I generally keep a very low profile, in case you don’t know that. I do what I do and make no bones. My few close friends and I have a lot of fun and talk about everything. We have good things in common and disagree happily in some key areas, namely politics and men. One thing we all agree on is wealth and fame; the former without the latter is ideal.

So when my friends find out what I’ve done, they’re going to be really surprised. Especially since, I’m the one who most adamantly avoids being in front of cameras.

no notice worked for me

I was getting into my car when a lady from Houston History Magazine called. She asked me if I had a minute to talk. I got off with my mom to take her call.

Debbie told me that she was calling on behalf of Bill White. My mouth dropped open. “The Mayor?! The former Mayor?!” I corrected myself. I could hear her smiling amusement. “Yes,” she said and went on to explain what she wanted. She wanted me to speak about Bill White and I agreed before I had a chance to think through the camera part. Debbie wanted permission to give my contact information to Elena White, Bill White’s daughter and I said yes, still in shock.

Soon after, the call came from Elena. She was very nice, gave me a little more insight into what she wanted to do and apologized for the last minute notice. Really, though, more time would have given me the chance 1. to let my fear run rampant, and 2. to back out altogether. Short notice definitely worked well for me.

i almost cancelled up to the moment i drove up

My mom was intrigued as I was. She helped me to not cancel because we like Bill White, and this might be a chance to do a good thing. Even if it didn’t matter to many, this was my chance to say out loud what I thought of Bill White and the great things he’s done for this city, the New Orleans post-Katrina population influx, and his great plans for the future of the State of Texas.

shallow breathing was the order of the afternoon

I noticed that my breath was shallow on the drive over, a side effect of my fear and apprehension. From the time I got there, I had to remind myself to breathe just a little deeper. Before long, I gave up on that and just went along as best I could. There was a decent wait before it was my turn to speak. The man before me came up to the waiting area and imparted the truth of the experience. He said it was really easy and the guys doing this walked him through very well.

When the man came to mic me, I asked if they were sure they needed more than audio. That got laughs which translated to yes. (I still would have been nervous, so it was all good.) He set me up with a cool little Lavalier microphone and body pack and I was off to the mines.

good reasons to be brave

It was easy and interesting. The men and woman on the film crew were really relaxed and sure of what they were doing. They minimized the impact of any special things I had to go through. In fact, just as the man said, who went before me, they walked me through the process in baby steps. I told Mike, the interviewer, that I was nervous. He assured me they would only use the good parts. Hooray for editing! (I hope they found some good parts.) We got a few noise interruptions and before long it was over. Only minutes after that, my breathing returned to normal.

It was a completely new experience for me. Not just being in front of a camera, but doing it deliberately was something that really surprised me about myself. It was a pleasure to get it done. And it was really nice being brave, after the fact, of course. However I got it done, I stretched myself, and that is definitely a good thing now and again.

It’s exhilarating to do new things. This sense of confidence I get came out of agreeing as opposed to being pressured. To be sure, I have no great love of politics anymore. Too much has gone too far wrong on too many fronts, for me to be even a little enamored of the profession. Still, there are men I find outstanding, men who capture my attention when I see that their words match their actions. Bill White is one such political figure. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to say so for the record. (Getting the opportunity to shake his hand was an unexpected benefit.)

That was Monday to Tuesday and I’m still really glad I said yes. I strongly suggest that everyone take opportunities to step outside your comfort zones and enjoy the positive feelings it brings.