This Is Our World

I will warn you that the following will be full of cliches, but to be completely honest, cliches are there for a reason, because they're often true. This will also be somewhat disjointed, a bit of stream-of-consciousness, so bear with my rant.

I am terrified of the world I'm about to bring a child into. I hate that I feel this way. I hate that I worry about what life is going to be like for her. I hate that I'm going to have to worry about taking my family out to the boardwalk or the mall or a sporting event or a concert. I hate that these thoughts are even in my head.

Deep down inside, I'm a hippie at heart. I just want people to be chill, I want people to be happy. I'm in support of whatever gets you through the night, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. Wanna get drunk? Feel free. Wanna do drugs? Knock yourself out. Wanna pray to God, Allah, Vishnu, Satan, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster? I don't care, just don't be a dick about it. Wanna vote for Trump, Hillary, Stein, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster? I still don't care, just don't try to force your views on me.

Let's shift to something nicer.

I'm proud of how my coworkers handled this past weekend. It was a nice day, Andy & I were hanging at the Insane Inflatable 5k at Great Adventure, along with some of our sister stations. The word started to spread that there was an explosion in Seaside. Sparse details, no information of an attack or a prank or simply an accident. Our thoughts immediately went to our staff who was at the Seaside Park Boardwalk Studio, knowing that Bozz and the Flight Crew were there. Once their safety was confirmed, everything began to buzz like a machine. Our news department is first-class, getting information as quickly as they could, but (to me) most importantly, not creating a panic. All over Facebook we saw posts yelling this and that, spitting out unsubstantiated information as fact. I'm glad I work with a news department that prides itself on getting things right.

As worried as I am about the future, I genuinely still have hope. I'm not going to wallow in misery, I'm not going to never leave the house, I'm not going to wrap my baby in bubble wrap.

This might be the corniest thing I ever say, but just be nice to each other. Smile, give a nod, hold the door. Don't let the fear and the stress and the hatred consume you.