DRINK UP (Or what's with that title?)

A couple weeks ago at choir rehearsal a woman tossed off a comment about how much she enjoys reading Eliza's blog. "She sounds just like you," the woman gushed. My first thought was "A blog? My daughter has a blog? How come I don't know about her blog, and how come this lady does?"

Now, I knew about blogging. I'd even entertained the idea of creating a blog, but I figured I wouldn't have enough to say to sustain it, and yet here I am. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The first hurdle in creating the blog was the "what are you gonna name it" issue. I have written over 2000 radio commercials in my career and the hardest thing for me was coming up with a title for each one so the station could log it into the system. You have no idea how many wound up being "Generic Spring" or "Generic Christmas" preceded by the client's name.

So, I chose a handful of creative titles I thought I could live with and it turned out they were all names other people could live with -- and apparently ARE living with -- too, so I came up with Hirst's Thirst. You might ask (then again you might not) why I chose the name. Well, first, it's not because I am perpetually dehydrated. Besides the obvious fact that thirst rhymes with Hirst, it just sort of fit.

Perhaps I can explain why the Hirst's Thirst metaphor works for me by relating a story. A few years ago an acquaintance was convinced that I didn't like him because I generally walked past him at church on Sunday with a brief acknowledgement like a wave or a "Hey," but I never stopped to chat. Part of the reason was that he didn't hear well and it took him FOREVER to complete a thought. Sometimes I just wanted to shout, "Hey, if you're circling a point, will ya come in for a landing?!?"

He asked Brian several times why I didn't like him. Brian's answer was always you will have to ask Marica. The guy hinted that he was going to suck it up and actually do that one day. I successfully avoided that day for quite a long time and you might think, knowing the question was coming eventually, I'd have come up with an answer that would get me off the hook. I must have been in denial because when the question finally DID come I was totally unprepared. "Not like you? Why would you think I don't like you," I said as sweetly as I am able. He told me it was because I never talked to him. I was busted.

So I explained, as best I could that I need almost constant stimulation. It's not that I didn't like him but there were at least a dozen people that I could get to quickly that would amuse me, teach me something I didn't know (punctuated equilibrium, anyone?), and engage me in a conversation that I will remember long after it has finished. I suppose you could say I thirst for newness, different persepective, intelligent and witty banter. Keep up or get off the bus, people! Thirst. You can quench it but it always comes back again. I seek out the mango, papaya, blackberry combo to deal with the thirst because sweet tea just won't cut it! In my world you know if you are part of the mango melange 'cause if you're not part of it, you're probably not reading this. Drink up!