"Be thankful for what you've got!"

As I post these Thanksgiving memories, my mouth is watering as it was a holiday

at our small house in Ohio filled with wonderful aromas; Mom cooked that year's dinner feast with traditional fare---a very large turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, black olives, french green beans, warm, fluffy, dinner rolls, and mashed potatoes and gravy! With any luck at all, there might be some leftovers. And what would a family get together around the table be without some squabbling? Dad insisted we have tons of extra mashed potatoes and gravy and became visibly irritated (dare I say "heatedly verbal") when there wasn't. He was a cook in the Navy and sort of co-directed the proceedings with Mom in the kitchen. 'No skimpy portions at Thanksgiving!' was his motto. We topped everything off with pumpkin pie and whipped cream.Gobble gobble... that we did with ease. "Someone pass the gravy please." 

Much has been written and said through all media, church podiums, and beyond about the need to be thankful, so I won't gab on about it here. 

Oprah started her gratitude journal which was a huge hit and had many shows about the need to feel thankful. 

"“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” (Oprah)

I remember Mom would sometimes say, "Count your blessings." A blessing at our cramped, little house was an open, singular bathroom for Mom, Dad and 9 kids. When you went in, it was almost like you were on a timer. Somebody was always waiting to get in. Take a number. And you never wanted to hear Dad banging on the door for you to get out.

Dad owned his own business (plaster and drywall) and would give his longtime clients a bottle of booze at Christmastime. Worked like a charm. And I know those folks were thankful...with every gulp.

Make sure that as you receive voice over work from clients/customers and others, saying "Thank You" is in the mix.

I left radio 17 years ago to create my full-time voice over business, and I have clients who have called on me for voice over during that entire time. Touch base with your clients, new and old, and say thanks for the business. Even a short email works wonders. Repeat business is a very good thing indeed!

There are tons of songs with a gratitude theme. Those that know me know I spend a fair amount of time listening to my favorite songs on You Tube in between VO jobs. One of my "thankful songs" is from 1974 by William DeVaughn (yep, I'm going way back) . It went to #1 on the rhythm and blues charts. And in 2021, it was listed at #374 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." Here's a link to the tune. See if you remember it. It contains some classic Getty images/Esquire magazine photos from that era you might find interesting... and quite provocative. 

 

"Duck! Here comes another piece of wedding cake!"

 I'm reposting this because it happens to be the most popular (#1) on this blog... by a mile. (I'm able to log in and see how many views it has.) Seems that folks like a good wedding fight! Just like the WWE!

 I once co-owned a mobile deejay business with a partner when I was on radio in South Florida.  It was called "Hot Summer Nights" ... a fitting name for a Florida entertainment company we thought. We would book company Christmas parties, birthdays, weddings, poolside fun...you name it.  Pretty much any occasion where music was needed to light up the crowd for a good time. Coming from my radio background, mobile deejaying was extra fun, as I could actually see my "audience"...unlike radio.  

Weddings were a challenge as the guests in attendance at the reception were everyone from the bride and groom to little children, teens, and in most cases, Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma. So you were playing music to a wide age range. You had to have  something for everyone and keep them all happy. And by all means, DON'T play any unfamiliar music that folks didn't know. That would make the dance floor empty quickly. And you might get a dissatisfied look from the bride or groom. For the most part, I played the hits and kept the good vibe going. The two most requested songs at wedding receptions was Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" and the very naughty Clarence Carter song "Strokin". Nothing could fill the dance floor faster than these two songs.

Before the wedding, I would always meet with the bride and groom (and sometimes their parents) to discuss exactly what song selections they wanted played... or didn't want played. Which brings me to what this post is all about. 

By far, a particular Italian wedding was one of, if not thee most, bizarre weddings I ever deejayed. I met beforehand with the bride and her Mom. Right off the bat, I knew this event was going to have its "unique challenges." The mother said, "My creepy ex-husband is going to be at the reception. If he comes up to make a request, DON'T play it!" Alrighty then. "Also," she went on to say, "An uncle and nephew have very bad blood and they'll be at the reception . Hopefully, there won't be any problems." After Mom gave me a 50%  cash deposit to deejay the event, I left our meeting driving home with all kinds of weird scenes playing out in my head; most of them not good. 

