“I don’t want to see you, hear from you, or talk to you again! Do you understand me? You could have ruined everything!”
Those were the last words she said to me before she hung up the phone.
I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. I had been telling myself from the beginning of our relationship that there wasn’t going to be a happy ending. What I wasn’t expecting was for the ending to come so suddenly, and for it to hurt as bad as it did.
I kept replaying the events from earlier that night in my head over and over again.
She was right, I did let her down. My guilt was overwhelming, and the only thing I could think of doing was to get away. I wanted as far away from Kelly, school, the crappy single wide trailer I called home, I wanted away from it all, and I wanted to leave the next morning.
I called my parents and told them I would not be returning to school the next day. I told them that I was coming back home. They were disappointed, but understanding.
So that led me to lying in bed wondering, not only about what had happened, but what I was going to do next. I had never considered myself a quitter, but in this instance that was exactly what I was doing. I was quitting college, and mostly because of a girl.
I knew that I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for doing so in the coming months after I got back home. I had to come up with a plan to justify my leaving school. I had to have something better to go home to, than the same life that I had before coming to college.
While I loved working at Oldies 96.5, I had grown tired of the format. I also felt like there was no room for growth. It was one of the reasons why I came to CCCC. I wanted more experience and the networking aspect of college to take my broadcasting career to a new level.
Now that I was leaving, I was afraid I was going to be stuck in the same old rut with nowhere to go.
The following morning, I wiped the sleep from my eyes. I was greeted by the familiar morning chill that my single wide trailer with little insulation brought every morning. I dodged the three trash cans full of water from down pour of the previous night, compliments of my leaky ceiling. I was so looking forward to leaving this dump, and the life I had lived for the past six or so months behind.
My bags were all ready to go. I hadn’t had the chance to unpack them. I had just returned to Sanford the night before after a long Christmas break. Within an hour of being home, my whole world had been turned upside down. All I had to do was load the car back up with my stuff, and drive.
Before getting on the road, I wanted to eat some breakfast. Over a bowl of Frosted Flakes, I did what I did every morning. I turned my radio on. It was almost always set 95.7 WKML. It was the country radio station that I had grown up listening to. WKML signed on the air in 1986, my parents and I hadn’t listened to any other country station since. I remember dreaming of working there as a kid.
Recalling such dreams from my childhood provoked me to pick up the phone. I called the morning guy Don Chase, who had been a KML for years.
“Good morning WKML” Don’s familiar voice said as he answered the phone.
“Hi Don, My name is Dave Myers. I’m from Laurinburg, and I have been working part time at Oldies 96.5 for a couple of years now. I have also been going to school at CCCC in Sanford as well. I’m looking for a change, and I was wondering if you guys were looking for any part time help?” I asked.
He told me they were always looking for good part time help, and to send them an audition tape and a copy of my resume. With that, my next step in my radio career was about to become a reality. It also gave me a reason to be excited about leaving Sanford, and to go back home. I was returning home, but making a brand new start.
Within a few weeks, I met first with the Program Director Mac Edwards. I had spent the better part of my teenage years listening to him on the air, and it was surreal to be meeting him in his office.
“Where do you see yourself in, let’s say ten years Dave?” Mac asked me during our one on one interview.
Feeling especially confident with how our interview was going, I replied –
“That chair you’re sitting in looks pretty comfortable to me Mac. I wouldn’t mind having your job”.
He smiled and said “Good answer”.
I knew I had the job.
I was lucky in the fact that I was allowed to keep working at my other jobs in addition to WKML. Everyone involved were very gracious and understanding.
So at that juncture, I was in essence working for three different radio stations. I did some weekend and some fill in work at Oldies 96.5, I still worked at AM 1460 WEWO running the board for NC State Games, in addition to my new found work at WKML. Between the three stations, it kept me very busy.
Keeping busy kept my mind off Kelly and what had happened in Sanford.
It is much easier to move on when you are constantly moving.
By the time spring came around, I felt like I was living a different life than the one I left behind in college. I was at a place to where I felt like I was starting to leave Kelly and everyone in Sanford behind. I was sleeping better at night without guilt or hurt feelings.
One day in the middle of March, I got a phone call from the business office of CCCC. I was told by that I had to fill out some paper work in order to make my transcripts available at a later date. I didn’t realize they needed my signature to drop out of school.
The next day, I drove up to Sanford to handle whatever business needed to be done.
Looking around as I pulled into the parking lot, I knew that I wanted to do whatever needed to be done quickly and leave. The last thing I wanted to do was to run into Kelly. Such a small school as CCCC made that fear very possible.
I didn’t know if she still was as angry at me as the last time we spoke, nor did I want to reignite any hurt feelings between the two of us.
My old instructor, Mr. Farmer met me in the business office. He expressed his regret that I had left without giving him the chance to change my mind. I basically told him a lie, and said that it had nothing to do with the program or anyone at the school. I told him that I was just really homesick, and wanted to move back home.
He called my bluff and told me that he knew why I had left, and that I was far to talented and smart to let one person sway my decision making process. It was a small school and rumors can fly and word can travel fast. It was naive of me to think that he, and everyone else wouldn’t figure out the real reason why I left.
I didn’t really know how to respond, so I just apologized for leaving so abruptly and thanked him for everything he had done for me. He told me that if I ever needed anything in the future, not to hesitate to call him. I told him I would keep in touch and shook hands as I left.
With the paperwork done, and the opportunity to speak with Mr. Farmer face to face, I felt like I had done all I needed to do. I made my way out to the parking lot. With my hand on the door preparing to walk outside, I heard a familiar voice…
“Hello Stranger” she said…..
Love Y’all
d
Get caught up with these previous entries in the series as well!