Running on Fumes ... With no Voice

Do you think it's the sin of pride? Or just a virus?

Here's what happened: here I was feeling all spicy and independent -- I finished my show yesterday, fired off the blog, jumped in the car with production associate Wendy Johnson (she makes it happen every day ... Hey Wendy!) and Tyrone Martin (our spring intern ... no relation that I can tell, although I would claim him) and rode on up to Baltimore to Morgan State University, where Talk of the Nation was hosting a special program. The subject was Sen. Barack Obama's prospects among Black voters. I was invited to be a guest, having just come back from South Carolina and covering the presidential primary there. That went well, I thought.

So ... I jumped back in the car with Wendy and ran an errand for the show on the way back to the office (see more information below). I did some more work, later hung out with the kiddies and got myself all ready for today's show. (I watched the debate last night, looked at some scripts and fired off some e-mails.) I thought, I AM WOMAN! HEAR ME ROAR!

Until today. Then, it was hear me CROAK.

It's happened again. I've lost my voice. Right now, I cannot talk above a whisper. The funny thing is, I feel absolutely fine, except for some congestion in my chest and a slight cough. In fact, I didn't even know I had a problem until I came in this morning and the security guard and the parking garage attendant said hello. I realized, no sound's coming out! Holy Smokes!Aaron, the parking garage attendant, is normally not even HERE when I get in (that's how early I get here -- sad, isn't it?). But it also explains why I didn't know anything was wrong, because nobody's awake in my house when I leave normally. Anyway...

So, I'm looking at Aaron and he's looking at me. He says, "What are you going to do?"

I said, "I have no idea!"

So, I called Marie Nelson, the Executive Producer and called Richard Harris, our supervising executive. I ran down to Morning Edition and croaked, "I've lost my voice. We're on the air in two hours! It's a live show!! What are we going to do?

Here comes Lynn Neary to save the day, AGAIN!

Thanks, LYNN! What a pro! And, it was her birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Lynn.

I am bummed, though, because I loved today's show. I am completely intrigued by the subjects. I know some people think the issue of the Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's affair with his chief of staff is unseemly. And maybe it is, but it raises important questions...

Can it be considered a private matter since these two apparently communicated the details of their trysts on city pagers?

Can it be considered a private matter since $9 million was spent to settle a lawsuit connected to the affair (two police officers sued alleging they were fired because of their investigation into members of their mayor's inner circle and the possibility that the investigation might reveal the affair)?

Anyway, it's a rich topic and I was so excited to have Mildred Gaddis and Sheila Cockrel to talk about it. Gaddis is a top radio talk show host in Detroit, and Sheila Cockrel is a Detroit Councilwoman. Great conversation, it just took place without me. ... Waaah!

Also, I hope you liked our Faith Matters conversations. I did get to squeeze out some participation in the show. (We pre-recorded my conversation about Humanistic Judaism).

... And the Barbershop guys, miss you! See you next moves...

About that errand, we're expecting another TMM special delivery soon. We're hosting a little surprise shower, so mum's the word. We'll have pictures next week. We hope it's a surprise, unless somebody blows our cover.

Michel Martin

4:31 PM ET | 02- 1-2008 | permalink

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4:31 PM ET | 02- 1-2008 | permalink