10, well, no--actually 11 days on my own. Really, anyone who's known me for a long period of time is probably asking what's the big deal about spending 11 days without the wife? I'm mean, dude, you lived on your own for how long?
Roughly about 18-years. From age 22 through age 40. 1988 through the end of 2005.
And before anyone says "Aw, you're just whipped" (Tom Leonard), it's not quite the same as when you are younger.
Yeah, sure, you can pretty much do whatever you want. You can go out and drink beers and hey, I get to watch more sports in this time period than I will in the next 10-months. But it is different.
Unfortunately, part of it may be because I'm where I am (Cincinnati) and away from the friends I would normally hang out with during this time, and part of it may just be because I'm getting old, but either way, it's just really weird working and then having to come home and take care of both myself and the cat.
And it's not that I don't know how to cook, I actually do...and from what I'm told, I'm fairly good at it. I just don't cook much anymore, Michelle does that.
It's funny when you have all this time to yourself and you are wishing that you didn't have all this time to yourself. Never thought I'd be at that point. I always had work and up until my current job, I worked...a lot. That's not to say I don't now, but it is different.
The Wonder Dog
Heck, I don't know, maybe part of it is missing the dog. For the last 11 years, I had the Wonder Dog with me to keep me company. That's not to say Oliver, the cat, isn't good company, but it is different. Sure, he has his time where he hangs out with me...he is sprawled out on the back of the couch behind me while I write this. But it is not the same, it's different.
Really, I just miss having 'Chelle here with me. I miss what one of my co-workers calls "Sexy married time" or sitting on the couch in gym shorts and t-shirts watching TV together. I'm not whining here, really. Part of her job now includes travel, and I'm down with that. It's usually just a couple of days at a time, which is a little easier, but it's just the way things worked out this time.
I hope this doesn't come off sounding like I'm a whiny bitch. I'm not trying to. I guess I'm just lonely right now. You know, I had to do this for a couple of months in 2009, when she moved here for her job and I had to stay in Atlanta until we sold our house, that was much, much harder than this.
But, hey, between this and the constant love and attention OnlineSportsGuys takes out of my day, combined with work and I'm pretty busy and the day is over before you know it. Time will fly by, and the leftovers will run out, and 'Chelle will be home in less than a week now, so I got that to look forward to.
It's a safe bet, none of the stuff in this clip will happen (of course movie was made in early 80's):
Me producing Sunday Sports Special--circa 2005/Courtesy: jon nelson
There are some things that you just know how to do. And because of that, you just assume that everything associated with it will be easy.
It's not that simple.
For anyone who's known me since I've been working in TV, you probably are aware that I produced Sports shows and Sportscasts on and off pretty much since I started in the business.
Sure, there were periods of time where I didn't do it. After all, I was always a Photojournalist too. I shot a lot of video in that time and had more than a few bosses who just assumed that was all I did.
It isn't.
Today (5/4/11), I got to do something I've never done in all my years in TV, I produced a Newscast. You might ask: "Why is that a big deal?" "Didn't you say you've produced Sports shows?".
I did say that and I did produce Sports shows. Heck, I've won awards while doing it. I created or helped create a couple of Sports shows in Atlanta, so, yeah, I know how it's done.
Me and Mark Harmon interviewing Michael Boley/Courtesy: atlfalcons
News is different.
Sports isn't easy to produce, but it's different. I never really believed that until today. Sure, I worked in News off and on throughout my career and have a pretty good grasp of it. But I can safely say...producing a newscast is entirely different than doing Sports.
Why is that?
Sports is fairly straightforward and simple. There is a lot of ad-libbing involved, but you know the content. And you can be a little looser and more flexible with it. That means you don't have to be exact in your timing. For instance, when I did my Sunday Sports Special at WGCL in Atlanta, I always knew that I could go into the show about a minute light. I knew that my anchor, Mark Harmon would make the time up and if we were tight at the end of the show with time...I could tell him to pick up the pace and he would.
News is nothing like that.
When you are producing 30-minutes of a 90-minute news hole, you have to be pretty close to exact in your shows. You have to make sure things are timed to the second. You have to hit your breaks at certain times and you have to put as much content in the show as you possibly can.
Me working at Atlanta Motor Speedway/Courtesy:Me
With a sports show, you can put in a rough time for stories knowing that you don't have to be precise getting in and out of it. News, is completely different. And if you aren't exact, the whole show gets out of whack. If the whole show gets out of whack, then you have to start cutting things.
In a sports show, you can just say, kill a particular story and it isn't that big a deal. As long as the show times out in the end, everyone is happy. News is nothing like that. If you are really heavy it not only impacts the stories in the show, it impacts Weather and Sports. And neither the weather folks nor the sports folks like it when you cut their time. And depending on the people and situation, they may let you know about it.
Having been on the Sports end of it, I don't like cutting their segments. Really, I don't. Though the on-air folks need to know it isn't personal.
Let me give you an example. In Atlanta, when I first started, Sports came after Weather...right after weather. If the weather guys went long, which they on occasion do, it meant condensing the Sports. When it started happening 3-4 times a week, we (me and my anchor) finally had to say something to the News Director (the boss) about it.