Fast forward to the wedding reception. It was your typical hot summer, South Florida day. The couple had rented out a large party room at a West Palm Beach golf course on a Saturday. My assistant for the day helped me set up my deejay equipment. Soon, guests started filing in. It was a very large and lively crowd. I fired up some music and things got rolling. The dance floor was filling up nicely. That was always good to see. Just trying to keep everyone happy. Drinks were flowing freely as the crowd loosened up. Midway through the reception, the bride's Mom came up to me and handed me the balance due in cash and walked away. I told my helper to play the music as I wanted to step into the men's room and count the cash to make sure all was paid. Upon exiting, I saw fists flying from all corners and utter mayhem breaking loose, as the nephew and uncle I had been warned about had gotten into a push and shove match, with others stepping in to take a few swipes at the nephew, who apparently had a history of run-ins with the law and stirring up issues with the family. A chef came out of the kitchen and tried to get things under control. But the free for all fight kept rolling. I honestly thought someone might pull a knife or gun. I think I even saw Grandma  trying to get in a punch or two at the nephew, people yelling  and taking sides.  And at one point, I feared for my deejay equipment as a tidal wave of people was moving in my direction with little regard for my set-up. Things got so out of hand, someone called the police. The first cop that showed up looked like Barney Fife from the old Mayberry TV show. He looked like he weighed just shy of 130 pounds! I thought, "There's no way this guy is going to be able to get this angry crowd under control." Soon, more officers arrived in the parking lot before running into the reception area. I stepped out to the lot to see a middle aged man punching one of the guests who fell to the pavement. It was all very surreal, like out of a movie, or the phony WWE with all their staged wrestling fights on TV. And sadly, the bride had taken a seat in the limo with an open door and was sobbing hysterically, saying, "They've ruined my day!"  I felt badly for her. Eventually, things settled down and my assistant and I broke down our deejay equipment and left the "festivities." I was relieved to be on the road. Time to get home for a cold beer. Or maybe a couple.

Later that evening, my business partner called and asked me how the wedding went. I told him he would be deejaying the next wedding we booked. I needed a short "vacation."

                                                                                   

About that Side Hustle

 Ask any voice actor about odd jobs they held before landing steady VO work, and you might be surprised to see a very long list. Hugh Jackman used to work at 7-11. He was fired from that job because his boss said he talked too much to the customers. J.K. Rowling was fired because her boss said she was writing stories on her computer all day long. I worked at a convenience store while I was attending broadcast school at 18 years of age. I was bagging/cleaning heads of lettuce in the store's back room when the announcer came on the radio and sadly reported "The King," Elvis, was found dead at Graceland. His last words--"I'm going to the bathroom to read." One of those moments I'll always remember. And where I was when the space shuttle exploded; on the air just south of the launch pad up the Florida coastline. Listeners called me shortly after liftoff saying something didn't look right. I opened the station backdoor, looked afar, and saw strange plumes of smoke moving in all directions. Not good.

As things go with voice acting (and many other professions), you'll probably be doing a bunch of different "survival" jobs to put a little jingle in your pocket. Cash flow will generally always be a nag as you wait for your next voice gig or check to come in.  (Unless you have rich and generous parents bailing you out.) And there will be times when things seem to be going well, when all of a sudden, the bottom drops out and it's "Hello. Is anybody out there?" All the more reason to have a second  job to put groceries on the table and pay the rent.

Here are some of the side jobs I held before I started making decent money deejaying on the radio, and eventually, my love,..voice over.

Loading UPS 18 wheeler trucks with tons of packages in extreme summertime heat.

Lawn mowing at an old school apartment complex. 

A cashier at our friendly, local, mom and pop convenience store. 

