Error on the Author

 

"I enjoyed your post," came the note from a beloved reader, one who generally reads them all.

I was pleased to get that, and it sent me back to read the post again. I'm always curious if there was a particular passage or theme that was the cause for the feedback.

Within five seconds, I found a typo.

Then, I found another.

I quickly fixed them both, blood pressure elevating and sighs sighing.

I edit every post myself. I reread them but am often bleary-eyed as I do.

So I catch things often hours, days, months, and even years later.

And it drives me crazy.

Of course, it does given I lean towards being a perfectionist. Naturally, that's simply not possible.

It used to really make me insane but as I've learned over these nearly 18 years on "Exit 55," I'm not alone. There is a certain level of appreciation in knowing that.

I've discovered errors on "professional" sites. Plenty of them, in fact. I always assume those have editors checking every punctuation, dotted i, and crossed t.

I would be wrong.

So I've seen them all. I've seen them in emails and blog posts and stories and more.

Thus no matter how annoyed I get at myself, I take solace in the understanding that I'm human.

As is often said, editing oneself is difficult. Overall, I do a passable job at that, but things slip through for myriad reasons. 

There's exhaustion, distraction, time, and other reasons that really are just poor excuses.

Once upon a time, a fellow writer asked how I found the time to write blog posts. The funny thing is that this was said long before the "Project 365" era began.

Yes, like Ms. Swift, I have eras. No, I will not be going on a worldwide tour to perform them. She has talent. Me? Meh.

To me, sitting down to write for a few minutes is a habit, though there are nights that I'd love to not do it. But, commitment nut that I am, I don't find it difficult to carve out a few minutes. Also, I don't sleep a lot. Unless there is research involved, most posts can be assembled within an hour or less. In fact, most of the time drag for me can be...

Oh, look, a cookie!

(Sorry, that was a joke. I crack myself up.)

Now, where was I?

Oh yeah, the biggest time suck for me is 1) naming the damn posts (and my post names aren't good at all) and, more, 2) finding a suitable picture.

Thus begins the search for pictures that aren't copyrighted, are the right size, and correctly attributed.

For instance, I have no idea what picture I'll use on this post. To that point, I came up with an idea as I was typing just now but it's super-frustrating when a Google search doesn't find that shot.

Narrator: Rob did not find the image he wanted.

I suppose what I'm saying in all of this, beyond the inner frustrations of my own errors, is that I don't just sit down and write. I mean, I do, but like "Doubleheader" or game broadcasts, there is a level of preparation that does go into all of this.

It isn't like I'm lazy and unprepared. Nor would I accuse others of being so. Oh, sure, I can ad-lib a lot, but there's an effort into that.

So, much like "Where's Waldo," enjoy looking for my errors.

I'd say consider it a drinking game but that might be dangerous.

Winning Ugly Can Be a Good Thing

 

The game had just ended and two Brunswick players came out to right field to take the camera back to put it away.

"That was a tough one," I said.

"You say that every time," came the response. "But you're right."

The scoreboard said the Bruins won 4-3 over King School.

For me, it started with four trips to and from my car. So, follow along here.

1) Walking to my booth in right field with my backpack, equipment case, and table, as well as a cup of coffee.

2) Walking back with the camera in its rolling case and the tripod.

3) Realizing I needed a different audio cable from my mixer to the camera, I made a trip over for that. In the process, I stopped in the dugouts to get the lineups.

4) While fixing the snack table that I use, I dumped a large portion of the coffee*. So, I walked back one more time to get a towel.

* For the record, no equipment was damaged. In fact, only the grass and the table took a hit. I used the towel to mop it up.

Then I could finally write the lineups down and set my defensive alignments on my scorecard.

I then checked LocalLive to make sure we were on the air. The stream will often go live for a stretch long before the game. It's not uncommon to have a 20-minute head start, which allows me to tune in remotely and listen to my voice. I'll do some kind of a preview hello to hear if I'm too loud, soft, etc. Most importantly, it's to confirm we're on the air.

In this case, there was no picture. So, I called the office. I don't know how it ultimately got fixed but that crisis was averted. Otherwise, I was preparing for an audio-only call.

But with no return call from the office, I went on and called the game.

It was a warm day, with the sun glaring on all of us. After the multiple trips to and from the car, as well as the setup and stress of that, I was worn out.

Hopefully, the audience couldn't tell as I called the game. It became business as usual.

The game, however, was anything but normal.

In the King School first inning, the Bruins allowed three runs -- unearned, I might add -- on no hits with four walks, a wild pitch, three errors, and three strikeouts. Also, the Vikings left three on base.

