Do you hear what I hear?

The day I was let go of my Advancement Director position, I heard mention of the town that I worked in over the radio.  Repeatedly.  I live far enough away from the small town that I worked in, that most people living near me are unfamiliar with the town of Woodshire.  Crossing paths with people from work was very unlikely in my neck of the woods.  Therefore, hearing Woodshire mentioned as the radio station promoted a station sponsored event out where Jesus lost his sandals made me chuckle.  After three years of never hearing the town's name over the radio, in conversation, or anywhere, I thought about the irony of the invitation to come out and meet radio personalities in Woodshire after I had just severed my ties with that community.

It reminded me of another time when a phrase mentioned repeatedly in the media grabbed my attention.  Over 20 years ago, I required a colonoscopy.  (Looking back, the issues I was having were likely caused by Celiac Disease.  This doctor was taking a peek from the wrong angle.  My Celiac Disease would go undiagnosed for another 20 years.)  Although Coach and I were dating at the time, I was single and living in a condo by myself about 45 minutes south of where he was living.  In order to undergo the medical procedure, I would need someone to drive me home and check up on me.  Ann, my sister who is a nurse, lived about 25 minutes from me.  She offered to pick me up after the procedure, so that I could recover at her house. 

Colin Powell

I barely remember getting back to Ann's house from the doctor's office.  I slept on and off most of the afternoon on a mattress on the floor of her small family room.  She put the television on for me while she kept busy with her one year old son.  It just so happened to be 1995 and Colin Powell was in the news.  I believe there was much debate over whether or not this undeclared presidential candidate would join the race.  While I'm not sure of the specifics, his name popped up on every news discussion that day.  I don't even know that the TV was tuned into the news.  It may have just been the commercials leading up to the next hourly broadcast.  "Tune in to the news at noon to learn more about Colin Powell and his possible run for the presidency."

colon polyp

I grasped that the doctor had removed a polyp from my colon.  It was being sent out for biopsies, but it didn't appear to be cancerous.  If you've ever recovered from a procedure where you are put under with general anesthesia, then you might recall recovering during a sleepy, groggy, blurry day.  My blurry day was continually punctuated with the television reciting 'Colin Powell, Colin Powell, Colin Powell.'  I believe I asked my sister at one point why the TV kept talking about my colon polyp.  Have you ever noticed how much Colin Powell's name sounds like colon polyp?  If you are groggy enough and if you've had a tube inserted up your anus and thru your colon, you might just hear it.

I've never been able to hear the man's name mentioned without flashing back to the lumpy mattress in my sister's first house and remembering the confusion I felt about news of my colonoscopy being broadcast on the air.  The termination from my position out in Woodshire was certainly a blessing in disguise, but hearing the name of the town over the radio reminds me of the nonsense that I endured there and the similar feeling to my colonoscopy:  a real pain in the ass.  I'm grateful that Colin Powell isn't typically in the news any longer, and that Woodshire may as well be a million miles away.  I'm glad neither will likely be mentioned again on airwaves near my sensitive ears.