Several years ago, after a film crew had finished up interviewing me for a documentary based on one of my stories, they lingered in my living room for a drink before hitting the road. On impulse I asked if they would turn the camera back on and just ask me a few questions about my personal life as opposed to my work life.
They did and we chatted on-film for a few minutes as I told them a few of the things I might like my friends and family to know about me after I am gone.
Maybe a year later, I attended the premier of their documentary and during the question and answer period afterward a film student asked the director whether anyone had served as an inspiration in his career. He pointed at me in the audience. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I stood and gave an awkward wave.
I've never asked whether he saved that extra footage but I hope so.
Sometimes when I am talking to somebody, maybe for a story or maybe just as friends, I ask them whether there is anything else they'd like to say before we hang up, say goodbye, call it quits, exchange saronaya, adios, au revoir, so long.
Much of journalism and life is quite formal, on the record, words carefully chosen, image preserved. Boundaries respected.
But what happens when we cross those boundaries and let our guard down can be much more interesting. I've gotten some great quotes that way, you might try that when taping an elder for a memoir project.
Working with entrepreneurs has been a major part of my professional life over the past 25 years, and possibly I've learned a few things. Certainly, embracing risk is a prerequisite for that type of work, but this is not always the easiest thing to do.
It involves giving up a measure of security for the unknown. On the other hand, the potential rewards are such that sometimes it's worth that risk. In fact, without risk there can rarely be the rewards.
What is true at work is true in life as well. One of the riskiest things we can do in life is to isolate ourselves; as a counterweight one of the riskiest things we can do is to truly try and connect with other people at any age. Rejection is painful. But the rewards in connecting may justify taking that risk.
This all seems easier for another type of person, someone more extroverted, more accustomed to making the first move. Left to my own nature, I tended to hold back way too often and in the process I missed deepening connections in the past that would have bettered my life in the long run. I got very good at isolating, hiding really.
But at some point I started forcing myself to change. And that has made some small differences in outcomes in my personal life. Nothing major yet, but small improvements.
Professionally, I know I want to un-retire this fall in the sense I would start earning at least some money again. My work ethic is fine. I produce a long essay every day, 365 days a year, while also providing what is essentially a news broadcast with up to three dozen headlines in it, plus a playlist, movie and book reviews and the latest developments in sports.
I have a huge appetite for this work and I love doing it. Maybe what I need to do next is hire a personal business consultant, like some startups do. But I'm not a startup -- I've long since started up. And there is no need to motivate me to keep going. I'll keep going. I just need to be more savvy about packaging, marketing, and monetizing the things I am doing.
That's my agenda for the second half of 2021.
***
THE HEADLINES:
* America in 2090: The Impact of Extreme Heat, in Maps -- Global warming will get worse unless we cut greenhouse gas emissions. (NYT)
* Wildfires have erupted across the globe, scorching places that rarely burned before (CNN)
* Death toll in China floods climbs to 33 as rains spread and more cities call for help (WP)
* Wildfire Smoke From Out West Clouds New York City Skyline (AP)
* The Bootleg Fire in Oregon, which has ruined more than 150 structures and displaced thousands of people, is so big that officials say it may not be fully extinguished until November. The fire has consumed nearly 400,000 acres, a 625 square-mile swath of land comparable in size to half of Rhode Island. [HuffPost]
* Extreme heat scalds Christmas tree crops in Oregon (Reuters)
* Officials Force Evacuations as California Wildfire Expands (AP)
* Aiming to curb wildfire risk, Pacific Gas & Electric said it would bury about 10,000 miles of power lines, a process that will cost tens of billions of dollars. (California Today)
* Coast-to-coast heat dome to deliver sweltering weather next week (WP)
* From China to Germany, floods expose climate vulnerability (Reuters)
* Biden said that he expects the Food and Drug Administration to give its final approval to COVID-19 vaccines, a step he hopes will help combat skepticism among Americans who have not been inoculated yet. He is also optimistic that children younger than 12 would be eligible for shots "soon." [HuffPost]
* White House officials debate masking push as coronavirus cases spike (WP)
* Public Health Experts Call On CDC To Endorse Masking Indoors (NPR)
* "It's too late": Doctor says dying COVID-19 patients are begging for vaccines. (HuffPost)
* How Nations Are Learning to ‘Let It Go’ and Live With Covid (NYT)
* Don’t be fooled by that viral clip of Sean Hannity begging his viewers to get the COVID-19 vaccine; Fox News personalities are casting doubt on the vaccine just as much as they always have. The people who watch Hannity's show -- not just clips -- heard his remarks in a very different context. [HuffPost]
* China rejects WHO push for more investigation into covid origins in Wuhan (WP)
* Startup Claims Breakthrough in Long-Duration Batteries --Form Energy says it has built a low-cost iron-air battery that can discharge electricity for days, which could have big ramifications for storing electricity on the power grid. (WSJ)
* In audio clips, Trump says he spoke to a ‘loving crowd’ at Jan. 6 rally (WP)
* Bipartisan House probe of Jan. 6 insurrection falls apart after Pelosi blocks two GOP members (WP)
* Rising Violent Crime Is Likely To Present A Political Challenge For Democrats In 2022 (NPR)
* Biogen Sees Heavy Patient Interest in Alzheimer’s Drug (WSJ)
* Drug Distributors and J.&J. Reach $26 Billion Deal to End Opioids Lawsuits (NYT)
* ‘Somebody has to do the dirty work’: NSO founders defend the spyware they built (WP)
* Judy Garland’s Long-Lost ‘Wizard Of Oz’ Dress Possibly Found In Trash Bag (HuffPost)
* The AI we should fear is already here (WP)
***
"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye"
Song by Roberta Flack
Written by Leonard Cohen
Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm
Yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new
In city and in forest they smiled like me and you
But now it's come to distances and both of us must try
Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye
Walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme
You know my love goes with you as your love stays with me
It's just the way it changes, like the shoreline and the sea
But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie
Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye
Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm
Yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new
In city and in forest they smiled like me and you
But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie
Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye
-30-
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