Greetings readers,
Today is Father's Day. I hope everyone is celebrating their fathers today. Here in Richmond's Don McBride Stadium, the dads were tossing to their children for a special event. The RiverRats even pulled a walk-off win against the West Virginia Miners with a ballpark-clearing home run. This post is about my dad.
I absolutely wouldn't be the man I am today without my dad. My dad's always been there.
While my dad couldn't make it to today's game, at least I still have him to talk to. We talk almost every day, unless I'm coming home from a baseball game late in the day on either side of West Alexandria.
My dad is an amazing man. He still puts in ludicrous hours from early-morning at work to late-evenings fixing stuff around the house.
He's been putting in the same hours since I was conceived, and even sooner than that actually (1987 I believe is when dad started working at the Mound, owned by Monsanto at the time.) The companies have changed from Monsanto to EG&G (which I still remember fondly calling it "EGG!" as Bill Nye or some other science show was ready to air on PBS.) EG&G then dumped the Mound, which started shutting operations down and cleaning up that entire lot in Miamisburg. Dad's been at that site for a good long time.
He used to help farm a bunch when Nana and Pop were still alive and we had the farmhouse nearby Gratis. He's now helping out with the two cows we kept and moved behind our house.
He can do it all. Which is why I feel like I fall short of him. Well short.
You see, I often think I have worked hard to pick up dad's work ethic skills. I work at my broadcast resume and you might be able to argue and cheer me up saying I've hauled ass as I try to land a job. Some days, I'll agree. On others, I'll argue to say that if I did things a bit different, I'd be healthily employed full-time broadcasting by now. I still think I fall short of my dad.
My dad is awesome. He taught me to catch with those velcro pads (remember the purple, neon-green, neon-pink ones?) He taught me what to do when an automobile fails. He taught he how to shave. Hee taught me how to think critically and consider all my options. He taught me to be a responsible human being.
That's why I want to make my parents proud. I hope my dad knows this.
Thank you dad for everything. Happy Father's Day.
Until next time,
-Lee
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
The Failures Within
Greetings readers,
Today I announced it. A death of an internet station. My home for broadcasting for under a year, where I was the play-by-play voice of several teams. I might have made it to your laptops, calling a goal, broadcasting a shot, announcing a foul. With trips to the penalty box, trips to the bench, and a trek that spanned most of the Miami Valley, I was the play-by-play man of the Ohio Sports Radio Network.
That station disappeared today. Most of the 93 games live on as an MP3 file on my external drive, hoping to catch an employer's ear and snag myself a full-time paying broadcasting job.
All that time, however, has not been wasted.
While it's true I was working free and continued to believe the hoax of actually receiving a paycheck, I became the voice of a professional hockey team in Dayton. A professional basketball team from Dayton that played in Troy. A college on the eastern portion of Greene County, just some 40 miles away from my home.
I spent 93 games behind the mic, mostly as a play-by-play commentator. I learned, I became polished, I grew stronger, and I learned even more what makes me a broadcaster. I learned a little bit about myself. I grew stronger. I improved.
So what makes this blog post a little bit extra painful? It's not the failure, I'm used to it (trust me, I am.) Is it the fact I no longer have a home to call a mixture of sports? No, I have a home with the Dayton Demonz. I also have a home as the P.A. guy for the Dayton Flyers, who have welcomed me with open arms (even though I'm a Wright State alumnus.) I also have my morning job at Ye Olde Lazarus and my job with the Dayton Dragons.
It's the work I put in. The work I put in, while believing I would be paid for it all, I feel is wasted. Granted, I know I said it helped me improved. I worked to improve on my weaknesses on air. I worked to make sure we were the best station in the Dayton area (considering the name was aiming to take over the Buckeye State.)
I feel more betrayed, actually. Maybe more fooled, actually. A bit stupid too, perhaps. I continued to believe the money promises, but you can't cash those at your local bank. Should I have pushed for money? Maybe, but I believed in carrying out the contracts we built up with the teams. I knew I had a job to do. It wasn't about the money, it was about the promises broken.
I also feel bad for the ones that helped OSRN out. How do I thank them? How do I thank the people who believe(d) in me to carry this station? I don't feel that a thank you over a shutting down note is the best way, but I in no way have the money promised to shell out. I just hope those helpers know how much I do appreciate their hard work. Thank you.
I don't want people to think I'm doing it for the money (because it's not about the money, it's about my passion.) Although I'm out a lot of money owed (I tallied $3,255, with each game at $35 and that's not including the General Manager money of $200 a week), I feel I failed the station. Did I want it to live on? Absolutely.
