One never knows where one will find inspiration and, more importantly, where that inspiration might take you. One friend suggested I start a blog, and now I’m creating content instead of just consuming it. Another friend convinced me to step up my jogging habit, and now I’m doing the Mini-Marathon next week for the third year running (no pun intended). With that in mind, I went down to the WTHR 13 Health and Fitness Expo at the Fairgrounds looking for some information about keeping in shape. I found plenty of that there, but I also got a little something extra.
I got the opportunity to meet the man, Bruce Kopp, who’s newscast starts off my day. When I first walked in, he was signing autograph cards that included his photo. Having once taught television production at a school in California, I understood that this was probably only one of a hundred or more such events he’s gone through over the years. It’s a necessary part of the business that must get pretty grueling after awhile; however, he couldn’t have been a nicer guy about it.
Instead of just whipping off his signature in a indecipherable scrawl, or worse, handing out a xeroxed copy, he accepted my suggestion and wrote out a message to my son, Daniel. You see, my boy wants to be a newscaster someday. He’s planned out his career path all the way through college, and beyond. He got some experience at it during his middle school days and became instantly hooked. He understands it’s not an easy profession to break into and even harder to stay in long enough to retire from, but it’s his dream which brings me back to the signature card.
Mr. Kopp took the extra few seconds necessary to make sure he spelled my son’s name correctly, and wrote a short encouraging message. I’m not trying to give the impression that what he did will change the course of the world, but you never know what inspiration my son may take away from it. There is a very fine line between success and failure in life, and very often it comes down to a war of attrition. Whoever can hang on to their dream the longest usually wins. I can easily imagine my son some day years from now, in a moment of profound self-doubt, walking his gaze about the room he’s sitting in only to have it fall on a picture taken perhaps many years previously. Who knows, it might just tip the scales for him to try a little bit harder or hang in there a little bit longer.
So, aside from all the great displays and activities available at the Expo, I simply wanted to say thank you to a newscaster for taking an extra minute to give encouragement to a young man. It might just make a difference that lasts a lifetime.
1 thought on “Picturing the Future”