Deejaying at a teen's dance club. This was a living nightmare! Tons of kids coming at me in the booth ALL AT ONCE shouting their requests. Frantic/panic comes to mind. "Hey! I didn't sign up for this!"

 Digging drainage ditches on a new golf course with water issues, my miserable boss shouting at me from a loud ditch digger; me muddied up with a shovel in hand.

Working behind a deli counter at a Jewish restaurant. I held this job for 1 day! The pace was maddening. Wasn't for me. I quit. But I still LOVE pastrami on rye!

Janitorial, part time job buffing floors at a senior living community activity center..

Working for a florist delivering flower arrangements from my car. This was a real challenge as I was living in steamy, hot South Florida. "Help! My customer flowers are wilting." 

Selling a savings plan. (I stunk at this).

These are just some jobs I worked to get by. I'm probably mentally blocking out a few disasters.I'm sure you have your own list of odd/side hustle jobs. Be thankful for the job. Things will change;often for the better.

As the great voice over master, Harlan Hogan, has said for years now. 'You don't really want a voice over career. Careers have a definite start and a finish. A business can go on and on. Aim for that.' Pay attention to best business practices.

The legendary narrator Peter Thomas ("Forensic Files") was still in demand up until his death at 91!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Are you getting enough sleep?

 Without a doubt, sleep, or the lack of it, plays a major role in our daytime performance; whether at work or at play. We spend a third of our life sleeping. The great inventor Thomas Alva Edison slept only 3-4 hours a night and was also a "power napper." He had this to say about sleep:

"People will not only do what they like to do — they overdo it 100 per cent. Most people overeat 100 per cent, and oversleep 100 per cent, because they like it. That extra 100 per cent makes them unhealthy and inefficient. The person who sleeps eight or ten hours a night is never fully asleep and never fully awake — they have only different degrees of doze through the twenty-four hours."

I have never been one to sleep for long periods of time; 6 -7 hours. As a kid, growing up in a rural area of Ohio, my Dad use to write up a list of chores for my brother and I to do while he went off to work to support himself, my Mom, and 9 kids! Yep, a very large family. Kind of like the Waltons. When in junior and senior high, sometimes I would hear a schoolmate say, "Oh man. I feel SO good. I slept in this weekend way beyond 1 PM." I was never one to sleep in. My father made sure of that. Everything was geared toward getting up and getting at it. These days I find I need a bit less sleep. 

If you have a voice over job you'll be doing next day in your home studio or a session to go out to, enough sleep is essential. And yawning in front of the director is not a really good thing to do. As some would say, "a bad optic." I find  sometimes it's hard to fall asleep when I have an important voice over project to get to first thing in the morning.  I'm thinking about the script, the client who is expecting speedy turnaround, my strong desire to give him or her the read they need, and a host of other things. For sure, I've had some sleep issues. Thankfully, there are remedies. 

Here's a link to some 22 surprising facts courtesy of sleep specialist Dr. Michelle Drerup.  It may provide some needed input if you struggle with sleep. Here's one of the facts on the list...

"Being awake for 16 hours straight decreases your performance as much as if your blood alcohol level were .05% (the legal limit is .08%)."  

  

Golf temper tantrums. "Getting to know you...getting to know all about you..."

 Somewhere along the line, I read that upon first meeting someone, if you really want to know how the person truly is, either take a vacation with them...or go golfing together. The golf advice hit home with me, because as noted in other posts here, I jumped into playing golf as a boy with my Dad's guidance and instruction, and I learned a lot about golf etiquette too. For example, don't talk while someone's putting. Be ready to hit your shot so you don't slow up play. There are many other golf etiquette rules; some dating back to 16th century Scotland where golf was invented. 

By the way, there are plenty of road rage folks that bring their "act" to the course on golf carts. BEWARE! Talk about a miserable golf outing for all. Statistically, each year, about 15,000 golf cart related accidents happen nationally requiring emergency room visits. I've seen guys race their golf carts up a greenside slope, jump out in a hurry to go putt, forget to engage the cart parking pedal, then freak out when they see their cart rolling away down the fairway... driverless. If you're a wise golfer, you never treat a golf cart like a toy.

