The One Thing

The radio host chuckles. “So that’s your ‘one thing’?”

“Yep, that’s it!” she says. Her satisfaction in nailing the question oozes into the front seat of my Tahoe. Argh, I feel cheated.

What was the question I missed while the black truck rocketed past me? 

I scoot around in the bucket seat, loosen the shoulder strap of my seat belt, and then turn up the radio dial as if more volume will solve the mystery.

“What was the singer’s one thing? C’mon repeat it, don’t leave me hanging,” I say to the dashboard.

The radio station breaks to commercials. I tinker with the nature of the question.  One thing, one thing…

If I was home alone and only had enough time to grab ‘one thing’ from my burning home, I’d charge to my second floor office and grab my MacBook Pro. My jewelry, favorite paintings and stacks of family photo albums would have to wait for the firemen.  I’d look lovingly at all those treasures as I coughed and scrambled my way to safety.

If that was the right question: name the one thing you’d grab if your house was on fire, what had the young vocalist replied?

In seconds, I pass the black beater parked on the left shoulder, blue flashing lights kiss his bumper.  A smirk replaces the frown on my face. I suspect the singer would’ve plucked her guitar case, precious music stashed inside, then dashed to fresher air.

I lower the radio as one commercial floats into a second. A new challenger closes in on my Tahoe’s shiny rear end.  I yield as before and an alternative query comes to mind: What is the ‘one thing’ you’d do differently in your career?  I’m convinced that this is the likely question posed to the vocalist.

I imagine the plucky singer’s responses: I’d have moved to Nashville five years earlier; or, I wish I’d learned to play the ukulele; or, I should’ve left the band sooner to pursue my solo career. Another commercial rambles on and I think about what I’d have done differently in my own career. I rest my elbow on the window ledge, left hand forming a warm teepee against my cheek. Four kids and twenty years ago I closed out a part-time computer education gig. My second career, at 60, involves inking weekly blogs, a monthly column and a memoir.

What is the ‘one thing’ I would have done differently?

I consider this.  Instead of rising to community-volunteer-elite status, I should’ve enrolled in writing courses.  Honed writing skills would have set me up nicely to pen the tale of finding my birth family- a saga that has developed over the last eight years. I’m not certain which was harder: learning to write memoir or chasing down my reluctant birth parents. Doing both concurrently killed my free time.

Another bumper-predator sneaks up behind me, darts into an opening in the left lane and disappears. Having no interest in the radio ads, I gape at an impressive oncoming traffic delay. Another cop issuing another ticket, this time to a white SUV with Tennessee plates. Driving within the speed limits is one thing I’ve done right today. Aha, that has to be the question.

What is the one thing to which you attribute your success?

Not sure what the singer responded, but as far as my writing exploits, launching a website and putting myself out there for paid freelance assignments has been a difference maker. The radio host’s smooth baritone reclaims the airwaves and I turn the volume up.

“Thanks for listening today. We’re winding down.  Here’s the recap of our Up-And-Coming-News-Artist segment. I’ve been chatting with Susie Snowflake. In a few seconds she will sing her hit single for you in our studio.  If you tuned in late, I asked Susie earlier about the ‘one thing’ she’d still like to tackle in her music career. Performing with Reba at the Grand Ole Opry is her dream…”

Well I blew that one. Merging right to nail my exit, I’m stumped.

What is the one thing I’d still like to accomplish?

Being a grandmother comes to mind, but I need to reflect more. I hope you will too, and then share it here!

What is the ‘one thing’ you still want to accomplish in your life? 

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