That was then...
...this is now.
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I can't help it, but about the time the days grow short and
darkness falls disconcertingly early, my thoughts turn to Thanksgiving. Not so much the US
holiday as the idea that inspired it: the process of being grateful for the life I lead
and the bounties I enjoy.
Of those bounties, this forum is one of the most precious.
I love writing about music and hi-fi, and I'm extremely grateful that people want to read
what I write. My friend John Atkinson likes to say that you aren't a writer if you have no
readers. I think that's harsh, but there's a lot of truth to it -- as good as it feels to
have written (and I do enjoy having written much more than the act of writing itself),
nothing beats hearing someone say "I read what you wrote."
Even if they then tell you you're full of it, at least they
read it.
In other words, thank you -- each and every one of you.
This year, I have other reasons for gratitude. There's my
wife and better half, who has inspired me and supported me for almost 25 years, which is
longer than I've done just about anything, besides breathe and walk. Like most women, she
married beneath her -- and I've been thankful for her high standards for a quarter of a
century.
This year, I have another reason for giving thanks. Some of
you have noticed the changing photos of me on the splash page of this website and have
written to ask if I'm okay or to congratulate me. I'm referring to the fact that I'm now
half the man I used to be. After decades of struggling against a weight problem, I
acknowledged that I was morbidly obese and had the Roux-En Y gastric bypass surgery on
January 2, 2003.
What a way to start a new year.
And what a great year it has been. I've learned to eat
consciously and healthily. I now go to the gym every morning and run eight miles on an
elliptical trainer. I see a personal trainer every week and pump iron to maintain muscle
tone in between. I go to bed early so I can be in the gym at the crack of dawn.
And I love it. I feel great. I can do stuff now I
could never do -- not even as a lad.
People tell me I've added years to my life. Maybe that's
true, I have no way of knowing how long I might have lived, although I obviously
had some misgivings in that area or I never would have taken such a drastic step. However,
a longer life strikes me as a theoretical concern; what I know is true is
that I'm living a better life. Some days I feel so alive and full of energy that I
actually wonder if that's normal.
I sure hope so.
I'm not telling you this to boast. I'm simply suggesting we
all be as vigilant about our lives as we are about our hi-fis. Some folks will tell
you that caring about all this gear is trivial and immature. I suppose it can be, if we
care more about the gizmos than we do about people, but music is important. I
believe that enhancing the musical experience is a worthy endeavor.
I know I've gotten more out of the pursuit of music than
I've put into it.
But our priorities can get out of whack. I could obsess
over the differences a piece of wire could make in a stereo system, but I managed to
ignore the effects my morbid obesity had on my life, my future, and the people around me.
That's sad.
I know guys who will spend hours cleaning every connection
in their reference rigs, but won't go to their doctors for a physical; who will spend
hours auditioning power cables, but don't have time to play with their children.
I'm not passing judgment -- I have my own list of missed
opportunities and personal blind spots. I have no right to shake my finger at anyone else.
I will say, however, that I can't imagine anyone making a deathbed declaration of
"I really wish I'd tried that 10-gauge power cable!"
All I'm really saying is be thoughtful. Be aware. Be kind.
Be thankful for what you've got rather than envious of what you don't have.
And above all, be well.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
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