During the first semester of my junior year in college, I wrote the equivalent of a blog on paper; I called it "The Spontaneous Mental Combustion Department." Only a few friends ever saw it. Here's an excerpt from it that I wrote on October 1, 1991:
"...When I went down to the station this afternoon, I noticed a sign on the door, 'Until further notice, KCOU is off the air. The transmitter had a small meltdown.' I knew I should have turned off that switch below the sound board. Oh, well...I wonder if they'll still let me make a demo tape?"
I actually didn't forget to turn anything off, and I didn't cause the transmitter's meltdown. Reading that now makes the difference between age 20 and age 47 stand out to me, though. My reaction to a transmitter meltdown wouldn't be that flippant today.
