On the Air

"Dr. Duh, the program will be starting in a few minutes.  I'll need to have you sit right here while I tape the microphone wire behind your necktie...just like that...."

A member of the Kaiser Permanente media department was busy getting me ready for a live educational video conference for nurses, in which I was invited to give a two-hour presentation on various pediatric gastroenterology topics.  I arrived at the company's recording studio in Pasadena, California, about half an hour early, and barely swallowed a granola bar and some bottled water before I was called to get wired up.

"Great.  During the presentation you'll need to look toward the direction of the main camera over here, and your Powerpoint slides will be shown on this monitor.  This other monitor will show your face as viewed from the camera.  We'll be switching between the camera and the slides during your talk...."

I sat in front of the camera for the next several minutes, trying my best to not disturb the staff as they made their final preparations.  I looked through my notes, checked my box of gadgets (mostly samples of gastrostomy tubes and other tube-feeding supplies), and during the final minutes looked at the camera, made a couple of silly faces, playfully pulled out a silicone gastrostomy tube out of the box and pretended to stick it down my nostrils, just to kill time.  As we started to count down to air time, I settled down as the camera turned toward the director of staff education, who introduced the program and provided my biographical information.  As soon as she finished, my face popped on the screen on cue, and the show was on.

It was a bit awkward at first doing my schtick in a quiet room with the cameras rolling, knowing that I was simultaneously being watched by hundreds of nurses throughout Southern California.  However, I thought the talk went well as I waxed poetic on various subjects digestive and pediatric for over an hour, followed by a very energetic question and answer session with participation from several hospitals.  I finished my part of the program seemingly unscathed, and thoughts soon turned to lunch and figuring out how to make it back to work in the afternoon on time.

During hospital rounds the following day, several of the nurses came to me and congratulated me on the stellar performance.  "Dr. Duh, that was such a good talk, and you were SO funny!  By the way, what were you doing making those faces and sticking that thing in your nose?  I bet you didn't realize that you were already on the air at that time!"

Oops.  At least I wasn't being indecent....

It's funny how we tend to let our guards down and behave differently when we believe that we are not being watched.  However, as audiovisual recording technologies become more advanced, numerous celebrities and those who are in positions of influence have been brought to shame by secret recordings of them saying and doing things that are not meant for public consumption.  Their reputations have been seriously tarnished.

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."  Coach John Wooden


The distinction between character and reputation disappears if we realize that God sees us at all times and knows all of our thoughts, desires and actions.  Hiding from God is futile, as Jonah experienced at sea:

But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.  He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port.  After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.  All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.  And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.


But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.  (Jonah 1:3-5)

Jonah acted as if he could elude God.  The truth was that God could see Jonah more clearly than we can see a goldfish in a bowl of water.  May we always behave as if God is watching...because He is.