Disappointments a side effect of life

You learn something new every day, or at least that’s what the optimist likes to tell you.

The pessimist viewpoint, and the one I’m taking today, is that you get a new disappointment every day. It might be big, like finding out you got turned down for that home loan. It could be medium-sized, like knowing that the special “team meeting” at work was called because of a mistake that you made. Or it’s small, like figuring out Eddie Murphy, for whatever reason, just isn’t that funny anymore.

Fortunately, my disappointment came down early in the day, so I got it over with quickly. I was talking with a friend who works as a deejay for a radio station. The disappointment came when I asked her about her hours dedicated to the radio. It seems, in an effort to save time for other administrative duties, she does pre-record some segments that go on the air.

The rest of the conversation had the presence of slight disappointment. I figured that this isn’t some calculated practice exclusive to just one station, that many deejays pre-record segments to run later on their “shift.” It’s almost like a real-life version of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, setting up the doorbell intercom and a soundtrack of his snores set to repeat.

All along, I figured that the person on the radio was right there, in the studio, as I drove along. Now I have to deal with the possibility that those on-air segments are prepared just like the music that surrounds them.

It’s like finding out there wasn’t a Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. But then again, that wasn’t really a bad thing. All along, I’d thought the guy from the mall display was breaking into my house at night, so you can imagine I was relieved to find out it was my parents.

I have to say I’m fortunate that many of my disappointments have been small in my life, including:

• Sea monkeys aren’t monkeys at all, but brine shrimp.

• There is no such thing as a pair of X-ray glasses.

• Shows like Saved by the Bell and Alf were never funny ... I just had a poor sense of humor as a kid.

• The Time/Life Beavis and Butthead collection doesn’t include the segments where Beavis and Butthead make fun of music videos.

• That $8 I spent watching “Cold Mountain” wasn’t refundable.

So, that sums up my life. Disappointments aren’t that big, but they’re usually worth mentioning. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a “team meeting” to go to. I hear I’m the subject of discussion.

Kevin Wilson is the managing editor of the Portales News-Tribune. He can be reached at 356-4481, ext. 33, or by e-mail:

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