I remember watching the former #1 golfer IN THE WORLD, Rory McIlroy, throw a club in a lake on national TV after hitting an errant shot. It was a shocking outburst and very unusual for Rory; always the gentleman. The announcer said he was having a hard time adjusting to a new set of irons he had endorsed. Apparently so. Adding insult to injury, the announcer actually said the name of the club manufacturer on TV! The golf club CEO must have been foaming at the mouth.  Later in the broadcast, they showed some scuba diver dude who went under water on the lake and retrieved the golf club. I think he returned the 3 iron to Rory. There was a moment of humor. 

We had one big and tall golfer on our high school team who was a hot tempered club thrower. One time, we were on the course in a match when he hit his ball into some trees. He proceeded to hit his next shot and the ball ricocheted off a tree and went further back into the woods. His face reddened, and with all kinds of angry, facial expressions, he took his iron and slammed it into a tree, causing the shaft to split in half. He disgustedly threw the two pieces down on the ground and stormed off to find his ball. Our golf coach usually stayed off the course and behind the 18th hole. Had he seen Dean's temper tantrum, I'm certain he would have pulled him from the match immediately and given him a heated lecture about his unacceptable  behaviour. Back then I played a lot of recreational golf on weekends and avoided this type of player like the plague. Their reputation tended to get around in the clubhouse. Not too many golfers I know like to play with a hot head. I guess the moral of the story is know who you're playing with before you go. And keep your mouth shut when they hit a bad shot. Don't add fuel to the fire! Golf clubs can serve as lethal weapons in the wrong person's hands. That brother in law or stranger you're playing with may turn into another Adam Sandler or Bob Barker character from "Happy Gilmore." The smack down scene is hilarious, isn't it? "The price is WRONG, Bob!"

The 88th edition of The Masters is now history (Scottie Scheffler won) from Augusta National Golf Club with its amazing pimento cheese sandwiches for $1.50! The Masters has one of the most knowledgeable fan bases in the world. They insist golfers be on their best behaviour.  Legend Arnold Palmer was a stickler for proper etiquette. He often schooled the young PGA players coming up;starting with taking your golf hat off when entering a clubhouse. And making sure, when signing your autograph for a fan, it's legible!

                                                                    

A 20 million dollar lottery scratcher in my backyard?

 A good friend of mine texted me a link recently to an article about a Bay Area guy who just won 20 million dollars on a $30 scratcher. He apparently was on a lunch break from his airport job (I'll skip giving his name here as I'm sure he's getting plenty of unwanted attention), when he walked into L & M liquor store and threw down 30 bucks to buy the jackpot winner---"Set for Life." This store is right next door to my favorite breakfast place I often go to, "Rosy's Cafe," a cozy mom and pop. From time to time, I've purchased lottery tickets at L&M for Powerball and Fantasy 5 drawings, but never for a high priced scratcher. That's too expensive in my book (unless you hit the jackpot). Even after they take the taxes out of 20 million, he'll be doing just fine. Spend wisely my friend; spend wisely. Watch out for the scam artists bombarding your email with "friendly hellos." Or the long lost "relatives" who come knocking.

L&M will be getting a tidy $100,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Let's see if they do any store upgrades. It's one of those old school neighborhood liquor stores and could use a little "sprucing up."