So what do I do now? I push on. I continue to rack up opportunities. I push on. I keep improving my game. Again, I push on. So to those who've stuck with me as a fellow commentator or as a listener, I say thank you. Thank you for the support.
Wow, that was a long post. That was a way to post on Blogger with my thoughts. This is a sentence. This is a way to end this post today.
Thank you for reading, folks. Next time explore what happens in the life of Lee W. Mowen.
I'm pushing on.
Until next time,
-Lee
Today I announced it. A death of an internet station. My home for broadcasting for under a year, where I was the play-by-play voice of several teams. I might have made it to your laptops, calling a goal, broadcasting a shot, announcing a foul. With trips to the penalty box, trips to the bench, and a trek that spanned most of the Miami Valley, I was the play-by-play man of the Ohio Sports Radio Network.
That station disappeared today. Most of the 93 games live on as an MP3 file on my external drive, hoping to catch an employer's ear and snag myself a full-time paying broadcasting job.
All that time, however, has not been wasted.
While it's true I was working free and continued to believe the hoax of actually receiving a paycheck, I became the voice of a professional hockey team in Dayton. A professional basketball team from Dayton that played in Troy. A college on the eastern portion of Greene County, just some 40 miles away from my home.
I spent 93 games behind the mic, mostly as a play-by-play commentator. I learned, I became polished, I grew stronger, and I learned even more what makes me a broadcaster. I learned a little bit about myself. I grew stronger. I improved.
So what makes this blog post a little bit extra painful? It's not the failure, I'm used to it (trust me, I am.) Is it the fact I no longer have a home to call a mixture of sports? No, I have a home with the Dayton Demonz. I also have a home as the P.A. guy for the Dayton Flyers, who have welcomed me with open arms (even though I'm a Wright State alumnus.) I also have my morning job at Ye Olde Lazarus and my job with the Dayton Dragons.
It's the work I put in. The work I put in, while believing I would be paid for it all, I feel is wasted. Granted, I know I said it helped me improved. I worked to improve on my weaknesses on air. I worked to make sure we were the best station in the Dayton area (considering the name was aiming to take over the Buckeye State.)
I feel more betrayed, actually. Maybe more fooled, actually. A bit stupid too, perhaps. I continued to believe the money promises, but you can't cash those at your local bank. Should I have pushed for money? Maybe, but I believed in carrying out the contracts we built up with the teams. I knew I had a job to do. It wasn't about the money, it was about the promises broken.
I also feel bad for the ones that helped OSRN out. How do I thank them? How do I thank the people who believe(d) in me to carry this station? I don't feel that a thank you over a shutting down note is the best way, but I in no way have the money promised to shell out. I just hope those helpers know how much I do appreciate their hard work. Thank you.
I don't want people to think I'm doing it for the money (because it's not about the money, it's about my passion.) Although I'm out a lot of money owed (I tallied $3,255, with each game at $35 and that's not including the General Manager money of $200 a week), I feel I failed the station. Did I want it to live on? Absolutely.
So what do I do now? I push on. I continue to rack up opportunities. I push on. I keep improving my game. Again, I push on. So to those who've stuck with me as a fellow commentator or as a listener, I say thank you. Thank you for the support.
Wow, that was a long post. That was a way to post on Blogger with my thoughts. This is a sentence. This is a way to end this post today.
Thank you for reading, folks. Next time explore what happens in the life of Lee W. Mowen.
I'm pushing on.
Until next time,
-Lee
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Let the Voices Begin!
Happy birthday to me, indeed. I just got a Blue Snowball microphone, and soon it will be time for my very own podcast! I've tested this microphone out and it has quite a clear sound to it. It works on my old laptop, which the microphone jack stopped working. So yeah, I'm quite satisfied with my birthday gift.
I feel with a podcast focusing on Dayton sports, it will increase my worth as a broadcaster. I think it will also increase awareness that Dayton, Ohio is a happening place for sports.
The question is, what the hell do I call it?
I can't call it "Sports in the Mowen Years" (my sports blog, which I use to update about every day but it's slowed down to about twice-a-month because of writers bloc/no new ideas.) While I'm the guy on the new podcast, it needs to have some sort of Dayton connection. Trouble is, I can't think of anything creative that I fully like.
I think I'd have everything else handled (like hosting and such) but the name is proving to be a losing cause.
If you have any suggestions, I'd like to hear them. I might make it into a contest (whoever suggests the name I pick can be the first guest and talk local sports...if I can figure out how to record Skype calls.)
So there you have it, expect my podcast soon (as soon as I figure out a good format.)
Until next time,
-Lee
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)