Monday

The Entertainer's Secret

I will never forget the day I met my hubby.  I was 18 years old and it was my first day of college. He was two years older- cute, tanned, popular and a social butterfly.


Those things were appealing, but there was one very unique thing about him:  his voice.

I was immediately attracted to his raspy, rugged, scratchy melody.

We spent the next 4 years as best friends and then went our separate ways into the real world. But in the end, it was that delicious voice recorded on my answering machine that got me.  He said something simple like, "Hey, why don't you come see me."  And that is pretty much all it took to get me to fly several hundred miles and marry him three months later.

I didn't exactly play hard-to-get.

My hubby works in the medical field and everyday someone asks him about his voice: a)Are you sick? b)Do you have a cold? c)Have you ever been checked for nodes? d) Can I scope your vocal chords?  

Well. Here are the answers a)no b)no c)yes d)sure, because my gag reflex is awesome

The other day my hubby returned to his Ear, Nose and Throat doctor because not only was he blessed with a raspy voice, he was also gifted with sleep apnea.

He is one lucky duck.  

It's been two years since he's been sleep-tested (sleep-testing is where they hook you up to machines and record how many times a night you stop breathing. Exciting stuff.  The first time my hubby did this, the Respiratory Therapist who dropped off the sleep apnea machine explained that my hubby had 60 arousal's in a 1 hour period. And you would think I would know that there is more than one definition of that word (in context it was referring to how many times he stopped breathing.  I am still blushing about what I asked.)

I digress.

The ENT said, "Yes, let's order another sleep test, but let's spend some time talking about your voice."

And so they did.  For a very long time.

When my hubby came home, he told me all the many and various theories and explanations and blah blah blah the doctor came up with.

Then my hubby dropped this bomb, "I'd really like my voice to be normal."

And he pulled this from his pocket:  Entertainer's Secret Throat Relief

The Entertainer's Secret, throat relief spray. But it's our secret and that of many entertainer's, apparently.

My 8 year old was eavesdropping on this conversation and burst into the room, "No, Daddy, I love your voice.  You can't do that! I think we need to have a family meeting about this!"

And I did what all good wives would do, I agreed with my daughter.

Because y'all, I love that voice.

28 comments:

Elizabeth said...

I loved this post. It brought me out of lurking even! I love my husband's brain, he is really smart...and not just because he asked me to marry him after 3 weeks of dating! We will celebrate #12 in December!! Thanks for the great blog...E

Niki Jolene said...

You really make me laugh every day!

I gave you an award over at my blog:
http://free2befrugal.blogspot.com/2008/08/im-flattered.html

Thanks for putting the goofy grin on my face every day while I grab a little "me" time on my laptop.

:)

Jenileigh said...

:) This was great!

Unknown said...

Maybe he just needs to know how much his family loves his voice and he won't be concerned about it or what other people think of it.

That is a cute story!

Crayl said...

I love this post!
My M-I-L has/had a raspy voice for awhile too, a long while...it was severe allergies(to the world apparently, poor thing). She would use a juicer and make a concoction of various peppers, bell, jalapeno and other veggies for flavor and it would clear for about 30 minutes. It was amazing. I have seen that secret stuff before, but we are in and around that industry...ssshhhhh.

marky said...

My friends grandson has a raspy voice too. He is about 5 now, and since he learned to talk it was very deep and raspy for a kid. Maybe, just maybe that entertainers secret..wont' work ;-)
Funny post. BTW.. I would love to hear how you played hard to get with a 3 month whirlwind romance LOL.
Mine is similar.

The Fritz Facts said...

I would totally have a family meeting. Such a small thing means so much to so many people.

Mom said...

Sometimes the women just have to team up together. You could always hide that spray bottle.

www.momstop.blogspot.com

Lisa said...

Oh my goodness. Who would have thougth his voice would have so many people up in arms? Your daughter knows him the way he is, you, fell in love with him the way he is. Yet HE, because he is in the public eye so much, feels....
different because of his voice. I think different is good, but I don't have to live with the questions, the comments, the concerns by 100's of people ALL the time. Express your feelings, but be sure and listen to his!!!

Dawn @ simply transparent said...

Oh well my dh says the same about my voice..he loves it.

Tables turned "what if you wanted a..."change" somewhere's would he let you?...just a thought.

