A sweet guy from Wisconsin interviewed me for the radio a few weeks ago. Since I live in Washington (which, granted, has a few similarities with Wisconsin except that they don’t call their U of W “You-Dub” like we do, and our hills are a tad higher), this really is as random as it sounds.

The sweet guy is Mark Helpsmeet, who turns out to be aptly named. He runs a radio program out of Eau Claire, Northern Spirit Radio, which focuses on non-denominational spiritual journeys. Its offshoot, Song of the Soul (title taken from a Chris Williamson song), deals with the musical side of that issue. A friend on my island who had previously been interviewed for Northern Spirit gave Mark my name. After Mark You-Tubed a couple of my very amateur performances, he decided I was a good fit for his program and gave me a call.

Random photo of Mt. Baker at sunrise, inserted because, well, it seems kinda spirity…

I sent him MP3s of some of my songs ahead of time. Then we spent a cheerful hour-plus  phone conversation discussing my music. Since I consider myself an accidental song writer (see https://gretchenkwing.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/sure-i-have-a-website-just-a-sec/   for more on this) this was an easy conversation.

Mark: So where’d you get the inspiration for that term you use, “sufferometer”?

Me: Oh, I just made that up.

See–not exactly Bob Dylan.

So a few days ago Mark sent me the link: “Gretchen, your Song of the Soul is up!” and encouraged me to send it to everyone. He needs to promote his radio program even more than I need to promote my music. Much, MUCH more…since I’m really not feeling any need to promote my music.

So here’s my dilemma. I do want to share Mark’s program for those who are interested, and I do want to share my interview, because, let’s face it, it was FUN to be interviewed for the radio–in WISCONSIN!–while sitting out on my own sunny deck with my dog.

But the program is about spirituality, and the intro, if you listen to it, is VERY, well, spiritual-sounding. NOT churchy, NOT preachy, just…spiritual. And, well…this is my blog. I try very hard not to alienate folks who wander into Wing’s World. My rule is, if I wouldn’t have brought it up in my classroom, I wouldn’t bring it up here.

Here’s what finally weighted the scales: Mark is a great guy who reached out to me. I’d like to help him promote his work. I’m just attaching this caveat so no one thinks, “Wait…WHERE is she headed now, and do I really want to go there?”

The interview itself? Not “spiritual” at all–unless by “spiritual” you mean family/social/political influences such as everyone has.

So, with me so far? Then here’s my suggestion: check out my interview at http://www.northernspiritradio.org/index.asp?command=showinfo&showid=631911164185

Then, if this is your kind of thing and you want to know more, check out the rest of Northern Spirit Radio at its main site, http://www.northernspiritradio.org/

You’ll be glad you did. Mark’s a good guy.

This post does give me the excuse to bring up this question, though, which is one I certainly would have asked my students: What does “spirituality” mean to you anyway? Give me your best definition. When handled respectfully, this is a wonderful topic to share, and it has nothing to do with self-promotion. 🙂