fairgrounds. Marty Party up at the ranch behind Two Trees.  Life is good!

2. Ventura has so much amazing talent. VenturaRocks.com is doing our share of helping to promote this scene.  Now we just need to get more people out supporting it!

3. I saw fireflies in person (in flies?) for the first time in my life five years ago in Louisiana.  They are freakin’ cool.  I thought Disney was pulling my leg on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride all these years.

4. From my “Little Did They Know” file:  I’m a sucker for sardines on saltines with onions.

5. I’ve never had a fast food drive-thru error in my favor.

6. I love music and I love live radio, but I especially love that sense of community when the two come magically together once in a blue moon.  The staff, from the owner to the PD to the on-air crew definitely have to share that vision.  I was lucky to be a part of one once.

7. On the flip-side, I don’t like corporate radio shoving their playlist down your throat.  I don’t like voice tracks. I’ve been unlucky to be a part of one once..for about three months. Sucked the life out of me.

8. WARNING!!!  Flashback moment:   I have to say, I really miss eating Trix and watching Bugs Bunny on Saturday mornings.

9. Clipper Nation Baby!!!

10. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file::  “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

I went to a Funeral Today

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Matt Cooper and me at Sea World

Matt Cooper and me at Sea World

I went to a funeral today.  I went without tissues which turned out to be a critical mistake. You see Matt Cooper passed last week, on April Fool’s Day, which if you knew him at all, you knew that was so apropos.  I did not cry when I heard that Matt died, I hadn’t been closely connected to him in over 15 years, since we worked at the radio station together in the 90’s, but I saw him from time to time around town, the last time was about a year ago at a car dealership in Oxnard with a woman who would turn out to be his guardian angel and second wife, Juliana.

I arrived about ten minutes before the service was to start wanting to be able to see the slide show of photos his family had put together in his honor.  I had submitted a number of pictures from KXBS when Matt was our morning show host.  There was a couple from some radio station promos as well as pictures when we went down to Sea World to do a radio remote broadcast.  This was the Matt I knew and loved.  I really do miss working with him in radio.

What I did not expect, was to be hit emotionally from his pictures when he was a baby to a child growing up, his time spent in the hospital (his first bout with Cancer), photos of Matt with his family, at different radio stations, and then his wedding to his first wife Alex and of course the last few years with his tailor-made family with his second wife Juliana who had three children.  Matt couldn’t procreate because of the Cancer and treatments he was made to endure so Matt was thrilled to finally have a family to be a part of, and from what I could tell, and the stories I heard, these kids loved him back.

But even if I had not known Matt, I would have been moved by the display of the pictures of a life that is now over, but had so much life and love in it. It is what makes us human.
The first time I cried was when his cousin got up to speak and said something so profound.  He said Matt should not be here today.  We all should not be here today.  We should have lost him 27 years ago when Cancer took its first attempt at his life.  Had he succumbed then, what a different life we all would have.

I looked around and saw the people that were there because of him.  Our lives would have been all so very different that I realized for the very first time how precious all our relationships are.  These were tears of profundity.

Then Rob got up to speak.  We had met earlier in the week to talk about Matt over a couple of beers at Billy O’s.  I knew Rob missed him terribly and I knew this was going to be extremely hard on him.  He started out by saying that Matt was his friend, his mentor, and then he hesitated, and started again saying, “Matt was my…”  It was at least 45 seconds later that Rob found the composure to complete the sentence and I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he finally said, “Brother.”

Again the tears, and this time, I just let them fall.  These were tears of profundity again, about relationships that bond two people like no other.  It was just beautiful.  I knew Rob was feeling the pain of losing his good friend and there was nothing he could do about it.  I knew Rob was a better man because of his relationship with Matt and that is a beautiful thing.

Then a former boss spoke about Matt and told stories about how generous he was and stood up for the homeless, she who also read a letter from a nurse whose life was deeply affected by Matt 27 years ago and how he (at age 16) was found late one night walking back and forth comforting a 2-day old baby suffering from jaundice.

I’m angry that Cancer won this time.  How amazing would it have been if Matt beat it again with all the odds against him.  But he didn’t and now we all must reflect on a life that was cut short.  And it is sad that his family and close friends are now missing him and going through this sorrow of loss.

Matt was a good man.  Not a saint by any means, in all honesty, he was quite ornery; but all in all, he was an extremely good man with heart.

And this is what I took away from Matt’s funeral.  Matt never gave up because life is great. And he knew it.  Friends are everything.  And I’m reminded once again that we are all basically good.  We are here to help one another.  Nurture your relationships with your family and friends.  Create them, because in the end, that is what makes life worthwhile.

A Couple of Things…March 26, 2013

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Surfer's Point, Ventura, CA

Surfer’s Point, Ventura, CA

(Originally posted on Facebook, March 26, 2013

1. I love industrious men with a plan and a sense of humor.

2. In radio, I had more than my 15 minutes of fame.  It really is overrated.

3. I’m trying to think of something I can no longer do because of my advancing age.  For instance, I can no longer……I’ll get back to you on that one.

4. I have to do a self-portrait in my photography class.  It has to be a picture that shows who I am or what I love.  Ideas are brewing, photo to come.

5. Meanwhile, I’m loving getting out and shooting my town.

6. 2012 taxes are done. And yes, I’m smiling.

7. Getting ready for Ventura Music Week June 7th through the 16th.  I’m taking the whole week off from City.  Should be a blast!

8.  Starting when Sydney Rose was a baby up until she was around eight or nine years old, she would reach up to my face and rub one of my cheeks.  Somehow it comforted her.  She did this the other day quite unexpectedly.  I just about melted.

9. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts File”:   “My neighbor listens to good music, whether it likes it or not.”

Photo taken February 2013 from the parking structure looking out at Surfer’s Point using my long lens.