Rummage

I guess it depends on where you grew up.  When I was a kid, we went to "rummage" sales (not garage sales or tag sales, as John calls them).  This entry will be a rummage--a jumble of topics I've been meaning to address over the past few days.  There won't be one central theme and...you might not find anything you like here. 

First...my folks.  They celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary on December 18.  The next day, my mom mis-judged some stair steps and fell forward, bumping her head, spraining her wrist but most unfortunately, breaking her hip.

Charlie and I drove to Sioux Falls  last Sunday morningwhere she had emergency surgery.  We were there when she was wheeled out of recovery and into her room.  Seeing her reach over the bed rail to grasp my dad's hand was sweet and priceless.  She will spend some time in the rehab wing at the Good Samaritan Center in Wagner and then be back on the farm.  My mom is tough!  She also is a good patient.  If she's told to do certain exercises, she'll do 'em.  I am confident she'll dance again with dad at the weddings of my nieces Emily and Cheray coming up in 2010.

Also of note.  Blizzard 2009.  On Wednesday, I reinstated previously preempted newscasts for Christmas Day.  At 3:25am Friday, Beth Benson, the sole producer on the two-hour show called to say that the director, anchor, second meteorologist and EP were stuck.  My best advice was to have someone pick them up.  At that point, I still thought I could get in but was not able to get our wimpy Expedition up the hill in our Olathe neighborhood. 

Imagine what a popular news director I am, after people who had had the day off, now had to work.  But me?  Not so much.  I felt terrible Christmas morning.

And finally, we are flying out to Reno tomorrow.  My husband is somewhat freaked out by the purported terror attempt in Detroit and the impact on our travel.  Our flight leaves from KCI at 4pm.  We will leave for the airport at 1pm.  Sunday night, a belated Christmas with Carly and her friend Denis followed by a week in the Biggest Little City.  I hope to reconnect with some friends, do some shopping, a little gambling and get my daughter's car running again.

I'm looking forward to 2010.  Happy New Year, y'all!

Another From the Wayback Machine

I'm not sure how I feel now about this grumpy blog post, originally written on December 23, 2003:

I have a question, Virginia. How does Santa belong on the news? Last week, one of the local stations set up their web reporter next to a man dressed as Santa and invited children to email their questions to the "jolly old elf."
I've seen teases on local TV newscasts in Memphis (all of them, mine included) that refer to postal workers, Fedex and UPS deliverers as "Santa's elves." And the two networks that WMC pays for news material are currently offering live shots from the North Pole and opportunities to "track Santa" via high tech radar from the Air Force.

I know, I know, don't fight the day.

Don't get me wrong, this didn't start out to be the blog of a Scroogy news director. I love Christmas! I love the shopping in crowded malls, I love the food, I love the parties, I love seeing the faces of my friends and family when they open a thoughtful gift. Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukah... are celebrations with religious or cultural roots, deserving of news coverage.

Our job is to provide timely and urgent information, investigative reports and tell our viewers what's happening now. It just seems wierd to me as I read and hear so much about the Orange Terror Alerts, with soldiers and civilians dying in Iraq, the flu, the economy, etc etc etc that a serious TV news department might confuse its customers.
A faux "Santa Tracker" via radar just seems sorta frivolous to me, right now.

OK, my bah humbug moment is over.

Happy Holidays y'all.

----------------
Back to 2009.  Isn't it amazing that the top issues of 2003 are still valid six years later?

Ten Years in Seven Minutes (Thanks Newsweek)

A Love Letter

December 17, 1955

Dear Paul Wiechmann and Pearl Yates,

Tomorrow, you will be married.  You are in your mid-twenties.  You are both probably nervous, wondering what the future will bring.  Is he the One?  Is she the One?  These questions are normal, for all young couples on the eve of such an important day.

Paul, you've been a mechanic in the Air Force.  You're stationed in Spokane, Washington, far away from your native South Dakota. 

Pearl, you've got a job in Spokane, a family nearby that you love and plenty of friends.  You both come from large families that love you.  Tomorrow you will embark on a journey that will span at least five decades.

