adieu . . .
The New York Times article this morning referred to Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather as "bookends" which indicated which stories were really important over the last 30 years. Personally, I watched Brokaw mostly - but occasionally, I would flip over to Jennings, especially if there was an international element to the story that was being broadcast. He was the better of the "big three" when it came to the international stories.This morning, I don't so much miss Peter Jennings as I miss another stage of my life. I have watched these guys since I was in High School, or at least since I was in college. They were there the nights my children were born, and they told the story of living through Hurricane Alicia when we rode it out in Houston that night, and they narrated our feelings during the shuttle disasters and the assassination attempts and the funerals and Baby Jessica and 911 and all of the election nights - in short, they were the ones that reported the climaxes and the disasters that seem to punctuate our lives with such increasing regularity. Often, I would choke up a little myself when I would catch Brokaw with a hint of a tear in his eye as he mused at the conclusion of a really poingnant human interest story. I miss that.
Maybe in time I'll come to appreciate the ones who have taken their places. But my larger fear is that these will be the guys who are on the tube the night I pass from this earth. My only greater fear is that I'll have to go through this kind of transition once more in my life - obviously a sign of "codgerism."
posted by the sojourning pilgrim @ 8:19 AM
4 Comments:
As a kid I use to watch the evening news with my parents every night at 5:00 pm for local news, 5:30 national news, and 6:00 pm local news again. For some odd reason I was facinated with the news, and yes, Tom Brokaw. Maybe we're not so different you and I.
This is totally unrelated, but I noticed your link to me on the blogroll only links to one post. The main page is at http://notfrisco2.com/camassiablog. At least, I hope that wasn't the only post you thought was worth reading!
Thanks
Camassia
Thanks - I'll look at that site.
Camassia -
Thanks for the link. I am enjoying your musings, especially the discussion on moral relativism and the link to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.
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