Sometimes I think it takes a special sort of person to do my job. On days like today, I’m sure of it.
Many of the people here in the metro dread mornings like today. There’s snow and ice on the roads, the temperature is negative-forty and they’ve got to brave the rush hour. I don’t care who you are. There’s not much about those sort of mornings that seems fun.
But for me, those mornings are something of an adrenaline rush. I’m up at three, out the door and on the road by four. My rush hour is spent driving not to the office, but IN my office. My office is Cruiser 980 and there’s no snow drift I won’t attempt to overcome.
There’s something different about the streets on mornings like these. There’s a purpose to what I’m doing greater than the purpose of a regular day. Those streets can be deadly, and it’s my job to give our listeners an idea of what to expect. I take that job seriously.
It’s not always appealing. I worry about driving all over the metro in icy conditions. I think to myself that one of these days, the odds are going to get the better of me and I’m going to have a crash. But knowing that my reports could cause someone to slow down, take a different route or leave that extra five minutes ahead of time make it worth the risk.
Now don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think of myself as anyone heroic. The heroes in this town are the police, fire and other first responders that truly do save lives on days like today.
But I’ve received enough listener emails over the years to know that what I do makes a difference. And if it’s kept one person from getting into even the tiniest of fender benders, I think it’s worth its weight in gold. And I go home at the end of the day satisfied that I’m doing more than just earning a living somewhere.