We’ve now put out a half dozen episodes of This Is My Thing and we are continuing our mission to talk with people about the things they do just for themselves – not because it’s their job and not because it’s a responsibility, just because they love to do it. The stuff you do because it’s your thing.
This episode of This Is My Thing comes to us from my friend and fellow KUT producer Juan Garcia, who talks with his former college professor Dan Schumacher. Dan is the faculty adviser for KTSW 89.9, Texas State University’s college radio station, and he’s also a HUGE fan of tattoos. He’s been collecting them since the early ‘80s, and in this piece he talks about what they mean to him, which ones are especially significant, and why they’re worth the pain involved.
On this page, you can listen to the on-air version of Dan’s story, but if you check out the KUT News Now podcast feed, you’ll find a much longer version of this piece. In both versions, you’ll hear the sound of a tattoo machine in action; the sound you’re hearing there is the sound of Juan getting a tattoo himself. That shows some obvious dedication to the job, but it wasn’t a sacrifice or anything – like Dan, Juan’s also a fan of tattoos, though his collection is (for now) much smaller.
We’ve talked to a lot of other people about their things and those stories will be coming in future weeks. You’ll hear from a skater who will tell us what ‘aggressive roller skating’ is and what it means to her, someone who builds amazing things with LEGO, a guy who’s volunteering with the Austin Steam Train Association for years (and is now a student conductor) and plenty more. Stay tuned!
And want to hear from you about the thing you do just because you love it! You’ll find an online form a little lower on this page where you can tell us about the thing that brings you joy, calms your mind, or feeds your soul in some way.
