GAZELLE MAGAZINE APRIL 2017 | Page 80

COMMUNITY & CULTURE

TAKE IT FROM ME … with Carol Daniel

PROUD WIFE AND MOTHER . ENCOURAGER . COMMUNICATOR .
By Diane Kline

As one of the top voices on KMOX Radio - “ The Voice of St . Louis ,” Carol Daniel ’ s intelligence and warmth have made her one of the region ’ s most popular media personalities since her debut over the local airwaves in 1995 .

While Daniel is a longtime radio host , news anchor and reporter , as well as an author and former TV anchor , the first sentence of her bio for KMOX Radio states that she is “ first and foremost , a mother and wife .” The atypical introduction was written after a KMOX colleague , morning host Nan Wyatt , was murdered . The tragedy forced Daniel to re-evaluate what was most important . And for her , it is being wife to Patrick , and mother to Patrick Jr ., 21 , and Marcus , 17 .
The author of “ All I Ever Wanted : Relationships , Marriage , Family ,” Daniel ’ s life is guided by a deep belief in God - and she walks the walk through prayer , church involvement and reaching out to people . As she explained , “ I couldn ’ t be an encourager without faith .” Daniel shared some of her thoughts on life , work and family .
Being a giver is a double-edged sword . It ’ s an indescribable feeling to make people happy . But being a people pleaser sometimes means you ’ re giving for the wrong reasons . So I had to ask myself , “ Why am I doing this ?” and the answer was difficult to face . I want to be liked , noticed and looked upon in a special way .
All I ever wanted was to be a mother and a wife . I prayed to God for the perfect mate . I actually made a list of what I needed – including “ good kisser ” – and put it in my Bible . At 30 years old , I thought I was an old maid who totally messed this up . Then I met my husband . He is steady , dedicated and hard-working . So many men are suffering , buying lies about manhood . I wish they could sit down with my husband - who isn ’ t perfect by any stretch - who could help them learn what it means to be a real man .
Somebody wished me death on Facebook . There ’ s always been distrust of the media , but today , the Internet and the 24-hour news cycle have made a powerful difference . Listeners can feel they are more informed than the talk show hosts , even though there ’ s so much misinformation out there . What people think is unbiased journalism is often opinion . And now you can seek out news with the angle that suits you , so there is even less understanding between the public and the media .
I was miserable about how I looked on television . When I co-hosted the television show , “ Great Day St . Louis ,” I didn ’ t fit into the cookie-cutter mold . I was a size 12 in a size-4 world . I prayed to God every week to help me get through it . When my husband and I watched the first show , I was crying when I told him , “ I thought I looked terrible .” His answer was , “ Weren ’ t you in the room when they hired you ? They know what you look like . You are seeing yourself through your own eyes . You need to see yourself the way God sees you .”
Menopause has me feeling sad and angry . We need everyone to talk about menopause . That ’ s so we don ’ t go crazy . When I told my husband that the doctor said it ’ s a 10-to-15- year process , he was shocked . I could see he was calculating just how long that was . I ’ m much more emotional in menopause - as if it were possible to cry more than I already did ! I actually stopped using eyeliner because of all the crying .
I push back on racial assumptions . I no longer use the phrase “ black-on-black crime ,” because some statistics show 83 percent of crime against whites is done by white people , but we don ’ t call it white-on-white crime .
Did I prepare my sons for what faces them as black men ? I worry all the time . Have I done the right things to get my sons ready for success , including how the world treats black men ? I want them to understand their value so powerfully that no one can make them doubt it . I want them to be men of God and know they deserve every good thing .
78 GAZELLE STL