"Take a Walk on the Wild Side"

 If you're a busy voice over talent, you may have those days that can be overwhelming with client expectations about your turnaround time/tight deadlines and everything seemingly coming at you all at once. I record a good amount of learning content. Some of it is very technical. Aviation scripts comes to mind. I think it's super important to force yourself to take a break and reboot. Do something that centers you again. In my case, I like to go out and walk a bit through my neighborhood. Lately, here in the Bay Area, we've had some outstanding weather; mid 70's and a slightly cool breeze. The streets are such that I can take a short walk, or much longer one, depending upon how much time I have. I say hello from afar to a big, bad, barking dog that's fenced in and looks very intimidating. I absolutely love walking as you notice things you would never see while driving. Sometimes you find a few coins in the dirt. And unfortunately, sometimes you see litter. Time to bring back that 60's TV campaign, "Don't be a Litterbug." There's a mom and pop convenience store just across the way I can get to in about 8 minutes from my front door. I'll go over there and grab a snack and buy a few lottery tickets. They have those "pickle in a pouch" things which I like a lot. (Van Holten's). I've enjoyed those since I was a kid. I'm also addicted to homemade pickles... but that's another story. There's a hofbrau in San Francisco called Tommy's Joynt with a big barrel of all you can eat pickles! I'm dying to try that out. (I know! I know! It's the little things in life). Anyway, I head back to my home studio, enjoy the snacks, and get back to recording or editing the audio. It's not an overly long break, but just enough to reset. When I walk, I always try to take some deep breaths along the way and move briskly. Of course, if walking's not your thing, there are so many other options. Some like to close their eyes and meditate or listen to music with headphones on. Hey, whatever works for you. 

Over the years, I've gotten many compliments about my fast turnaround of the voice overs. That's totally cool. But you really should take those much needed breaks. Resetting is, in my opinion, a very wise thing to do. And you might even save yourself an aspirin or two at the end of the day!

The Nicest Couple I Ever Met (an unlikely friendship)

 My radio broadcasting career took me to lots of places and allowed me to meet many wonderful people. Not just recording artists, but "real people." As any well traveled radio deejay will tell you, there's no shortage of invites from listeners... home dinners, birthday parties, summertime swimming pool get togethers (Bud on ice) and beyond. You became a sort of local celebrity. And yes, I attended some invites I wish I hadn't, but those are stories for another time. 

I was on the air in West Palm Beach one day when a phone call came through on the listener line while a song was playing. I answered it with my standard hello..."W-I-R-K! Who's this?" I immediately heard a very low, smoky, senior citizen, female voice on the line when she blasted, "Is this deejay John? Are you the one on the air right now?" I wasn't sure I wanted to answer that thinking she might have a listener complaint. (she sounded like a nun I had in grade school!). I paused a second and said "yes it is." She told me that from time to time she would hear me on the air mentioning my Ohio roots and the Cleveland Browns. She said she too was from Ohio and along with her husband Kenneth had moved to Florida to get out of the cold. (all of this chit chat was going on while a song was playing). At one point, she lowered her voice a bit and said, "we like you the most of all the deejays on your station John because you play the best music." I chuckled a bit inside. I didn't have the time to go into details with her about how all of our deejays played the songs from a prepared, paper music "log." The songs were hand-picked for us. In short,we played what the program director or music director told us to play;we had no choice in the matter. I thanked her for the compliment nonetheless. She told me her name was Doris and we wrapped up the call with a friendly goodbye. I told her to call anytime she wanted to. There are a lot of lonely people that call in to radio stations, so I was always open to a little chat while the songs played...my good deed for the day.

Fast forward a few weeks. I was on air when Doris called me again with her unmistakable, husky voice with an invite to join her and Kenneth for a breakfast at Farmer John's restaurant. I couldn't resist, as I'm a HUGE breakfast fan. Besides, she seemed nice. We set something up for a Saturday morning and we would eventually meet in person after exchanging appearance descriptions over the phone.  ("I'll be wearing a cowboy hat with boots"). As I approached them at a table (she was very short and pudgy) she eyeballed me and said, "Are you John?"I told her I was and we sat down at the table to get acquainted and order some coffee and food. She said something to me that every radio deejay has heard at some point in their career; "you don't look a thing like you sound on the radio." I would love to counter with, "you don't look a bit like you sound on the station request/listener telephone line." The look I got was always good for a chuckle. Kenneth was an extremely soft spoken, kind and respectful man;very attentive to Doris. They told me they had been married a long time. You could see how much they truly loved each other. Maybe I should say, "you could FEEL how much they loved each other." None of it was put on. Authentic and true... not fake like you see with some couples.