It won't always be easy.  In fact, there will be many lean times.  You will return to South Dakota so Paul can work with his brother on the family farm.  Pearl will be homesick.  Paul will work hard, very hard.  Pearl, you will stay home with the kids for awhile but you will eventually "work outside the home" and you will become a comfort for many.

After a short stint of living in Wagner, South Dakota (population 1600) you will move to the farm six miles north and that's where you will stay.

There will be children.  Seven of them.  Six will come in a bunch.  In fact, two will be born in 1957.  Peggy and Pam.  Those two girls will be followed by another daughter, Paula and your first son, Pat.  By the end of 1964, two more daughters will be part of the clan, Penny and Piper.

The farm house is big but will always seem a bit crowded.

The children will grow throughout the 60's and mid-70s and just before the oldest is ready to leave home, you will be surprised (and the rest of your family amazed) by the birth of a seventh child, Perry.

Your children will resemble you (and each other) on the outside but they will be seven very different personalities, with strengths and weaknesses.  Sometimes they will frustrate you.  Many times, actually.  No family is perfect but your children will amaze you and you will love each of them, unconditionally.

Most of your children will go to college and all of them who graduate will do so from South Dakota State University.  Two of your daughters will marry SDSU alums, planting a fever for the Jackrabbits that is difficult to match in any family.

In the 80's grandchildren will be born.  One, then another, then another and another.  Some of your children will leave the family farm and even the state of South Dakota but four will remain relatively close nearby and the others will visit the home base as often as possible.

The reunions will be joyful gatherings, filled with laughter, telling stories and remembering.  In the 90's, you will begin remodeling the house, a project that will seem like it never ends.  That's the way it is with houses that were built in the early 1900s.

The turn of the century will bring graduations of the older grandchildren and then they, too will begin to marry.  Great-grandchildren will be born.

You will travel.  You will go on cruises and drive to the far corners of the United States including Alaska.

In 2005 you will celebrate FIFTY years of marriage with a wonderful party.  Your children will celebrate your love and commitment to each other.  Each of them will view the event with a pride and admiration.

In 2009, you will still be well and happy and strong.  You will still live in the house where Paul grew to be a man.  It's not the same house, but it is definitely a Home.

Your family, the one born 54 years ago on December 18, 1955, will remain solid.  This is just a little piece:

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!  I love you and want everyone to know!

/p

Spinning Plates

My friend Jill Geisler writes a column for Poynter that I never miss.  It always begins with "What Great Bosses Know..." and her latest advice included two hi-and-larious videos to illustrate how today's news managers often feel.  If you fancy yourself a manager and you aren't geting Jill's columns, sign up today!

I'm a Boomer and I've experienced that plate-spinning feeling many times but ever since the economy went south and NBC slipped to last place I feel more like a mole-wacker.  Thanks, Jay Leno.

It's not that I've crossed generations.  It just seems like managing a newsroom today is so much more reactive.  The plate-spinners had a little bit of a plan.  They knew which plates might need a little attention.  The moles are completely unpredictable and you never know when or where one will pop up.

In the past few weeks, I've accepted three resignations.  Only one resignation was not a surprise.  A weekend meteorologist, a morning anchor and a weekend morning anchor/MMJ.  The ones departed/departing are taking challenging jobs that will be better for their respective families and maybe improve the financial situation.  Money does talk.  In each case, I understand completely and support the decision made by my former co-workers.

I'm still relatively new to this job...going on my eighth month here in Kansas City.  I talked to a comrade last night who made some negative references to my frequent address/job changes over the past four years.  Fair enough.

Tomorrow I'll be back in the office, ready to whack or spin whatever comes my way.

My Favorite MMJ Story From Last Week

I'm not sure Al Miller loves the idea of one-man-band reporting but he did a great job on this story Thursday.

Al keeps inviting me to ride along with him on a shift.  I hope he means it because it's going to happen soon!

