job$ somebody's gotta do...

 job$ somebody's gotta do... 

 

  Sounds of the City was a unique radio program back in the early '60s and featured interviews of workers who held unusual jobs.   The interviewer was legendary Indianapolis broadcaster, Jim Gerard.  

  Mr. Gerard's radio home was on WFBM-AM (1260) beginning in 1962.  In the years to follow,  he would become a radio and television giant in that city.  

  Each Sounds of the City interview was complete with the sound(s) of the person's job in the background which meant Mr. Gerard went on location for these recorded one on ones.  I specifically remember the rapid staccato hammering of a jackhammer as Gerard talked to a man on Monument Circle about how long he had been jackhammering.  

  Radio's job has always been to paint a picture for the listener.  Never was a picture painted more vividly then this series of entertaining interviews.  Today, you would probably find that kind of work on a podcast.  

  A couple years before I stepped down from my Encore Performance, I contacted Jim Gerard about airing his original series on WRFT-FM in Indy.  We chatted for a while as I explained my intent.  Mr. Gerard was elated at the prospect of his programs being aired once more in his adopted city.  He said he would send 25 programs with more to follow.  

  One day a week later, a huge box arrived in my office which contained 25 reel to reel tapes individually boxed and labeled.   A note was included from Mr. Gerard thanking me for my interest and asking me to let him know when I needed more programs. 

  I was excited at the prospect of my students hearing these works of art and learning from them in the process.  Creative writing, interview skills, well thought out ideas, it was all there.  They could only benefit from such a model.   

  However, once the excitement settled down, I thought...Mission Control, we have a problem. The 25 programs were on reel to reel tape and WRFT did not own a playback reel to reel tape deck in working condition. We were completely digital.   

  I called a couple of my counterparts at other high school radio stations, but no one could help.  I even tried to rent a tape recorder from a source specializing in the rental of sound equipment.  

  Two weeks later, I called Mr. Gerard and explained my dilemma.  A week after that, all 25 programs were returned to their owner. 

  Jim Gerard passed away three years ago at the age of 93. 

  This post is in honor of Mr. Gerard's work and is the first in a series of interviews featuring people who do unusual jobs.  It is like Sounds of the City, but in written form.  I call it....job$ somebody's gotta do.    

   It is a bit of irony that the first job$ somebody's gotta do features an audiologist.  

   I retired nine years ago as a medical audiologist who worked in hospitals, Michael Norris, 70, told me. 

   I'm thinking hearing tests, but this must be more complicated. 

   You're right, it was much more than that, he said.  My emphasis was largely on balance disorders.  Mostly, I did assessment because my field doesn't do rehab.

  What was involved with determining a balancing problem?

  Say a person is experiencing severe spinning with an inability to walk, he patiently explained.  I used electrodes to read brain waves and eye movement to determine what was causing their dizziness.  

  If you didn't fix the problem, what did you do with what you learned? 

  I worked closely with ENT doctors and physical therapists, Michael stated.  My tests helped guide them and other professionals on how to rehab patients.   

  Do you miss working in your specialty?

  No, not really, he confessed.  I did it for 40 years and I enjoyed it while I was immersed in the work, but I needed a break.  The change has been good.   

  Since you retired, you have at least eight hours more a day to spend as you see fit.  How do you do that?

  We were traveling, but then Covid hit, he lamented.  My wife Fran and I have been to Argentina, Israel, Ireland three times, France and England twice each, but, the one place we really want to see is Italy and we can't seem to get there.  

  Is that something special to you? 

  Yes, it is, he admitted.  We've been trying to go to Italy since 2000.  We couldn't go that year.  Then, 9-11 happened and that changed everything for me and my wife.  I can't reveal much, but we had to move to New England to help with New York City's recovery.  

  That still leaves a lot of years Italy could have been on your map. 

  True, but one year my brother died, Michael said.  Another year, my mother got sick, Covid came along, it's just been out of our reach year after year, but we're planning on going next spring.  

  It sounds like Italy is a must do trip.  When will you start preparing for it?

  I am doing just that right now, he said proudly.  I started learning Italian before Covid and I'm still studying it every day. 

  Do foreign languages come easy for you? 

  I took about eight years of Latin in school, he recalled.  I also took German, and now, I'm studying Italian.  I don't know if they come easy, but I enjoy it a lot.  

  Could you have a conversation in Italian?

  If I were to watch an Italian movie, I would know what they are talking about, but I wouldn't know what they are saying specifically, he judged.   

  Do you have any other hobbies?

  There are thousands of photographs in my house that I've taken since 1966, he said.  I've been scanning and processing them, then digitizing them to make them look better.   

  You've got three impressive hobbies.  Traveling, learning a new language, and photography.

  It's enough to keep me busy.  I have a couple camera outfits that I use today, he claimed.  I take new pictures too, so, I've got recent photos as well as all the others.  

  So, when you take a selfie, you have big boy equipment.

  Absolutely, he chuckled.  I use a tripod and timer too.  

  Michael, I wish you the best of luck and certainly hope you make it to Italy.  Best of luck with speaking Italian.

  Well. the first thing is you can't be afraid to embarrass yourself, he laughed. 

  Coming up:  meet more POS; another  job$ somebody's gotta do, and; more oddities, observations, and OMGs.

  And, finally.  I don't recall which comedian told this joke about hearing aids, but here is what he said.  

Protestor: “What do we want?”

   Crowd: “Hearing aids!”

Protestor: “When do we want them?”

    Crowd: “Hearing aids!”