Being a TV person, I confess to having a rather large ego. It comes with the territory. After all, if people don’t recognize me, they’re not watching, right? So it’s always nice when someone makes a fuss.
Since I’ve been on Chattanooga TV for 35-plus years, and on the radio before that, it happens to me now and then. Some people call out my name, while others aren’t sure. They call me Darrell, or Bill, or my personal favorite, “Hey, you’re that dude on the news!” Some people will glance in my direction, see me, and then jerk their head back as if to say, “I know him from somewhere.” Others walk by, and when they think I’m out of earshot, they’ll say to their companion, “Did you see David Carroll? He had a mouthful of food, and ketchup on his chin.” (They think I don’t hear them, but we TV people have enhanced hearing. That’s how we get the news.)
I have learned to roll with the flow. Some people say ask me to say hello to my co-workers at Channel 9 (I’m on Channel 3), others say they watch me every morning (I’m on TV in the evening), and one lady swore we were on a cruise together (never happened, never will).
Still, I love a good compliment as much as anyone. I do have some favorites, especially from my recent speaking engagements for my comedy book “I Won’t Be Your Escape Goat.” A bright-eyed 90- year-old woman bounded up to me after the program, bought the book, asked me to sign it to her, and said, “We’ve had a lot of speakers here, and you’re one of the best.” I said, “Thank you! Which part did you enjoy?” Without missing a beat she said, “You’re loud! I could hear every word you said. I’m hard of hearing, but I could hear you!”
A few days later, I did an evening program for a singles group. I like to make eye contact, but one guy never looked at me. I swear, he slept through my whole program. Much to my surprise, later he followed me to the parking lot, bought a book and said he hoped to see me again. I wanted to give him my number so he could call me the next time he had insomnia. Maybe he finds me soothing.
My favorite “fan encounter” happened during lunch with my broadcasting buddies. We were just blabbing away, when this very attractive young lady stopped at our table, and started zeroing in on me. As my head began to swell, she made it very clear that she knew who I was. “David Carroll!” she exclaimed, much to my delight. My friends were visibly impressed. By now my head was about the size of a float in the Macy’s parade, and she came in a bit closer. “I can’t believe I’m seeing you in person!” she squealed.
People are usually nice, but I don’t get the rock star treatment that often, so I was digging this. “I’ve GOT to have my picture made with you, would you mind?” she asked. Modestly, I told her I would be honored to be in a picture with her, hoping my friends were taking this all in. If they didn’t know it already, they were in the company of Brad Pitt, George Clooney and the Rock all rolled into one, and they had better be sufficiently impressed.
She handed her phone to a friend and I stood up to squeeze in for a photo, which she would surely enlarge into a poster suitable for framing. We smiled for the camera, the friend snapped the picture, and she began to thank me for this special moment. As my table-mates looked on in admiration, she said, “This is great! My Granny’s gonna love this. Granny said she grew up listening to you on the radio!”
As I sat back down, and my wise-cracking friends tried to suppress their laughter, I said the only sensible thing one could say in that situation: “Check please!” Oh well, I hope I have a prominent place on Granny’s fridge.
David Carroll is a Chattanooga news anchor, and his new book “I Won’t Be Your Escape Goat” is available on his website, ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact him at 900 Whitehall Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405, or at RadioTV2020@yahoo.com.