MMJ Serendipity and a Little From the Wayback Machine

Newsblues posted this today, so a tip of the hat to Mike James.  And a tip of the hat to Lori Jane Gliha.  I don't know her but I'm proud she is a Scripps co-worker.  Lori Jane sang this song at a station gathering recently:



Her song struck a chord.  I blogged about our new reality six years ago when I was a news director in another market:

==============================================
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Tonight something happened that got me thinking. Let me set the stage. Our service technician (consultant) has been in for the past three days. That's Always stressful even if you like the person (and I think I do). So tonight, I left work early (6:25pm) and was settled into my couch about thirty minutes later. I learned from another station's cut-in that a robbery and shooting had occured at a grocery store. MY grocery store. Less than two miles from my house.

I immediately started putting my shoes back on and told John he should drive me there. Good plan until I realized the camcorder was dead. No battery. Dead freaking camera. Somehow it got left on when we were shooting video of our fantastic holiday light display.

A big story happening in my neighborhood and No battery.

For a moment, I was apoplectic. Seriously irritated.

But then I remembered that I work with professionals and although they could not get to the scene as quickly as I could, they would get there and do a good job.  And they did. I watched the late news and save for an audio buzz in the lead live shot, our coverage was fine. More than fine. I'm proud of my team. (Thanks y'all)

But dammit, I really wanted to be involved...shoot some video. Twice in my tenure here, I've shot stories that made it onto the NBC regional feed.  I gotta tell ya, that's serious thrill.

Probably the photojournalists who work at Action News 5 have a "no-big-deal" attitude about shooting stories that are good enough to be sent via satellite to the rest of the world because they do it all the time but I haven't had a camera on my shoulder for a living since the 70's. Nixon was president, for godsakes!

Where I'm going here is that Forward Thinkers say that at some point, all local TV news employees will carry cameras and all will report stories.

I can't wait./pp
============================================
Here's the deal.  The Newsroom of the Future is HERE.  On NBC Action News Thursday evening, we presented our viewers with four stories that were shot, written, edited and presented by MMJ's.  It is the new way.  And we will do it every day.

Since that night in December, 2003, I've never been without a video camera (complete with fully charged battery).  These days I carry a Flip with me and I hope to upgrade to a Flip HD.

I intend to make the network feed again.  Hopefully soon.

Snow Day!

I don't agree with Ben-the-Producer but I understand his frustration.  Winter weather hype is not just a problem in Chicago.

However, vigilance is an expectation with today's television audience.

I grew up in South Dakota and learned early that snow can disrupt life.  If it blows around at 30-plus MPH when it's zero degrees, it can kill.  I respect snow.

I also spent one delightful winter in Syracuse.  Imagine living in a snow globe and God shakes it about every other day or so.  125-inches of snow per year.  My friends at WSTM would snort at the storm that's got us all so crazy right now.

What's the old song?  It's not the meat, it's the motion.  With snow, it's not how much falls, it's what happens after it does.  Will it melt?  Re-freeze, causing treacherous roads?  Blow around?  Do nothing?  We don't know so we have to plan for the worst case scenario.  The trick is not tranferring that plan to the newscast in a "sky is falling" presentation.  It's a delicate dance.

So as I watch the Ravens and Packers try to set a record for pass-interference calls, there's a little voice in my head telling me to go to bed because at 4:30am, the alarm will blare so I can get to work at 6am.

The challenge is to tell a weather story that hasn't been told a thousand times already.

We can do this.

Weeth Reekings Avorian Tar

I finally added the local constant-Christmas-music station to my car radio.  Mostly I listen to sports-talk and KC has a couple of great choices although I'm partial to The Border Patrol.  Steven St. John and Nate Bukaty make me laugh on my drive to work more often than not.

Friday morning I was flipping around and heard the word "Memphis" so I stopped flipping and listened.  Turns out, a "Memphis suburban mayor" posted a controversial comment on his Facebook wall, blaming President Obama's Tuesday speech about the troop surge for disrupting his family's annual Charlie Brown Christmas viewing.  Russell Wiseman is the mayor of Arlington, a community east of Memphis along I-40.

The city of Memphis is an oasis of Democrats surrounded by conservative Republicans so I'm no longer surprised by outrageous political stories and comments.  The conflict makes Memphis one of the greatest news markets in the country. 

But seriously?  President Obama planned his speech on purpose to preempt Charlie Brown?  Seriously.