The Bruins cut it to 3-2 on a Connor Jones double that looked like it was going over the wall for a grand slam. It would have given the Bruins a 4-2 lead but they had to settle for being down one.

So the game marched on. 

Both teams would miss chances to add to the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth. The Bruins already had two outs when the Vikings committed three errors in a span of four batters. The last error produced the tying and leading runs.

So, if you're keeping score, the Bruins scored two runs on no hits with three Vikings errors and three runners left on base.

When it was all over, the Bruins won 4-3. There were eight hits total in the game with eight errors and 21 runners left on base.

The Bruins had picked up their 12th win of the year and were secure as the two seed heading into next week's FAA conference playoffs.

I'm back at it with lacrosse and "The Clubhouse" tomorrow.

Games like today happen. They're ugly in nature but prove the mettle of a team when they can grind out a win. They build character and serve as a reminder that it's a team game.

Oh, they're hell to keep a scorecard on but it's also a solid win when a team gets the "W."

I packed up and went home to watch hockey and get ready for the next one.

That grind I talk about never ends.

Career Advice

 

The road is filled with obstacles (and a beaver).
Florence, SC, Mar 2024

If I say that I don't feel like writing a post tonight, don't take it the wrong way.

I'm fine.

Right now, I'm in a good spot with everything though admittedly we need a few things to go right. One way or another, I'll likely write about those things soon.

But, for tonight, I'm just taking it easy. I'm watching the Knicks/Pacers game and preparing for the balance of the week.

Baseball is tomorrow. 

Lacrosse is Wednesday but so is "The Clubhouse."

The latter part of the week won't have as heavy of a game schedule so we'll see where those days take me.

*****

OK, I sort of have a topic to add to this post.

STAA -- Sportscasters Talent Agency of America -- tweeted this question:

"What advice would you give to this year's college graduates?"

I kept my answer simple and I'll stand by it.

"Stay authentic, work hard, grind, network, and avoid #toxicpositivity"

Look, it's true. Those are the things that have helped me. 

A simple look at my career has made that clear. 

I wish I could go back and tell my teenage self to network better but we can't rewrite history. 

Then again, there would be a bit to change but why do that? 

The people I like in this business do these things also. They're aggressive without overdoing it and that's also important. I've known aggressive people in this business who felt that nagging was the way to get in the business and, at least for me, that's not the right approach.

Nagging me doesn't work.

There will be an opening next to me that I will open up about soon and the person has to have chemistry and ability. Part of that might include stepping into my shoes to call a few games when I'm not available.

But I'm not 100% to the point where I can announce any of that.

Still, I'm making my point. People have tried to elbow their way into the booth and the hard sell doesn't work with me.

My other piece of advice would be about attitude. Don't act like you know it all. You don't. That has burned others with me. Plus, respect goes a long way.

To me, this advice can be applied to basically any career pursuit. 

I'll add more. Be flexible. Honestly. 

When I started at WGCH, I was a board operator. I kept things on the air and stayed out of the way. I contributed to radio shows as needed but, sometimes, wasn't on the air at all.

When the station would ask for things like an engineer, I only asked for training. Beyond that, I'd do it.

I tried to make sure I'd never put the station in a bad spot, so when they asked me to do Election Night, I suggested I wouldn't be right for it. I was quickly assured that I'd be fine. I've done Election Night nearly every year since then.

The same went for my first hockey broadcast. Now I've done hundreds.

Oh, but that's another thing. Confidence is fine. Arrogance is not.

Humblebrags are dangerous.

I see people talking about how many games they've done in a day and, trust me, I've written such posts. But, guess what? There's always someone -- always -- who will try to one-up.

It's just a bad game to get into.

I did 29 games over a two-week stretch last year.

Big deal.

Oh, I'm proud of it but nobody is putting me in the Hall of Fame for it.

Lastly, set your standards but wait before digging in with those. I wouldn't say no to a lot of gigs years ago. Now I can be a bit more picky.

So, yes, make friends. Be flexible. Grind. And most importantly, be yourself. Be authentic.

Don't be a fake.

And recognize that, unfortunately, your talent might not win out.

Take the bumps, bruises, rejections, highs, and lows with the appropriate grains of salt.

Lastly, don't forget where you came from, and don't forget those who have walked the path with you.

Good luck.

Respectfully, you'll need it.

Sunday, Pizza

 

I had an epiphany about "Meet the Beatles" this week.

After several episodes of different themes, I told myself to chill out.

"Stop thinking," I said.

