My Most Valuable Skill

This morning, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation held the kickoff for their annual “Walk to Cure” program. I’m the honorary chairperson… though I really don’t know what that means. I do know that I go to the walk and attend a number of their events through the year. I always get up, say a few words and try to be a motivator. And, of course, I talk up the organization on-the-air.

The folks who run our local chapter appreciate my efforts and always make sure to tell me. That’s enough for me.

I’m thrilled to do this. It’s really a privilege to have a television station to ‘give’ to charity. I think (and everything I’ve read says) JDRF is a fine organization that spends their money well and probably will find the magic bullet which will stop Juvenile Diabetes.

Every year, at one of the meetings, a diabetic child will get up and talk about pricking his finger to draw a drop of blood, many times every day. There are stories of injecting insulin at school or a party or wearing an insulin pump around the clock.

Often parents will tell the story of how they discovered their child had diabetes. It’s never a fun story. It often includes terror and a trip to the Emergency Room.

How can I not be motivated? If what I do helps, even a little, every second I’ve spent with them will have been worth it.

Having said all of this, this morning’;s breakfast was scheduled for 8:00 AM. I usually don’t get to bed until 4:00, so it was very early. And, of course, I don’t just roll out of bed and voila, I’m at the venue. There’s showering and driving too. An 8:00 AM breakfast is a 6:45 wake up.

But, as I said, I have a very valuable skill. I can sleep in shifts or nap on command with few ill effects. I’ve fallen asleep on airplanes before we’ve begun to taxi, just to make the trip seem shorter.

This morning, at the breakfast, I had two small cups of coffee. Even with that, I was back in bed and back to sleep well before noon. When I finally got out of bed at 1:30 PM, I was ready to go.

When I tell people about this, they are often jealous. I wonder how many people actually try to nap? They probably just say they can’t and live with the consequences without ever trying.

It’s a great skill to have.