Hell-o dear readers. I am typing this from the table of a condo sitting on the 6th green at The Nautical Estates Golf Course in Lake Havasu City, Arizona on vacation. This is the first vacation in over 2 years , on purpose, out of Las Vegas.
Last year was the summer of sending my daughters off to college for their freshman year, so any personal vacation time was not going to happen.
Now-a-days, what is a vacation? I remember the “good old days” BEFORE laptops, Ipads, cell phones and any other electronic device that is really a umbillical chord, we went away and NOBODY would dare to try to contact you (unless an emergency). You always left that information with just one person who you trusted would not share that with anybody.
Whether it was to Florida or the Catskills or to the Jersey Shore (for real swimming fun not the tv show garbage), you were in true isolation.
There was no Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, or whatever site is the hottest craze, to keep everybody informed about what you are doing on vacation. It was also easier to put work aside when on vacation. Work was less demanding whether you owned your own business or worked for someone else. Stress & pressure were not part of the vocabulary like it is today.
But off to vacation we went this week with our cell phones and laptops. Mine is on the kitchen table to use and my wife’s is on the coffee table. It’s like an addiction. We can’t be without some connection to the outside electronic world.
Sure, I use mine for Facebook and emails, but I also listened in to Vegas Unwrapped Internet Radio and A House Party Tonight with Don Hill on my laptop. I have been on the radio for 6 years. I started off on a local AM terrestrial station before moving to the local AM Fox Sports affiliate in Las Vegas. Shortly after that, Vegas Unwrapped was born on Internet Radio.
I had NEVER missed doing a LIVE show in 6 years, until last night, July 18th, 2012. In the past when I would go on vacation, Ricky Cash my on-air partner, would take vacation at the same time and have a past show “REPLAYED”.
Last night was very strange knowing there was a LIVE show about to happen BUT I wasn’t going to be there. I did log in to listen to the show, participated in the chatroom and even Skyped in for a short time, but it’s not the same. I felt like a fish out of water.
Then it came to me like a wave breaking over me in the water!
It’s the passion and drive that I have for Vegas Unwrapped that is part of who I am. It is hard to turn the other cheek from something you love. My time on the radio is like my “guys” night out at the bowling alley or playing softball or just going to get a beer. I also love the business end of what we do under the production umbrella and help others be on the radio that is just as satisfying. I even made contact with some potential advertisers and show hosts while on vacation.
It’s the fear of loss or the risk of missing something good that keeps us all connected electronically. We don’t want anything to pass us by.
By the way, after 3 years of working with Ricky and “teaching” him as much as I could, he did a great job hosting both of our Wednesday night shows. Here are the links. Listen for yourself: http://www.lvrocks.com/details.php?id=204 & http://www.lvrocks.com/details.php?id=206
I will always take a vacation when I can but the term vacation has been re-defined in many ways due to the electronic age.
Truth be told, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Until next time…….
