Bob Goes to Town – Podcasting 101
As part of the aging process, there are moments when you realize you’re missing a lot of the cultural changes in the world. I used to laugh at my father’s lack of understanding of basic websites and search engines. He carried maps in his car until he could no longer drive, rather than learn how to use navigation apps like Waze.
It wasn’t that he was resistant to change—it was just that he was going 35 mph on the expressway while everyone else had already passed him by. It’s not avoidance, but neglect, that lets you fall behind.
In recent weeks, I’ve been on the fringe of conversations between my children discussing podcasts…and I realized that I’ve become my father, rummaging in the glove compartment for a map of Florida. There are parts of this new universe where I am clearly in the slow lane, and my kids are honking as they speed past me.
There are two solutions to lagging behavior:
-
Get off the expressway and stay on the backroads during daylight, searching for good diners and early bird specials.
-
Or, be bold and take a risk—picking up speed and moving with the traffic.
When we moved to Florida in 2017, I was 57 years old and very comfortable with my life in Pennsylvania. Wawa was close, roads were all familiar, and friends were just a phone call away. Things were easy—maybe a little too easy.
My world had stopped getting larger. It had become more manageable but less risky. I had traded adventure for safety, wonder for certainty. And I did it slowly, over decades, hardly realizing it was happening.
Fortunately, I married a woman who liked risk—someone who always challenged me. When the opportunity to move to Florida came up, I was first resistant. Then I embraced it, as if I were stepping on the gas and moving into faster traffic. We adopted the mantra that we would “live on vacation” for the next five years and see what happened.
Since June 2017 we’ve encountered hurricanes, floods, snakes, and virtually every critter the Florida Jumanji game threw at us—and we survived. We kept good friends from the past and developed many more in our new home. Life changed dramatically—some for the good, some for the bad. But it changed.
Yes, I still like Wawa (thank God they have them here) and I can’t resist a good dinner even at 5 p.m. But I left my comfort zone and felt like I was once again moving with the traffic. Maybe still in a Ford 500, but at least I was in the flow.
It felt good.
As I start the fifth year of this “vacation,” I realize that, as Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again.” The vacation may end this year, but new adventures are beginning. I’m not sure if that means sailing a yacht around the world or hang gliding, but there are adventures left to come for Bobbi and me.
As a small step, this post marks the start of a new technological adventure: podcasting.
I know nothing about podcasting beyond watching Joe Rogan and Binging with Babish. I’m venturing into the world of audio podcasts, saving the world from my not-ready-for-primetime video. Baby steps…
With the guidance of my children, I’ve found Buzzsprout and recorded this, my “trailer” to the podcast. As part of this push into the uncomfortableness of change, I will be recording podcasts like my blog posts, whenever I damn well please.
Those who know me well know that I don’t tend to follow rules. As Matthew is fond of saying, I have the ability to tell a lie so convincingly that I believe it myself—making it a truth. I intend to follow that practice in these podcasts, so Matthew, buckle up for the ride.
For now, I’m planning to release the podcasts regularly.
Also, I’ve had a lifelong stutter, and I’m certain it will show up in these podcasts. I encourage you to embrace it. It doesn’t bother me, and I hope it doesn’t bother you.
Finally, I’m technologically challenged. I understand about 70% of the process. The rest I’ll figure out as I go. So I’m starting with the wrong microphone, the wrong technology, and a complete lack of knowledge—but I’m starting.
As for sponsorship, I’ve got that covered…
Sponsored by Oma’s Spirits—carefully handcrafted since 1952.
Check out Omassprits.com. Nothing goes better with 2catrule than Oma’s.