We would go on to have future visits at Farmer John's for breakfast, and whenever a Cleveland Browns game was on TV (this was back in the 80's) I would pick up a 6 pack (or 12) and head over to their house and we'd watch the game together. It was great fun! I'm sure they've passed on by now, but I often think about my unlikely friendship with Doris and Ken. Many fond memories and much admiration. So glad I took them up on their invite.

Alcatraz audio tour update "I'm scared!"

 Now that the pandemic restrictions are easing, if you ever visit the San Francisco Bay Area, I highly recommend you take the ferry from Pier 33 and head out to the infamous Alcatraz. It's a very short ride.  I was joined by my sister and brother in law from Ohio when they vacationed here and we went on the walking tour through the prison. The award winning narration and sound effects you hear through the rented headset are really outstanding. The audio tour is optional, but you'll be missing a lot if you decline. You'll get an amazing look and listen into the way things used to be for the inmates and guards. It's a bit creepy, but fun. Bring your best warm jacket or a coat! It can be chilly out there, even in the summer. Or as Mark Twain said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." 

Travel tip: Get your tickets in advance as the tours book very quickly. Showing up at Pier 33 the day you want to go over to Alcatraz is no guarantee of being able to go that day. You can get ticket information here

Bonus travel tip: There are 2 bathrooms on the ferry and only a few on the island. It's a good idea to check with the island personnel when you get off the ferry as to where they're located. (Take it from a guy who had an "emergency close call" shortly after arriving on the island).

                                                                        

"The Wonderful World of Water"

OK, just keeping it real. I have a confession to make.  I HATE WATER!

Maybe the all caps is a little too dramatic. I don't really hate water, but I often forget to drink enough of it throughout the day. According to "Culligan Water"...

"The average amount of water you need per day is about 3 liters (13 cups for men) and 2.2 liters  (9 cups for women)" 

No  doubt, it's really important to stay hydrated throughout the day. And as a voice actor, it's especially important to get your recommended amount to keep the vocal cords from drying up or getting hoarse. If you're heading out to record a session, don't forget the bottled water! And start drinking water well before the session. If you're recording in your home studio, same thing applies. Water, water everywhere...

I've long considered water taste to be bland and boring. I know there are a gazillion choices at the store to remedy that. I like to put a little lemon juice in mine to step it up a notch.  Trust me, I'm not dissing  water. It's a wonderful thing when you think about all the ways we use water. I'm grateful. Very. In some parts of the parched world, it's gold. As I write this, I have an annoying, dripping, shower head in my bathroom. I tried a new shower head, and still,drip, drip, drip. Time to make a phone call. Water's been VERY good to plumbers, hasn't it? I was told it's not the shower head that's causing the dripping,it's a seal behind the hot/cold handle that has worn out and needs to be be replaced. My father, a very talented man, once went on a wild rant in our little country house in Ohio when he tried to do some plumbing in the basement and  had a mega meltdown;swearing all kinds of unmentionables because he was having little success making the repair.  No doubt, water can be tricky and has a mind of its own. No thank you. I'll leave the more "involved" plumbing to the pros.  

OK, where were we? 

Here's a cool fact.

"The average person could survive about a month without food. But only a week without water."

As voice actors, it's important we protect our voices. Lose your voice; lose money.

 So, here's to drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated throughout the day.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.Where are my lemon wedges?

Cable cars and more (plus a handy tip)

 If you're visiting San Francisco, Powell and Market Streets is a good location to drop by. It's a beehive of activity. Our rapid transit service (BART) is centrally located here. 

Here you have a  very popular cable car turnaround, some places to grab a quick bite, a major shopping mall (with public restrooms= hard to find in SF), hotels, and lots of  tourist activity. Often you'll see a street musician playing here or a highly energized, toe-tapping dancer entertaining the crowds waiting to hop on a cable car. It's a great place to people watch. There's usually a sidewalk hot dog vendor here. Don't know what it is, but hot dogs, to me, always taste better eaten outdoors. "I'll have a kraut dog to go! Thank you very much sir!"

