Bill Lynch

1 month ago | wvgazettemail.com | Bill Lynch

I walked into the YMCA, handed over my chip to get a towel (the Y has a program where you pay five bucks for a plastic token, which you trade for a towel) and made it exactly three steps before the rumble of thunder seeped in from the roof. Back toward the glass doors in the lobby, I saw angry, dark clouds. They covered about half of the sky. The other half was a mix of cotton white and blue, what I’d counted on when I got in my car. But I’d bet on the good side and lost.

1 month ago | wvgazettemail.com | Bill Lynch

It was late Sunday morning and only one lane remained open at the Charleston Family YMCA’s pool. Well, technically, there were two lanes — but not really. In four lanes, swimmers glided up to one end of the pool and back, but each was in his or her own space. Lanes were separated by plastic buoys strung like pearls on metal cables. But the last lane — which was two lanes — had been reserved for YMCA members to do something besides lap swimming.

1 month ago | wvgazettemail.com | Bill Lynch

I seldom do anything in the right order with these One Month projects. If I’m learning about baking, I don’t want to start with something easy, like chocolate chip cookies. I want to jump into baking pies or try to make a wedding cake (that went very badly, but at least no bride or groom were hurt in the process). With this month figuring out how to start a podcast, I winged it from the beginning. I figured all I had to do was record something. The rest would sort itself out as I went.

2 months ago | wvgazettemail.com | Bill Lynch

Kennie Bass warned me that his voice wasn’t all that it had been. This was in part due to the treatments he’s been undergoing for cancer. I told him we’d manage. I just figured that whatever he said would be something I’d want to hear, even if his voice was a little ragged. I was excited to have him as my very first guest, and Kennie was perfect for what I had in mind. My idea for starting this podcast was simple — just get interesting people to talk about themselves. This was perfect for me.

2 months ago | wvgazettemail.com | Bill Lynch

The surgeon reached into my mouth and said, “There will be pressure and noise, but no pain.”Then came a sound like an old piece of hard candy breaking on a wooden floor. But the doctor was right. I didn’t feel anything, except horror. It was all I could do to keep from bawling my eyes out. Sitting in my car a short time later, I tried to look at what had been done to my mouth, but I couldn’t bring myself to pull the gauze from between my jaws.