Btw~ next month our oldest is going to have his "voice box" messed with...two surgeries!

Tonsils and noids..that tend to mess with his sleeping patterns.

Valarie Lea said...

My hubby is going in on the 28th to have a sleep consultation! Can I get an AMEN! I might be able to sleep pretty soon! :)

Amanda said...

he cant change his voice! Its what makes him- "him"! People with unforgettable voices are never forgotten! :-)

Anonymous said...

I suffer from my husband's sleep apnea too. I mean, he has sleep apnea, but I, yes I, suffer from it. If snoring was an Olympic event, well let's just say I've got his trophy case ready. He has a CPAP machine, but getting him to use it was like nailing jello to a tree. Notsomuch. We recently ordered him the new mouthguard from Pure Sleep... can you hear the angels singing? Laaaaaaa! Sweet sleep is MINE! I mean... His. Yes, HE is doing much better. Whew!

Tales From the Eurovan said...

Has your husband ever considered going into radio? Great voices are hard to come by.
Take care,
Julie

Unknown said...

My son, who is 36, was diagnosed with sleep apnea a few months ago. He has the CPAP machine, but it has not helped. he is going for surgery on his throat today, in an effort to get relief and to get a good nights rest and be able to really sleep. We think he has had this since he was a child. When he was 5 years old he snored so loudly it rattled the windows in his bedroom. I am really thankful that he is doing this, as he is always tired, has no energy, comes home from work and immediately goes to sleep on the sofa, and has basically ignored his wife and two kids because of it. If his surgery can help him, I am all for it. And it may change his voice.

If yor hubby uses the spray, and his voice changes, he may still sound like himself, only better.

Jillie Bean (AKA Bubba's Sis) said...

Wow - I think my husband has sleep apnea. Maybe we should check that out...

This post reminds me of that line in the movie "Slingblade"....

"I like the way you talk."

littletoesandcheerios said...

My husband has his 3rd sleep apnea test on Weds. The other two times he just could NOT fall asleep. Maybe if I tell him about the arousal he'll look more forward to it!!

Anonymous said...

So, did the family vote to keep it raspy? I gotta know!! You're leaving me on the edge of my seat.

Cute post... it is very sweet to see how much you love your man.

Angela said...

My husband HAD sleep apnoea too. Using a CPAP machine enabled us BOTH to get good sleep, and then to lose weight [apparently your weight-control hormones DO NOT FUNCTION if you don't get proper sleep] Now he is slimmer, the apnoea is no longer a problem.PTL. Today we celebrate 29 years of happy married life - loving,laughing and sleeping together!

Happy Mommy said...

60 times in one hour that seems like a whole lot of not breathing! I think I would want his voice to remain the same too!

MT said...

Oh, I hope he doesn't change it! It's those little quirks that make each of us so unique!

Oh, and you know that now you'll have to put an podcast up of his voice, speaking and singing, right?

;)

Smiles atcha -- thanks for dropping by my blogjoint earlier!

MT said...

Oh, I hope he doesn't change it! It's those little quirks that make each of us so unique!

Oh, and you know that now you'll have to put an podcast up of his voice, speaking and singing, right?

;)

Smiles atcha -- thanks for dropping by my blogjoint earlier!

Anonymous said...

My hubby has a raspy voice too, his is from acid reflux, though, so he takes medication. The damage done is not able to be fixed so he will always sound how he does now (thank goodness, I love it)

D... said...

I think you have one smart daughter! I would have had to agree with her too.

60 arousals in 1 hour? Wow. He sounds like he spends more time NOT breathing than he does breathing. I'm glad ya'll are getting that checked out.

Screaming Meme said...

Awww! I love raspy voices too! They are awesome! I loved your post! I wanted to stop in and let you know I posted another Screaming Meme's Faux School class...If you could spread the word I'd appreciate! Thanks! Meme

Nancy M. said...

That's so sweet! I guess maybe he didn't know how y'all felt about his voice!

Mrs.Naz@BecomingMe said...

This made me laugh out loud. I love unique voices too. Whenever I get a cold, my hubby loves my voice...sexy...until he leans in for a kiss and gets a whiff of sick breath...

Lynn said...

I am "aroused" from my bleary-eyed blog reading by your COMPLETELY HILARIOUS POST! Thanks!