I spent a long time in the radio industry. What many may not know is that I spent a long time trying to get out of radio. It doesn’t pay very well, there wasn’t much chance of a lasting career and the TV station that shared our building had asbestos. Three solid reasons to get out.
Also during this time, I was the breadwinner in the family. And when you’re a married mother of two who still needs your mom to help pay for the gas in your car and groceries on your table, you know that getting into a better paying job is the next step. I had a few phone interviews and, at some point, the whole economy collapsed. But around the July 4th holiday, I noticed a job opening and sent in my resume. After a phone interview, then an in-person interview with a manager named Chris, I was offered a job. It was freedom. It was a career position. It was a future…a much more hopeful future.
Working with Chris was awesome. He was a very positive and encouraging person and I felt like a valued part of the team. He moved on to another job almost a year later—but I’ve always been grateful for the door he opened for me.
Not long ago, I spent a couple of days traveling to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for work. When I got home, I was wiped out and tired. I was even too tired to put together a list of yard sales for that weekend. Can you imagine that? Sure, I like to sleep in—but I didn’t even bother to look at the sales that Friday night! Then, I got a Facebook message from Chris saying that his wife had cleared out some cookbooks and they were mine if I wanted them.
See? Didn’t I say he was a pretty awesome guy? I thanked him for thinking of me and, of course, I said I’d come by to pick them up. He and the family would be out for the afternoon, but he had already put the cookbooks out on the front porch for me.
I got his address and was able to make my way over to his house later on Saturday afternoon. Did I mention he is a very devoted fan of the University of Alabama? When I was winding my way through his neighborhood, I clutched the paper with his address so that I would be careful not to miss it.
As I noted the street numbers on the mailboxes getting closer to his, I looked up and saw a big, maroon flag with that unique, cursive “A” hanging proudly from the front porch. I started laughing so hard I could barely park the car! That was a sure sign that I’d found the right house.
And look what was waiting for me!
That’s a pretty impressive stack!
Here’s what I discovered:
Top Row: Pottery Barn Home, P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home (wait, how did that get in there?), The Best of Cooking Light and Christopher Lowell, The Hassle-Free Host (Christopher Lowell with Frances Schultz). Bottom Row: Betty Crocker’s Cooking Basics, Taste of Home’s Quick Cooking Annual Recipes: 2000, The Best of Country Cooking: 2001, The Best of Country Cooking: 2002 and Taste of Home Annual Recipes: 2003.
Remember when Christopher Lowell took the home decorating world by storm? I liked him and his show was so much fun—but I never got around to buying any of his decorating books. Didn’t he have a line of home decor products? Whatever happened there?
Top Row: Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style (Paula Deen with Martha Nesbit), Favorite Brand Name Easy Entertaining and Cocktails (Linda Doeser). Bottom Row: Cooking Light: The Ultimate Kid-Approved Cookbook, Southern Living: Ultimate Book of Appetizers and The American Grill (David Barich & Thomas Ingalls).
This was a really nice and diverse collection! Thanks again for thinking of me, Chris! I’ve always said you rescued me from radio and today you rescued me from suffering a cookbook-less Saturday!