First-timer?
Think amateur: “one who ardently engages in something, for love.
Of course, it also means “skill set in progress.”
Do you remember Ted Mack’s mid-century “Amateur Hour?” If not, imagine “America’s Got Talent” meets “So You Think You Can Dance” — but in black and white, mono vs stereo, with minimal sets and lighting. Each hopeful celebrant steps up, giving their all despite first-timer heebie-jeebies. Jim-jams. Screaming meemies.
Love the lingo, if not the sensation. But public emergence? Me? Not so much. As you may have read in my last post, God seems to be coaxing me out of my cave. In the process, I get to practice learning to laugh at, about, and with myself. Sometimes, almost beside myself.
So maybe we should switch out “emergence” for effervescence. After all, we’re to rejoice in the Lord our God in everything we put our hand to (Deut. 12:18b).
In that spirit, I’m sharing the link to my first podcast — on camera: an interview with Riley Bounds, calm, genial, thoughtful editor of Solum.
The interview during which I discover . . .
a new soapbox sturdy enough, perhaps, to support the weight of a growing passion,
and
how to look 30 years younger for 38 minutes and 53 seconds (thank you, Zoom!).
The same interview after which I learn . . .
how vain I still am,
and
why a person must laugh over accidentally channeling a slo-mo, dashboard bobblehead (we all have a visual go-to-focus, while thinking: mine’s upward and to the left; what’s yours?).
I also learned when to exchange chairs minutes before going live (never!): your carefully rehearsed eye contact skews and you will earnestly address everyone’s hairline.
BUT: if you wonder how “I Love You, Lord” rolled into this world, then crossed and re-crossed it, multiple times, over 48 years,
or why every creature in my latest book speaks, including the house,
or c’mon, why poetry? . . .
. . . this one’s for you.
“It’s out there,” a beloved father figure once explained to me, “as long as there are electrons.”
First-timer, amateur effort notwithstanding.
Friends, much as I hope to stir your heart and meet your gaze . . . your hairline may tingle, ever so slightly.
Friends, if you’re stepping up to, or into, something uncomfortable, how might I pray for you?
P.S. In the high-tech swirl of “algae-rithms,” a click or comment makes a difference, even if you only have time to watch part of the podcast. Fellow writers, my favorite moment? It’s Riley’s: time stamp 38:13.
Photo by Marcela Rogante on Unsplash
Author photo by Dean Davis Photography