American humorist Fred A. Allen once said, “A celebrity is a person who works hard all of their life to become well known, and then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.”

Well … we’ll see about that.  My relative anonymity is about to go out the window with the debut of “Kansas City Live” on Monday.  Am I ready for it?  The answer is an unequivocal yes.  If there’s one thing I’ve secretly craved all my life, it’s to be semi-famous.

Will I get better seats at restaurants?  Doubtful.  Will I sign autographs?  Highly unlikely.  Will there be paparazzi camped outside my door?  A boy can dream, can’t he?

Growing up, I used to watch a local weathergal pontificate on the ever-changing dew point.  Her name was Connie McBurney.  She was beloved by all of Central Iowa in the 70’s and 80’s.  And when I graduated from college I got to work alongside her for a few years in the mid-90’s.  She was delightful … but nothing like the Connie McBurney I had concocted in my head.  Turns out she was a real person.

Who knew?

I’m waiting on bated breath to see who confuses TV M2 with Everyday M2, as they are light years apart.   And I’ve already braced myself for both applause and criticism. The show hasn’t even hit the airwaves yet and I’ve already been bombarded with random people giving me the oddest input.  “I won’t watch your show because you appear ‘bland'”, said one of the e-mails.  (I’m gonna assume that was a typo, and the person meant to say “blonde”.)

All I know is that I’ve been handed my dream TV job … on a platter.  I get to host a show that spotlights KC.  I’ve always wanted an outlet to be informative and irreverent … which were the main two reasons why I started blogging.  Thanks to the miracle of television, I’m now poised to have that on a bigger scale … with an adoring public and the requisite detractors.

And while I’m not sure what to expect, I do know two things:  1) I can’t get a big head because I have so many pesky friends to keep me humble and 2) No, I’m not nervous.  Not even the teeniest little bit.

So wish me luck and be sure to tune in this Monday on 41 Action News at 10am to see my debut with my delightful co-host Michelle.  I promise we’ll ratchet it up a couple notches from bland.  Or blonde … depending on your typing skills.