So, my reconnecting with Don Alhart, the anchorman who thirty years ago did the report on heart attacks that featured my father, made as much of an impact on him as it did me. He even wrote about it on his blog at the TV station. I was especially flattered when he asked if I minded him posting our reconnection on his blog. I never dreamed that one phone call, which I've thought about doing every now and then over the years but never took that final leap of action, could have such an amazing outcome. I was so honored when he asked and look forward to returning to Rochester this summer (a trip that's long overdue), and hopefully be able to thank him in person.
It's funny how learning about my misophonia - which fueled my drive to promote more awareness about the condition through a memoir - is sending me on this journey of reconnections, not only with memories that I haven't thought about in years (even decades) but with people whom I lost touch long ago. Two days ago, I tried contacting an old friend with whom I worked back in the late 90's. We corresponded a lot, and even met up once or twice after I moved to DC, but somehow around 2000-2001, we lost touch. None of the email addresses I had worked anymore and even though I found her Facebook page, her security settings prevented me from contacting her directly. I took a chance at contacting her through LinkedIn, even though I thought she had left the company listed in her profile, and sure enough... I reconnected with her too!
On another note... Yesterday, I watched a report on CBS This Morning called "Aged Ads" where they talked about how companies are reinterpreting commercials of the past in current advertising campaigns. They showed old ads like Herbal Essences and Grey Poupon and one thing struck me about those commercials... None of them featured one of my worst triggers, "whistling." Yes, there was the occassional trigger of the sound of coffee being poured but as I watched the report, I realized that commercials of the past don't bother me as much as the ones now. (I can names dozens of commercials over the past couple of years that use whistling in their background music. In fact, I'd say that there are more commercials that have whistling than those which don't. I don't remember many past commercials that incorporated whistling. Music and singing, yes, but not whistling.)
I wonder how many advertising companies know that many people (especially those like me with misophonia) fast forward through the commercials not because we don't want to learn about the product but because we can't stand the exaggerated sounds they incorporate into the commercials to help give that "extra-special" sensory experience. I know I'd prefer the more subtle commercials from decades ago...
It's funny how learning about my misophonia - which fueled my drive to promote more awareness about the condition through a memoir - is sending me on this journey of reconnections, not only with memories that I haven't thought about in years (even decades) but with people whom I lost touch long ago. Two days ago, I tried contacting an old friend with whom I worked back in the late 90's. We corresponded a lot, and even met up once or twice after I moved to DC, but somehow around 2000-2001, we lost touch. None of the email addresses I had worked anymore and even though I found her Facebook page, her security settings prevented me from contacting her directly. I took a chance at contacting her through LinkedIn, even though I thought she had left the company listed in her profile, and sure enough... I reconnected with her too!
On another note... Yesterday, I watched a report on CBS This Morning called "Aged Ads" where they talked about how companies are reinterpreting commercials of the past in current advertising campaigns. They showed old ads like Herbal Essences and Grey Poupon and one thing struck me about those commercials... None of them featured one of my worst triggers, "whistling." Yes, there was the occassional trigger of the sound of coffee being poured but as I watched the report, I realized that commercials of the past don't bother me as much as the ones now. (I can names dozens of commercials over the past couple of years that use whistling in their background music. In fact, I'd say that there are more commercials that have whistling than those which don't. I don't remember many past commercials that incorporated whistling. Music and singing, yes, but not whistling.)
I wonder how many advertising companies know that many people (especially those like me with misophonia) fast forward through the commercials not because we don't want to learn about the product but because we can't stand the exaggerated sounds they incorporate into the commercials to help give that "extra-special" sensory experience. I know I'd prefer the more subtle commercials from decades ago...
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