what i know
by
Kjerstin Bell
EMBRACE YOUR SCARS The Cirque Bowl, known for some of the steepest terrain on Mount Bachelor, had been closed due to wind for three days during the winter of 2012. When it opened, my brother and I were some of the first skiers on the Summit Express chair lift. We were going to ring in the New Year by taking in epic turns. My brother went first. He followed the fall line with such grace that it was hypnotic to watch. An inch of fresh powder concealed the ice underneath the edges of my skis. Even now years later I can feel the pain. My ACL ripped in half, the meniscus tore, and I experienced a rupture of the patella tendon in my other knee. My scream echoed against the frosty air. Weeks later on February 5, 2012, I reported for FOX at the Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Indiana on crutches. I remember at Media Day in the convention center I ran into New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees – literally ran into him in the hallway – and he gave me a pep talk about how plenty of NFL players have devastating injuries and recover, even go on to score touchdowns. Life is filled with emotional bumps, bruises, illnesses and strains. Many can benefit from self-help books, but in my heart I believe the pain we endure makes us stronger, and what we do to overcome pain strengthens our life. Days after surgery, lying in bed with both legs in bandages, I came to the realization that my work didn’t love me, but a man whom I’d left behind in Spokane did. Within a week I had quit my well paying job, fired my agent and booked a one-way ticket back to the Inland Northwest. With big risk comes big reward: that man in Spokane, Chris Bell, is now my husband, and Patricia McRae, president of KHQ Inc. and Cowles Media, offered me a job. We often get wrapped up in our work life, not realizing we can lead a full life. When I woke from surgery I cried to a girl friend a gutwrenching cry because I felt so lost, but now when I look down at my knees and the scars, I am reminded that life sometimes gives us second chances and it’s up to us to make a turn, and hopefully it’s filled with champagne powder on which to ski. IF YOU’RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE DIFFERENT – DON’T EVER CHANGE The figure skater Dorothy Hamill’s short bob was all the rage, and with that haircut, paired with a tomboy outfit and a deep voice, it was obvious I didn’t fit in with the other little girls. Yes, I was the third-grader that staged a sit-in when the boys wouldn’t let us play football with them at recess. It wasn’t until years later that the moment of discovery took place. KidStar Radio, which was eventually bought out by Disney Radio, was hosting a karaoke contest at Northgate Mall in Seattle. My mother and brother were trying on pants while I sang my little heart out, pretending to be Madonna. As chance would
kjerstin bell
Anchor on FOX’s “Good Day Spokane” have it I went on to work for KidStar Radio for several years, traveled to Huston, Texas to open a market there, lent my voice to a number of cartoon characters including Gretchen the Doll in Humongus Enterainment’s Fatty Bear’s Birthday Surprise, and a few commercials for the Bon Marche. Every voice is unique. While some are ridiculed for having a lisp, or being too nasally, or like me, too raspy, I will say this: together we make beautiful harmony in our differences. LEARN FROM DOGS I don’t stick my head out the car window, but just the other day as Teela, our two-year-old Pudelpointer, and I were driving in our beatup F250 truck off Elder Road, the back way to Lake Coeur d’Alene, with a little country on the radio, I took the moment to appreciate the fall smells in the air. It smelled a little like campfire, a little like Blue Grass, and a lot like happiness. Dogs truly know how to live in the moment. If only I could be the person Teela thinks I am. While a dog can have the best time playing with an old slipper, we should strive to find fun in the small things. Working in the news business I have been known to sleep in a satellite truck overnight while covering a tornado, whereas you know the old saying, let sleeping dogs lie. Dogs love to sleep and we should not downplay our need for rest either. When you think you’ve lost everything – your home in a devastating fire, a car in a roll over accident, or you get angry because you can’t download the latest app on your phone – take a good look around; I promise your dog will still be there full of love. INDULGE YOUR SWEET TOOTH – YOU’LL NEED DENTURES ANYWAY My only surviving grandparent, Tally Ramsing, died recently. She was an inspiration to me as a journalist, having written articles for the local newspaper in Polk County, Florida well into her 80s. We wrote letters to each other for years regaling one another with stories we were covering. While my letters were often filled with homicides, horrific traffic accidents and fires, Tally wrote of restaurant reviews, and luncheons benefiting Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales. At my young age we didn’t have a lot in common, but as I became an adult I began to understand how much I had to learn from her. She knew how to nurture the tuber of a dahlia to create the perfect flower; she knew when her knuckles cracked that a hurricane was coming in, and she always had a bowl of ice cream before bed. There are far more senior citizens alive today than at any other point in history. Let’s cherish our elderly while we still have them. Each of them have seen our world undergo changes like no one else and the lessons from them are vital.
spokanecda.com • october • 2015
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