Cleaver Radio, Marta Szabo, and Serendipity

My life is filled with serendipity and I enjoy it. Perhaps everyone's life is like that. Maybe some folks notice and some folks don't notice the "happenstances" in our lives.

Last week I ended up on a radio show talking about myself and The Way International. (oh my!) I honestly had no idea I was calling into a radio show to be on the air. I have never in my life called a radio show and wouldn't have last Saturday...except for the "happenstance" of "circumstance." The name of the show is Leave It To Cleaver with host Steve Cleaver.

You can listen to the podcast here:
Steve Cleaver Interview with Marta Szabo

The interview with Marta Szabo is terrific. The sharing, the power of writing, the love of life, and some education about cults. Cults? Yup... The interview with Marta begins around 30 minutes into the podcast. I come in about 30 minutes after that.

After calling in, I wondered what all I had exactly said. Through this past week I wondered how "dumb" I must have sounded. *rolleyes*

I just today (Saturday, 5/16) was able to hear the podcast. Part of the serendipity is that I had no idea what had been discussed prior to or after my calling in; until I listened to it today.  And my "dumbness" I was so concerned about? Well....I didn't sound so dumb, and apparently what I shared was significant enough for Steve and Marta to discuss a bit more.

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I wrote the following last Sunday, May 10th, the day after the radio incident, and how it came about that I ended up on the radio.  And yes, I laughed at myself.
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I awoke Saturday morning, May 9, wound quite tight. I take Xanax at times for anxiety, so popped one...had sex with hubby...and fell back to sleep. I awoke around 1:00ish PM, donned my robe and proceeded downstairs. I looked at the clock, 1:10.

Self to self: Oh! Marta's radio show! I wanted to hear that. I'll just call and tune in late.

I sign into Twitter on the computer to get the phone # of the radio show.  Marta and I met on Twitter and have communicated a couple times about she and her husband's writing workshop via short emails.

Now, dumb me...I'm thinking that I call the phone # to hear the radio show...you know, like a conference call.

Show host answers the phone, but I wasn't paying that much attention.
(Quotes are very paraphrased, from memory.)

Me: Yes, I'm calling in late for Marta's show.
Host: Great! What's your name?
Me: Carol Welch
Marta: Hi Carol! Carol signed up for a workshop. We met on Twitter.
Host: Really? Ya'll met on Twitter?
Marta: Yea!
Host: So Carol, do you have any questions for Marta?
Me: Not really.
Host: Could we ask you a couple questions?
Me: Sure...
Host: Well, do you write?
Me: Yes
Host: Why?
Me: For me. Writing has been therapy for me. I journal. Journaling changed my life.
Host: Can you tell us how?
Me: Well I was involved in a bible-based fundamentalist group, most call a cult, and journaling really did change my life.
Host: Do you mind sharing what group?
Me: The Way International. I left in 2005 after 28 years.
Host and Marta: *gasp*
Me: Am I on the radio? I just woke up.
Host or Marta: Yup
Me: Oh. (thinking that it must be a small show since no one else was on the conference call... *redface* )

(The three of us talked 10ish to 15ish minutes about The Way and its effect and about journaling and memoirs. )

Host: Thank you so much Carol! We're gonna take a break and play an Eva Cassidy song and then be back for more of Marta.

I stay on the phone thinking I'll hear Eva Cassidy over the phone receiver and that this must be a small radio show because I didn't hear any other people. Then, click...they are gone.

And it dawns on me...'holy shit, I was just on the radio. You dumbfuck! You don't call in to hear the show, you go online!!'

So, I guess I'll have to wait until the podcast to hear it all! :-o :-D
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note: After listening to the podcast today I discovered that when I asked the question, "Am I on the radio?" Marta replied, "Yes Carol; the world is listening." Apparently that went in one of my ears and out the other; it still didn't dawn on me (until the 'click' before Eva Cassidy) that I had been on the radio. Ha! :-D
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