Dropping Weight and Dropping a Listener

This morning before headlines, I mentioned that my co-worker John asked me if I had lost weight. I told him, "Yes, it's this great new diet that's really easy to stick to. It's called the Poverty Diet."

This may be surprising to some folks, but starting out in radio and working in a small market, you don't make a lot of money - in fact, you make VERY LITTLE money. Add to this fact the troubled economy, the price of gas (whether or not it is going down, it's still a necessary cost), and the student loan payment that seems to double every month, one becomes very aware of how far their dollar doesn't go.

I joked about this on the air; that my breakfast this morning is an apple and some peanut butter (totally true), that I will be posting my "meal plan" on my blog so that other people can "slim down like Stefani;" it's easy, really; all you need to do is eat that stuff in the cabinet you forgot you bought... lots of tomato soup and tuna (also true).

That's the reality of my situation. I am down to the last few things in my cabinets and I'm crossing my fingers that I make it to pay-day like so many other people out there.

My sense of humor rests in making light of situations. I am the woman at the wake who chooses to tell a funny story about the dearly departed instead of weeping. When I get a bit of bad news, I'm the first to have a laugh about it. Positivity and humor are the best medicines to get through a hard time and I make no apologies for finding the silver lining. I celebrate life - its highs and its lows - I don't mourn it.

That having been said, I will restate my last point; "I am down to the last few things in my cabinets and I'm crossing my fingers that I make it to pay-day like so many other people out there."

We received an irate call on the show from a woman who said that we lost her as a loyal listener because "how dare we joke about poverty when so many children go to school hungry and the reality is that there are people who are ACTUALLY down to their last few cans of food."

Yeah.

People like ME.

We never joked about poverty in general. We never scoffed at people trying to make ends meet. We were merely making light of my bad situation with the understanding that other people can feel that pain.

For those people who can relate to eating half a can of soup to make sure that they have something for lunch the next day, or cutting a piece of bread in two in the hopes that they can eat some toast for breakfast.

I hear you.

For those people who are hoping the weather stays relatively warm for as long as it can because the budget for heat this winter is slim.

I hear you.

For those people who are frustrated in making the decision about where their last five dollars goes... in the gas tank... extra formula... chipping away that debt to the electric company so your lights don't get shut off.

I hear you.

Now, I have my head on straight and I will get through this minor bump in the road of my life. There will come a day when I look back on my early years in radio and wonder with great humility how I was able to stay sane in the face of the economic blows. In the meantime I will continue to laugh. Without laughter I have nothing.

...and to the woman who called: In your attempt to be an advocate for the struggling masses, you have, instead, berated a person whom you were so quick to be a voice for. You say that we've "lost a loyal listener," but obviously you weren't listening.

(For those out there who would love to help the less fortunate, tune in to 95.3 WXRO and 1580 WTTN the morning of December 11th for our Holiday Food Drive. Remember, too, that Leslie will be handling the Stocking Stuffer Program to provide gifts for children who otherwise wouldn't have a merry Christmas, and as always, we host The Children's Radiothon every June on WXRO and WBEV to raise money for children's programs in Dodge County... don't touch those dials!)