The compromise was putting a break between weather and sports. It didn't always mean Sports got all of their time, but it did most of the time.
It was a good feeling today to get back in the chair. It's funny, I was a video photographer for 20-years and only produced for roughly 9 or 10 of those years. I like producing, it's something I took to pretty well and it's something most everyone who knew how I worked figured I'd be decent at. I don't miss the shooting part, heck, I actually have feeling in my shoulder for the first time in the past 5-years. Yeah, it hurts once and awhile, but its mostly depending on the weather or how much I use it.
I do, at times, miss going out on stories and the adventure of being in the field. I always enjoyed that part. But I'm older now. I've done an awful lot. I've been all over the country covering stories and been to most of the biggest events in my generation's lives. I'll always have that, it can't be taken away and the people, places and things I've experienced, most people can only dream of.
And even though I've moved back into News, my heart is and will always be in Sports. It's what I know best and the looseness and spontaneity of it I always enjoyed. Sports people and the people they cover don't generally take themselves quite as seriously as News people do.
But...lift a glass. Enjoy your beer. Me, I've done something not everybody can do, I crossed the streams. I changed flight. If it wasn't official before, it is now, I've become an honest-to-goodness news guy.
It's a little weird, but then again, it's early David Bowie. But it is somewhat appropriate:
Today has been a strange day. No, the last few months in some ways have been really weird. It's almost like we are living in a different world then we used to.
So you might be asking: "What the hell are you talking about?" Well, sit down boys and girls...I'm about to answer that question and some of you...might not like what I'm about to say.
The subject of my ire is the rampant skepticism...about pretty much every thing that is going on in people's daily lives and in the world in general.
So the next question would be--"I still don't get your point?"
No, I'm guessing for some of you...you probably don't.
My point is, we (as in all of us) have gone from living our lives looking ahead and optimistic to being incredibly cynical and looking behind to blame and find the conspiracy in pretty much everything in our lives.
Huh?
The best example I can possibly give of what I'm talking about has happened in the past week or so. First, the president has to call a press conference to prove to a reality show host that he was born in the U.S.
Really?
The worst part is, a fairly large segment of the population believed the reality show host rather than the president. Despite the numerous documents revealed that said otherwise.
What part of that strikes you as weird?
I fully realize...and have had discussions with many people about the role of questioning things. It's what I do for a living. And they are right. Some things need to be questioned. But only to the point of rational thought. There are many, many things that we believe without questioning the people that say them. Judges, lawyers and in some cases...people on T.V.
But nobody believes them either. Everyone allegedly "Has an agenda". And what is worse, there are an awful lot of people who believe this. In my business (T.V), we've gone from being the "Trusted Voice" to being the one's "With an agenda". And the reason for that. Because politicians...with an agenda told their followers that. And the followers believe them. So now the media is branded as a group "With an agenda".
And it is so wrong and incorrect it isn't funny. But yet that is what people believe. Pollsters say only 30% or so of the public trust people on T.V. Why is that? Do they really think people doing the news are trying to deceive them? That we make stuff up? Can they offer tangible proof other than their own perception? No.
Where am I going with this?
What I'm getting at has really pissed me the hell off the past few days. It started with the whole Obama versus Donald Trump thing. What was the point? What made me angry is the ass-clown Trump made Obama have to call a press conference to prove Trump was wrong.
It's the whole "Birther" thing. And those "People" are in some cases rational grown up's who are supposed to be reasonably intelligent. To them this was the "Golden Egg" story. They were going to prove he's a "Sham" and "Stole the Presidency". People....shut the hell up...you sound like RACISTS! (Hmmmm....)
The other thing that is pissing me off is now that Osama bin Laden...or Obama bin Laden as some have called him...
It's a story full of twists and turns and ultimately will be the story of 2011. But yet it doesn't seem to be enough that the President, the past 2 presidents, congress, the military, the media, former military, foreign officials and others say Osama is dead. Now the charge is "We gotta see the body". Really.
The government buried the guy at sea. There was a reason for that. And there are pictures, with half the guys face blown off. And officials are contemplating whether or not to release them because they are apparently pretty graphic. And D.N.A tests. And eyewitnesses...quite a few of them.
But that's not enough.
No, I had a couple of friends tell me today "We're journalists, we need to see proof". And they are right...to a point. We take police at their word when they describe a crime scene. We weren't necessarily there to see what happened or conduct our own investigation for each crime we report. There has to be a certain level of credibility given to statements and descriptions that were made. We have no choice.
Maybe I'm just ranting about something stupid, but I don't think so. It gets me really pissed off to hear all the crazy accusations and assumptions that are made about things these days. I'm in no way, shape or form saying you should believe everything you hear, you shouldn't.
All I ask is please...PLEASE...think about things before you say something stupid about them. Even if it is just for a few seconds, before you start throwing out random accusations and just plain falsehoods and pass them off as the truth.
I want to believe that most people are capable of rational, logical thought. I don't have to agree with it. That doesn't bother me at all. I like that everyone's opinion can be different. All I want is for there to be a logical, reasonable argument that can be made for your point. And respect that someone else's perception or opinion may be different than yours.
