A lot of those graphs you see forget one important factor:
mailmen
That one time I was on 20/20
I was on 20/20, talking about the mail.
It was a pretty sudden/random thing to happen. The night before, I got an email from a producer at ABC and after we talked for a bit, he told me that he was going to send a cameraman over to my house the next morning at 6:30 am (the piece was airing that night).
The interview process was a little strange: the cameraman set up to make it look like I was talking to someone. Really, the ABC producer (based out of NY) was talking to me on a speaker phone, while I gave my answers to my light switch (my point of focus).
Despite my experience in front of a camera, I found the whole thing pretty nerve-wracking and I caught myself talking in cluster bursts of words–an annoying trait I take on whenever I get nervous. My vocabulary becomes similar to a pull-string engine that’s almost getting started. After the cameraman left, I was sure none of the footage I gave them would be usable.
Honestly, 20/20 is one of those cultural staples that I ultimately know nothing about–kind of like 60 Minutes or Dateline. As I sat down to watch the show, I had no idea how inflammatory/sensational it is (has it always been this way?). I had this short, intense fear that they were going to edit me to look like this Simpsons clip, or make me look like a crazy postal worker. I think I said so many contradictory things during that interview that they could’ve easily done that.
But they were kind with their editing… I mean, to the extent that any sort of self-conscious person can stand to watch or listen to themselves.
All the Dogs Want to Kill Me
Pictures taken while carrying mail in San Diego using one-time use, 400 ISO, 35 mm film (disposable, Rite Aid)