The other day I went for one of the recordings.
The first thing I noticed was the absence of Jay's jubilant greeting voice.
He had always been there in the past, ready with other crew members to set up all the props and arrange the stage according to my directions.
I never knew his exact job title but he did almost everything, taking charge, giving orders. Although he joked about my detail orientation and demanding perfection, I know he enjoyed the learning experience. He understood exactly where I wanted the paintings to go or the sofas to be placed. He paid attention and remembered.
He enjoyed everything he did with a zest.
I could tell from his comments that he really listened to the discussions whenever he would congratulate me at the end of each recording.
There were many other crew members doing their job but Jay was different.
His absence made me miss and think about him.
It's not that there were not others who did his job. The new young chap was energetic and did the job efficiently. Everything went smoothly. The props were set according to my wishes, the camera crew was very proficient. The manager came out to chat with me to make sure all was fine. The recording started on time and I had a hearty discussion with all my guests on the tv show, yet I missed Jay.
Jay was in his sixties but did not look a day older than thirty five. He had a young and lively spirit that enjoyed learning. It was this spirit that I had missed. The spirit that made him do everything with an enthusiasm and a keen interest. This spirit made him different from the others. He poured his heart into his work. He was like any other crew member in that studio but he became prominent and stood out due to that spirit.
It made me realize that we can all leave a mark like Jay. No matter what we do, we should always try to find joy in it. A mere task of setting up a stage becomes art when we really think about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment