People & Places

Picking a name for this column was a bit of a struggle.

Mike Powers
VCNB Sports Writer

“Words are my Life!” seemed a bit dramatic. “What keeps me up at night,” just might tempt the reader.  How about combining the two?  “Words keep me up at night.” Bingo.

I am not a great sleeper. Even as a young person, light seeping under the door would prevent me from nodding off. I couldn’t even snooze in school. A high school typing class exercise would haunt my sleep — pounding imaginary keys over and over in my head, in bed.

As an adult, the three Fs always keep me from shuteye — family, finances and friends. Always something to worry about.

What is known in family circles as “Powers Paranoia” comes into play, too. In truth, if there isn’t a problem, I try to find something to worry about while tossing and turning.

From time to time, the fixation is about a past screw-up — way past. In 1990, I made a mistake in a story about University of New Mexico basketball great Luc Longley. I apologized in person, even wrote him a letter. Despite how many “No worries, mate,” the Aussie would tell me, I did worry, mate. Still do.

During my television days, a mispronounced word, a stumble on-air, a scoop that the competition scored, or a blemish (or piece of food) on my face nagged for days. And now, thanks to my new job at the News-Bulletin, stepping into the recesses of my mind virtually every night are words — finding the right words for stories.

Words as simple as “not,” which I mistakenly left out of a sentence in a column on the Eagles-Tigers football rivalry. Horrors!

However, is there a better time to come up with story ideas or clever word-play than when it’s dark and quiet?  Dredging up from the past seldom used descriptions of athletes? Netter, cager and thinclad are coming soon to an article near you. Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls. It takes a talented wordsmith to revive a phrase from Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In” of the 1960s.

The tragedy is that some brilliant ideas are forgotten between sundown and sunup. Keeping a note pad or recorder on the night stand makes sense, but that would mean turning on the light and interrupting my attempt to sleep. Quite the dilemma. No doubt a Pulitzer or Nobel Prize in literature has gone by the wayside because of this conundrum.

What are my tricks to falling asleep? Not counting sheep, but counting from 100 down to zero. I’ll say a prayer or two, and even if that doesn’t work, it might get me closer to heaven. Slow breathing exercises have had some benefit, marginally.

How I envy Pat, my wife.  She somehow dozes even while Amelia, her beloved cat, lays on her shoulder, neck and even Pat’s face for much of the night. It is amazing Pat hasn’t coughed up a hair ball.

As a young adult, I got into the habit of taking a popular night-time cold medicine to knock me out. It seemed like a reasonable solution until a phone call one night. I could hear the ring, ring, ring but I was unable to move or get out of the bed to answer, paralyzed to the mattress. Drugs, even legal drugs, didn’t seem to be the answer.

So, what is the solution at this stage of my life?  Surgery on my ailing shoulder may help. Eating healthier couldn’t hurt, with more exercise. We just bought a new bed with fancy buttons. Maybe that’s the answer. I’m open to suggestions.

Meanwhile, the search for just the right word, and the search for some shuteye, still keeps me up at night. Sweet dreams, everybody!

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Mike Powers spent more than 40 years as a television news and sports anchor, mostly in the Albuquerque market. He has won numerous awards including New Mexico Sportscaster of the Year. He covers a wide range of sports, including the Valencia County prep scene.