People ask. How do I get up in the middle of the night to come to work?
Here’s the truth: I grew up on a farm. My dad got me up at dawn a lot when I was growing up, so the morning shift on a radio station isn’t much different (minus the livestock, although I did watch a raccoon drag a bag of trash up a tree near Prospect Park the other day). I’ve worked most of my career in the morning, so I’ve been used to these hours for a long time. It’s not much of hardship, either, to experience and share great art on a daily basis.
As a bicycle commuter, there are some other rewards, too, especially at this time of year. Here are a couple of photos I took from the bike path on the Manhattan Bridge the other morning. Not a bad way to start the day.
That’s how I do it.
You other early risers out there: What are YOUR rewards for getting up with the sun?
Jeff Spurgeon has been the guiding voice for a broadcast journalism class in a high school in Queens and several New York City choirs, hosting numerous concerts around the world and working as a radio host and newscaster for over 30 years.
Comments [10]
Jeff Spurgeon is actually Chuck Norris. He doesn't get up with the sun.... He makes the sun get up with him.
I listen to you almost every morning through internet streaming. Don't stop what you're doing, 'cause it works.
My reward is some quiet time before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. Time to read, catch up with correspondence, for just acclimating to being awake before my 2-year-old chirps away letting me know he's awake. Although, he's a morning person too, and we are able to have some nice early morning time together! But I have a great memory of you sharing an early-morning observance on-air - I believe you recorded a bird in your neighborhood imitating a car alarm and shared it with your listeners. Loved it!
Jeff, I haven't had to get up before dawn to go to work since the eighties but one thing I cherished was the beauty and quiet of the wee hours...the hours between 3 and 6 AM are a magic part of the day. Though I'm naturally a "night person" and love a good sunset, there is absolutely nothing to me like a beautiful sunrise. To watch the eastern sky turn red on a cold winter's morning behind the silhouetted backdrop of the NY Skyline from Hoboken's Steven's tech is...well WOW!
The rewards for me were mostly audio, the voice of the real Candice Agree. If she was at night, I stayed up and listened, if she was in the morning, I listen then, and one day she was gone...
I sort of hoped she will show me too her hart, but she was gone. But, she managed to tell me that this is not a crush, this is just pheromones... From 50 yards away ??? Be serious....
Thank you for being there every morning.
Please tell us more of what to listen for in a piece before you play the music. Afterward is too late. I vote for more "directed" listening.
Thanks Jeff for being online. I'm here in Mexico with 29 other teachers for a month going to digs...studying with archeologists, anthropologists and artists.
I get up listening to you (as usual) then some cafe mexicano and off to look for shards.
Thanks for the photo of the skyline, I live in Bklyn too.
This comment is my chance to commend you for the wonderful music & wit with which you start off each day. Don't know if you choose the actual pieces which are played, however, the wry sense of humor is a pleasant, refreshing way to start my day. Love Bach!! Thank you for giving your best.
This comment is my chance to commend you for the wonderful music & wit with which you start off each day. Don't know if you choose the actual pieces which are played, however, the wry sense of humor is a pleasant, refreshing way to start my day. Love Bach!! Thank you for giving your best.
I ride a bike too and am always taking photos. I have a blog called "Old Woman on a Bicycle" at http://www.gaylealstrom/wordpress.com. Early morning is the best time to take photos, I think. I listen to you every morning, sometimes as early as 5:30, when the sun coming in through my window wakes me up.
These pictures are gorgeous! I've biked over the Manhattan bridge, but never quite so early.
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