The lines at Powell and Market at the cable car turnaround can be very l-o-n-g. Tourists come to San Francisco and their vacation is not complete unless they ride on a cable car. Here's a tip: If you walk up Powell a bit, you'll see some cable car street signs up the line where you can hop on. The operators of the cable car usually leave a little space for a few pickups along the way. It'll save you a very long wait in line back at Powell and Market streets. Not guaranteed, but worth the try. And if you're traveling with a group of five or ten, there's not going to be enough room to hop on. This is for one to two folks max.

A little bit further up Powell is Union Square. Almost always there's something going on at the plaza. In winter, an ice skating rink! For folks who live in the snowy areas, an ice skating rink is no big deal. But here in the Bay Area, it's a fun experience for many, especially around Christmas time.

The city has installed some very contemporary benches along part of the Powell sidewalk where you can take a break and watch the cable cars come and go.

On a visit to have breakfast and walk through Chinatown on a Saturday, I spotted this new piece of artwork on Powell.

                                                                       

    

"Ewwww! How can you eat that stuff?"

Let me say upfront, I'm dedicating this blog post to the late, great, worldwide traveling TV chef superstar Anthony Bourdain, who ate just about every food known to man, including goose intestines. Yikes! By the way, I miss his wit and unique way of telling a story on camera. I suspect a lot of people do. He was wildly successful. 

 I'm guessing we all have some foods on our "enjoy eating list" that others just don't understand. I was reminded of this when I saw someone on You Tube making a liverwurst sandwich with onions. My mouth was watering as that's one of my favorite sandwiches of all time. Yet there are many who wouldn't take a bite of it in a million years. If you've had a liverwurst sandwich, you know it has a  very unusual odor; one that many may not appreciate in close quarters. Give me a liverwurst and onion on rye and I'm in heaven. I was thinking about attending "Liverwurst Anonymous" classes, but I love the stuff just way too much.  I'm not giving it up! 

I have a sister who has teased me over the years about "those stinky sardines you and Mom use to eat right out of the can. GROSS!" I'll admit, they are an acquired taste and not everyone's cup of tea. But sardines on a saltine or eaten right off the plate is OK by me. And the health benefits of sardines are off the charts.  There are some really good brands in the supermarket. One of my favorites is the King Oscar brand. Many come with olive oil, mustard sauce, tomato and the like. I've always figured the olive oil was good for my voice. You know, keeping it nice and lubricated for my next voice over job. Yep, bring on the sardines!

Another food Mom and I enjoyed eating on a hot Summer day in Ohio was limburger cheese. It has a very strong, distinct odor that my sister once referred to as smelling like "dirty tennis shoes."  I say, "Some people have no taste!" Limburger on rye bread with a bit of onions=priceless, to my tastebuds. I know many folks who love cheese of all kinds, but just say "No!" to limburger. I guess everyone draws the "food eating line" somewhere.  

I was watching TV the other day and a national commercial came on for Kraft macaroni and cheese. The mother is chasing her little daughter around the house with something on her fork (probably a vegetable) saying, "Just ONE more bite." The girl yells back at Mom, "No!" It was being played as she hated what Mom was trying to force feed her to eat. Cut to the next scene and the child and Mom are seated at the table where the girl is happily eating Kraft macaroni and cheese. All was now right in her world. It made me chuckle as I was raised in a middle class family, and as a kid, you ate what Mom put on your plate with no complaints. Dad made sure of that. "Finish what you have on your plate or you're not leaving the table."  And the thought of my Mom chasing me around the house to eat a food I didn't like, well, let's just say you'd have a better chance of hitting the Powerball jackpot than seeing that scenario in our house at dinner time. 