This show, as I've said before, is supposed to be a labor of love, much like "Doubleheader." Oh, sure, there's still a business side to it all and it needs to be compelling radio, much as I try to make my "talk show/podcast."

And, for sure, I'll have guests on. In fact, we're at the point where I'm ready to do that.

I asked someone if they'd like to come on and the answer I got was, essentially, "Why?"

I'll get that guest to come on one morning but I didn't feel like pushing it today. His feeling was that he wouldn't be a compelling guest before I reminded him that his parents RAISED him on The Beatles and perhaps he'd like to talk about the songs he liked and what about them appealed to him.

I'd love to get family and friends to come on and talk about the lads and play their favorite songs. All of this will keep the show fresh.

Yet, once in a while, I need to play songs that make me happy.

So instead of overthinking, I decided to have a show that I called "Dealer's Choice." Thus, I'd play whatever I wanted to play.

I played "Magical Mystery Tour" and "I'm Down" and "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and "It Don't Come Easy" and "We Can Work It Out" because I could. 

Instead of worrying about what I was going to play next, or what fact I'd present, I simply sat back and enjoyed the music. Oh, I prepared for each song but I didn't worry about doing intros to each song.

The goal was to just enjoy the songs.

The only common theme was that I picked songs that were upbeat. They didn't have to be happy messages. They just needed to rock a bit.

The guests will happen. Then again, I'll also take a few shows off I suppose. 

But a show like this was a reminder that I could stay fresh by just enjoying it.

There have often been attempts to take the fun out of "Doubleheader" by those who simply don't understand. 

Well, this was my attempt to make "Meet the Beatles" low-stress, especially useful when tired and worn out on Sunday morning.

In that way, it was perhaps my favorite show yet.

I learned that I-95 had reopened completely in Norwalk while doing the show and thought it might be nice to go grab a later lunch/early dinner.

We had said we'd like to get Frank Pepe's pizza in Fairfield. We do this as a way of honoring Mom, who loved it. We couldn't get there for her birthday so opted to do it today as a late birthday/early Mother's Day gathering. Making it nicer was that my sister and niece could both join us, thus adding to the Mother's Day vibe. 

It was relaxing and it's nice when family time is like that.

It's also nice when traffic moves.

We were home in time to watch most of the Rangers game and were pretty pleased with the result.

A big week awaits.

Tackling Rugby

 

Who says I take broadcasting too seriously?

I've called play-by-play for myriad sports.

Field hockey and lacrosse and soccer and cheerleading and wrestling are just a few that I never thought I'd call. Yet I've not only called them but I've called championships in each of those sports. You don't get those calls if you're not doing something slightly OK.

I added a new sport today: rugby.

Jeff Alterman approached me with the idea several months ago and I figured it was worth trying. Greenwich has long been known for being a high school lacrosse powerhouse so we called Trumbull and the Cardinals today.

My knowledge of rugby is admittedly limited so I did what I did the first time I called field hockey.

I hit the internet.

I watched a video that explained the basics of field hockey years ago and then went out and called a game that afternoon.

I watched and read to prepare for rugby.

Finding information about high school rugby around here, however, was difficult. Both teams have websites and I utilized them but they were only helpful up to a point.

Of course, the first hiccup of the day was to get around Norwalk and the traffic nightmare that is there currently along I-95.

However, it wasn't a problem heading to Trumbull as I grabbed breakfast in Darien and dashed up through West Norwalk before connecting with the Merritt Parkway. No problems.

The game was not at McDougall Stadium, which has a press box and electricity. Instead, it was on Cork Field with no press box and no electricity.

But it was a beautiful, sunny day, so the weather wouldn't be a big deal.

In fact, we stood behind a set of bleachers and used the top row as a table which gave us just enough of a good place to set up and see the action.

As it was warm, I needed to utilize my hard-sided case to keep the sun off the computer.

But, without a doubt, Tim Cooke was the MVP of our broadcast. I can certainly call the play-by-play, giving just enough information to suffice. Tim broke it all down while presenting a class on rugby 101 while still allowing the room to call the game. Jeff chimed in with details and excellent questions for Tim.

Plus there were just enough hints of conversation and humor to create the atmosphere that I believe in on the air.

Look, I'm not going to tell you that I was even particularly good but given my expectations today, I feel pretty proud of what we did.

I might never call rugby again. I can't even slightly predict that. But I also wouldn't be surprised if the opportunity comes up again and we do maybe one rugby match per year.

The audience was good and receptive and I know where I can improve if the opportunity arises again.

Who am I to ever say never?

After the game, my luck with the traffic went south.

A drive that took me 45 minutes from Greenwich to Trumbull was doubled on the way back.

