A little sign of hope

My wife, Cathy, cut a Ziggy comic strip out of the newspaper several years ago. I liked it so much I taped it to the pen and pencil container on my desk. It’s of Ziggy standing outside a shop on the street with a sign over the door.

Cathy must have been intrigued with the statement I had made to her about 15 years ago. It was something like, “I’ve got a head full of crazy ideas. I’ve got so many websites, one of them is bound to work!” At the time, I had a website called Home on the Radio — where I sold small transmitters along with recorded listings that were broadcast to people driving by homes for sale. I also had Josey Creations — a web design company; Guitar Transitions — a website where you could download acoustic guitar riffs; Instant Radio — one of the very first Internet radio stations; and The Commercial Store (the precursor to Audiobag), where I wrote and produced radio commercials.

I eventually decided to stop spreading myself so thin. I started taking the websites offline. I kept Audiobag online, though. Not because it was booming, but because I really believe in the saying, “Do what you love.” I’m an audio guy through and through. I started pretending I was a DJ at about age three. By age thirteen, I became an actual DJ at an Austin, Texas radio station. I ended up owning and managing a radio station of my own when I was in my 20s and 30s.

As I sit here at the desk this morning, I see that silly Ziggy comic strip that Cathy gave me. It’s starting to yellow a little bit, but the message on the sign is one of hope: “Crazy Ideas That Just Might Work, Inc.”