What about you? What's your favorite food that seemingly no one else can stand? Do you sneak down to the kitchen at 3 AM when everyone's snoring to enjoy your guilty pleasure? Any shame creeping out from the fridge? Enquiring minds want to know!

I will remind you. If you're going in to do a voice over session after eating limburger cheese, sardines or the like, it goes without saying, make sure you gargle and brush your teeth really well before heading out. Unless you want to get some very disapproving looks from the audio engineer or director. If you smell like walking limburger cheese, they may not invite you back again. But then again, they may ask you to bring them a limburger cheese sandwich to share at the next recording session. Not everybody hates limburger.

                                                        

                                               

A funny voicemail message

 So I have a really wonderful friend who retired well from a metro bus building company right here in San Francisco East Bay. Her name is Diane. She's an independent soul and sometimes brings me unique food dishes that she finds on her shopping trips to Trader Joe's- one of her favorite places to buy groceries. 

We chat regularly about the happenings in the news.  She has a good sense of grumpy humor (most of the time) and seems to be enjoying her well deserved retirement. And there's one thing about her that makes me laugh more than anything. And I've told her so. No, it's not the clothes she wears or her hairstyle. Or her sometimes comical takes on what's going on at any given moment around the world. (Don't get her started). No,it's her cell phone voicemail message. Yes! Her strange and funny cell phone  message! Here it is, just as she says it... "Hi, it's Diane, I can't get to the phone right now. Call me right back." I asked her, ever so politely in jest one day, to think about what the caller is hearing. I told her, "Hey Diane, I called your number and was told to call you right back. So, I immediately did and got the same  message every time. 13 times in a row! I was exhausted." (Insert chuckle here). I suggested she record a simple message like, "Hi, it's Diane. I can't get to the phone right now. Just leave your name, phone number and a brief message and I'll call you back just as soon as possible." That was met with a brief moment of awkward silence on the phone. I took that to mean "mind your own business." Which I gladly did. Truly great friends are hard to come by.

San Francisco-a great place to be! (and play)

I consider myself very fortunate to live and voice here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Such diversity, things to do, wonderful weather (OK, it can be downright chilly in the city during the Summer so bring a jacket or a sweater), and I've met some fantastic folks at recording sessions who also do voice overs for a living-voice overs for a living, not a hobby. I'm up and at 'em every morning at 5AM PST and my day generally wraps at 2PM PST. But when it's time to close down the studio for the day, I'm out the door to enjoy all that this area has to offer. Golf is one of my favorite things to do and for the last nine months or so I've been coaching a twenty something, very talented basketball star. His natural ability has allowed him to quickly become a good golfer and I'm amazed how far he hits the ball. And the coaching aspect works wonders for me too at the end of a busy day.

As mentioned in another post, if you're planning on visiting San Francisco, make sure you get your tickets early for things like the Alcatraz tour. Showing up same day is no guarantee you'll be able to go.

The San Francisco Treat

I enjoy walking in San Francisco, especially on weekends when the streets are extra busy with tourists and locals. I live in East Bay, so I hop on BART (our rapid transit service), right near my studio, and zip on up to the city in about 30 minutes or so. Couldn't be more convenient. I like to get off at the Powell and Market cable car turnaround to start my walk. Such interesting characters! Street performers are always there, and the ever present line of tourists waiting patiently to take a cable car ride up Powell Street and down to Fisherman's Wharf. (The going rate is $5). If you're looking for exercise, there's no better place to walk than the hills of San Francisco. And they're not for the faint of heart. It's just a whole lot of fun to walk and people watch at the same time, plus the health benefits are obvious. After a good long walk up and down the streets, your legs will be screaming for relief.

If you ever plan to visit our great city, by all means, email or call in advance. I'd be happy to take you on a "leisurely stroll." (And I also know some terrific restaurants where we can take a momentary rest.).

UPDATE: Here's a link to a story just published in our San Francisco Chronicle about a man who walked every street, alley, cul-de-sac (you name it), in the city. It took him 500 hours over the course of seven years!