The Good Life – March-April 2018

HAVING A BEER WITH // TOM SZYMANSKI
GL: You know you’re going to get
interrupted anyway.
TS: Right. Another one would be
when you go out and see people
just on their phones and they’re not
even interacting with each other.
I could actually turn my phone off
for an entire weekend and not even
look at it. It’s like some people’s
lifeline. Somehow, we survived
before cell phones were invented.
GL: If you chose to live an
alternative lifestyle, like living in an
igloo with penguins, what would
you want to do?
TS: I would do what I want to do
when I retire. I’d like to spend
some of the winter in Arizona to
get away from the cold. I’d sit on
a lawnmower and cut grass for
a golf course and get free golf in
exchange for it. My wife is a very
serious golfer, too. I met her 15
years ago on a golf course, and ever
since then, it’s our passion.
GL: How has your personality
changed over the years?
TS: Anybody who knows me well
knows that I’m actually pretty
shy and reserved. But I had a
broadcasting alter ego. I was
aggressive, verbose and loud.
There’s Too Tall Tom, which is
my TV/radio persona, and then
there’s Tom Szymanski, and
they’re divergent characters —
same person, but different. If I’m
representing the television or radio
station, I’ll put on my Too-Tall-Tom
hat and I’ll be what people expect
me to be. As soon as that’s over,
it’s like turning a switch; it’s back
to being me. Over the years, I’ve
gotten quieter and just mellowed
out, I suppose. It happens to all of
us, as we get older.
GL: What’s one piece of advice you
have?
TS: I always tell kids that it’s real
simple, no matter what you choose
to do. When the alarm goes off in
the morning, if you don’t want to
get up, you should consider doing
something else for a living. My dad
14 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com