I get stuck in traffic on the Merritt Parkway near Westport before using some crazy side roads through Norwalk before finally making my way back to 95 in Darien.

Fortunately, I had plenty of time to get to Brunswick for a lacrosse game.

As I set up, ate a late lunch, and got ready for the game, someone stopped in the booth and asked me if I would be hosting the senior day ceremony.

Well, no one had asked, but ... ok. I didn't hesitate. Armed with a list of the names of the seniors, I had what I needed to give the players and their families a voice.

The ceremony went off without a hitch, the Bruins won the game, and we got free food. Even Sean got food since it was being provided by the great Neil's on Wheels food truck. Sean and I have visited the truck before and he couldn't resist driving over to the game.

With both games wrapped up, I came home to a peaceful night of watching hockey before what should be a pretty quiet Sunday, including "Meet the Beatles."

But today will be remembered for stepping out of my comfort zone and embracing a new sport to broadcast.

I think we did OK.

Toxic Positivity

 

I live rent-free in a few places. 

Sadly, it's not a two-bedroom that allows cats but it's the brains of some.

The reason for this is I'm not phony. On occasion, I will bruise an ego with an opinion, usually of a benign variety.

In one case, the person elected to not debate. They got insulted and instead went on a diatribe about what a mean, negative person I am and how they're positive and don't want with me. Before I could reply, I'd been blocked.

So bold. So brave.

I mean, fair enough. They're entitled to their opinion. I don't think I'm negative. I think I'm fair and honest. I'm realistic.

I'm also pretty loyal and was to that person, actually defending them for some time against criticism from others.

Also, I recognize the person had been good to me a few times over the years. I just didn't see any reason to not only block me but to delete all correspondence with me. 

Anyway, in general, my reputation seems to be OK with those around me, even if we have any skirmishes.

But most people are willing to agree to disagree with me and move on.

Anyway, our "friend" in this case is all about positivity, so the questions I have include...

1) Why put things online that are clearly meant to try to get a rise out of me, including promoting things from me that you've badmouthed? Why troll me?

2) More to the point, if you're so positive, why write such a negative thing? Also, why did you badmouth some of the people you did? To me?

I know people who are relentlessly positive. Nothing sickening. Nothing fake. Just truly positive. They won't speak ill of anyone. They'll laugh and brush off any kind of talk. 

So while chatting with someone today, they told me they'd seen some things and realized the person in question had toxic positivity.

Nobody wants that.

Often, I'm too forgiving. I won't spell that out entirely but I've been able to "suck it up" and "be the better person" more times than I can take. 

A nerve was finally hit a few years back and saying "Thank you, sir, may I have another" stopped being an option.

So, I just stopped talking to them. Simple. Effective.

And I'm always open to patching things up because I don't like such unresolved issues.

But I'm also content to have that kind of fraudulence out of my world.

However, when I can see it's obvious that you're doing things online in an effort to get under my skin, don't be surprised by my reaction.

Like this.

Packing a Reprieve

 

Some of the items taken off the wall today.

I was working from home today and, whenever I had a break, I started taking things off the walls.

It means the personality comes down so there's a bit of a mental impact but I felt it was necessary to start.

I mean, time is ticking here and I tend to just act. In fact, I've been meaning to act for some time. I almost started packing the day we found out we had to move.

So down came the pictures of my parents and some artwork that I love and things like that. There's more but I need to get some boxes.

Mentally, it was a bit taxing because it was a bummer but it had to be done. I had to get started on moving forward.

So down came the personal effects in the kitchen.

Down came some of the road signs in the living room.

It was sad but it was also right.

It's a start and it will continue. But there was also a job to do and a job that I'm grateful for.

It was nice -- is that the word? -- to be sitting at the computer again for a deposition. It was positive to focus on that.

I can also do some other things from here at my desk that I need to catch up on and, of course, The Cat was a constant companion.

Food, on the other hand, wasn't present because we needed to go shopping.

However, I just ordered dinner and I'm treating us because we picked up some good news.

A "W" if you will.

Oh, the housing market remains stale (damn you that firmly don't accept cats) but we received word a short time ago that we have some extra time in our current home.

Now, before we start breaking out the happy snacks, note that Sean and I will remain aggressive in finding a new home. It's still the sooner, the better but at least we have a little breathing room.

We both feel thrilled to have more time but it doesn't diminish what is going on.

So if you see a place that would fit what we're looking for, don't hesitate. This just buys us a little more time and we're extremely grateful.

But the mission continues. So we'll keep looking and keep packing.

But, tonight, we can breathe a little.

Now, it's time for dinner.