From time to time when you're in the public eye, people will recognize you in your everyday life outside of the radio station. "Excuse me, but aren't you Todd Nuke 'Em?" is a phrase that will come up every once in a while when I'm at the store, or a movie, or anywhere. Let me make this perfectly clear: if you ever happen to see me anywhere, please feel free to say hi. I love to meet listeners in person, and it's never awkward. It would be worse if people didn't recognize me and didn't say hi because that would mean that nobody listened to X96, or that I was perceived as an ass-hat.
So if you ever see me in public and want to say howdy, please do. I'm completely approachable.
Well, most of the time. Here is a true story from last evening. As I drove home, I remembered that I needed to stop at the grocery store for a couple of quick items: cheese, bananas, lettuce, and ... um ... Preparation H--for obvious reasons. It's not a major problem, just a slight need for the over-the-counter medication. Hey, we're all humans, right?
I stopped at Dick's Market in Centerville and grabbed some cheese slices, bananas, lettuce, and then I had to put the Prep H in my basket. The store was just winding down from the late afternoon rush, but it was still busy in there. I scanned the aisle by the pharmacy, found my product, and nonchalantly dropped into my basket. I made sure the lettuce covered it because nobody wants to be seen with a product that is designed to relieve unpleasant personal itching.
I then walked the length of the store's front, checking out the clerks, searching for an old lady or somebody who appeared to be foreign to X96. The last thing I wanted was somebody having a good story to tell: "Hey, Todd Nuke 'Em was at my store last night and he was buying Preparation H!"
There were two young men working who looked like possible listeners, so I skipped their lines. I avoided a checker who had a bagger who looked like he might be in our target audience. Finally, I settled on a friendly young woman who--I hoped--might not recognize me. There was no line at her counter, too; I figured it would be a quick escape.
She began unloading my little carry-basket of purchases. The most vulnerable time is when the medicine scrolled across her little conveyor belt toward the bagger, completely exposed.
Right at that moment a group of girls tapped me on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but are you Todd Nuke 'Em from X96?" Perfect timing.
Of course it was totally cool that the girls listened to X96 and were happy with our hard work. Really, nothing is better than being approached by listeners because we put a lot of effort into X96, and receiving appreciation for it in person is awesome.
We talked briefly about the radio station, and I kept glancing away, eyeing my purchases, hoping that they'd go unnoticed.
Fortunately, the provolone cheese slices sort of scooted on top of the embarrassing pharmaceutical.
The girls even told me their names, but I forgot. I hope I was friendly. If I seemed a little bit distracted, it's because I was hoping nobody would see me buying Preparation H.
todd's iPod
10:20 am "88 Lines About 44 Women" The Nails
1:20 pm "Knights of Cydonia" Muse (I know, I already played it this week. It's my damn iPod!)
