As a writer, I deeply appreciate the ability to edit my words. Reworking drafts into cohesive narratives allows me to shape the musings of my mind into something readable — hopefully, engaging.

As the host of a live Zoom podcast, there is no editing involved. What forms in my mind exits my mouth without the opportunity to review, revise, or reform it into something more entertaining — or more appropriate!

That’s exactly what happened on this past Thursday’s Heart & Soul ZOOM Podcast.

The topic for the evening was “Thanking a WNY Veteran.” The guests included members of the national nonprofit A Soldier’s Journey Home. This amazing group of volunteers have come to Western New York for two weeks to build a mortgage-free, specially adapted home for local Retired Army Specialist Nathan Kalwicki and his wife, Veronica. Joining them were Bryan Wittman, organizer of the Key Ceremony to officially present the home to the Kalwickis, and Nathan himself.

To be clear, the podcast was everything I hoped for — inspiring, informative, and heartfelt.

It also was 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.

So repetitive that, while uploading the podcast recording to my YouTube channel, I started counting the number of times I said the same phrase — over and over again.

As the mounting word count and my embarrassment kept growing, I realized I was not the only one speaking the two words. Every guest, and even members of the podcast audience, were doing the same.

Fascinated, I re-listened to the full podcast and kept track of how often the phrase was spoken. The final tally was 65.

Sixty-five times in a one-hour podcast, the words “thank you” were spoken. That’s more than once a minute. There were also two “gratefuls,” two “thoughtfuls,” and one “appreciate” as well.

Repetitive?
No doubt.
Unprofessional?
Perhaps to some.
True gratitude from the hearts and souls of everyone on that podcast?
Absolutely.
And one of the best experiences of my storyteller’s career.