It’s a 1970’s television scene worth remembering. The first “WKRP in Cincinnati” episode chronicles a radio station’s changes from awful formatting to rock and roll. Dr. Johnny Fever, a has-been rock DJ, can finally play good music.
Shocked he has been given this freedom to work outside the limited old format, Johnny Fever questions how loose his limitations are. After several moments, he realizes it’s true. Finally Fever has free reign over the airwaves.
The next minute, Dr. Johnny Fever goes on air. He changes music and announces the new formatting. But his second thought is to express his freedom and say whatever he wants.
Fever suddenly lets out a heart-stopping release—a single word –“booger.”
That was Dr. Johnny Fever’s moment: He could be himself! He could speak freely with no consequence.
That he chose the word booger fascinates me. Fever could have said anything, yet he chose a silly word he had long been forbidden to say. With freedom, Dr. Johnny Fever chose to break through old constraints before he can say anything new.
Sometimes we hold ourselves back, stuck in a limiting place. That’s when we have to muster the strength to step over those barriers -- even if those barriers take the form of a single word.
What is your “booger?”
Here’s a shout out to WKRP fans. Extra credit if you’re listening.
I’m Elsa Glover, and that’s my perspective.
