I get the overwhelming feeling that more than any other year in recent memory, we all seem to be glad the last one is over!
So much going on in '08 dramatically changing our lives for better and for worse. Financial industry meltdown, economic bailouts, shoes being thrown at presidents, attacks in Mumbai, just to name a few lowlights. The sobering reality that the world's financial problems will continue, no matter what the calendar says, underscored by the highlight of the year '08 in America...CHANGE!
The election of Barack Obama is at the top of the great moments of 2008 for me. Before I became a displaced talk show host, I spent a great deal of the last two years talking about the 2008 Presidential election on my show. In my roughly 20 years of radio, it was the first election I publicly endorsed a candidate...and I picked the right guy, too!
Around 12:15pm, November 4th was the best of times, and the worst of times for me. I was preparing to stand in line for what ended up being roughly an hour, (Longest line ever for me.) to get my vote on. That hour, emersed me into reflection, because roughly 26 hours earlier, with a format flip on my station, I lost my job.
I thought about suddenly not being able to have a voice to discuss this historic moment we were experiencing, and how quickly it was taken away. I knew there was a domino effect too, making radio in Baltimore even less diverse than it unfortunately already is.
Of course I was thinking what's next, waiting for the reality to really set in...come on optimism, time to kick into high gear! Let's just say it was a tough day.
The skinny-legged kid won the election. I felt he would from the beginning. And I don't know about you, but to me this feels like the longest transition period ever! Let's go already! Turns out I still do have a voice, and my optimism has been tested many times before now.
I'm still standing, and so are you.
2008 is only a memory...time for us all to go out and make a little history!
