Hi there, it's me, Major Jackson.

As I transition from my role as host of The Slowdown, we're taking a look through our archive of episodes.

With such a deep well of poetry and reflection, it's a pleasure to revisit these moments together.

Here's an episode from my time on the show.

Music Here's an episode from my time on the show. I'm Major Jackson, and this is The Slowdown.

Have you ever told what you thought was a funny story, yet struggled to get the timeline right?

Or maybe you forgot who did what and when and then had to double back?

And when you lost grip, that's when you sense your audience becoming impatient,

secretly wishing you would get to the punchline or point of the story.

But then, by the time you eased into your ASAP groove, the opportunity to charm vanished. I never have that

problem. Actually, I have that problem all the time, enough that I nearly enrolled in a storytelling

class. I am afflicted with the idea that I must be perfect at everything. And thus, I go all out to achieve

flawlessness. I read manuals, watch endless YouTube videos, enroll in on-the-fly courses. I measure my growth

by my last failure. I am told this has to do with my astrological

sign. I live with Rilka's famous line, you must change your life in my ear, on repeat, an earworm,

as if something is less than stellar about who I am today.

I move instinctively towards myself as though I were a massive project, believing I will

someday, again, in Rilka's words, burst like a star,

that this is how to be seen,

to be loved,

to be cherished.

This quest has distorted my sense of what is important,

...