When I was a little kid, my limited vocabulary made me the Queen of Misheard Lyrics.  I remember being so excited when (and I think it was during the summer between second and third grade) I found the Christmas-themed songs in the United Methodist Hymnal.  No more listening to the sermon, each Sunday I instead read and re-read the words to songs I'd heard all my short life, finally learning the truth about what was being sung.

King forever, seasoned leather...

So Russell Wiseman, ye with the name that is a holiday classic, it's time for you to admit you were wrong.  Our president is not a Muslim.  Facebook is a public forum.  You messed up.  Apologize and move on.

KCTV Makes a Change

Flitting around the KC blogosphere is a story that the somewhat-notorious Tracy Brogden-Miller (read the story I found via Google or watch the video from 2008) is out as ND at KCTV.



I can't help but be struck by the parallels to my death spiral in Memphis:

• She welcomed a new General Manager at the end of the summer.  Lee Meredith joined WMC in September 2006.
• KCTV had been contending for ratings but slipped by 20% in some news time periods in July.  WMC slipped to second place in the late news in February 2006.
• Despite strong lead-ins, KCTV slipped again in November.  WMC lost the late news race by 2/10 of a point in November 2006.
• After three months of working for the new GM, she's out.  I was sacked at the end of the November book in 2006.

I wish her the best.  Getting fired sucks.  Not cool.

Advice to the Famous Having Sex With Women Who Are Not Their Wife

RTDNA - Radio Television Digital News Association Communicator Chairman's Blog: A Memo to Tiger Woods

Truly a Class Act. Godspeed MB

I've worked with lots of anchors over the years in bigger markets than Baltimore and smaller ones too. Mary Beth is truly among the best ever.   Watch the video and you will see why she's so beloved.  Genuine, warm, engaged and just a little self-deprecating.  I really miss Mary Beth.

Mary Beth Marsden Says Goodbye - Baltimore News, Weather, Breaking News | WMAR-TV

Help Wanted...but Jeez, be Smart About Applying!

After more than three decades in the news business I am still AMAZED how how sloppy some wannabes are about job seeking.

Eric Maze is the Deuce at KSHB.  For the past few weeks, we've spent some hilarious moments watching resume reels (DVDs) and reading clever (and some, not so much) cover letters. 

History moment.  My first resume tape was on three-quarter...(sigh)

Right now, we've got five positions open:  Weekend Meteorologist, Weekend Anchor, Morning Anchor, Multi-media Journalist, Photographer.  Interested?  Apply online (click on "careers").

But before you do, a few words of advice.  All of our jobs require the ability to shoot, write and edit.  If you can't do those things, don't bother.  You have to understand and be competent with the difference between broadcast writing and online writing.  If you send a resume and cover letter, spell my damn name right.  (It's not Rick Ilar.  The former ND's last name is spelled Iler.  Seriously I opened one addressed that way today.  And it came from an agent!)

Here are some other tips that I penned for another blog, some time ago:

Cover letters: Note to cover-letter-senders. Write this down. Have somebody look over your letter before you send it so you don't make hideous mistakes like using "of" instead of "have." As in..."I was happy to of seen the posting for a postion at your station." Spellcheck won't catch that but a friend might. Also, don't start your letter with "I'm the next (fill in the blank) at (fill in the blank). If you want to get my attention and that's VERY HARD TO DO, tell me something about yourself that you know will mean something to me. You have to do some research to find out what that is...Be curious, not pushy and you can get the info you need.
Experience: If the posting says two years experience required and you HAVE NONE, go ahead and send me a tape. I look at every one (eventually) but first I read the cover letter and resume and if you don't have ANY experience, that does affect my attitude about you. If you have between one and two years, definitely send a tape. I'll look closer at it than those who don't have any time other than internships in a newsroom. If you have more than ten years under your belt, I'll look at your tape FIRST and wonder how I got so lucky. And...If you have more than ten years experience in two-year increments in triple digit markets....maybe you're in the wrong business.
Phone calls: Call me once if you want, I answer my own phone and maybe you'll get lucky. Be ready for me to be busy because many meetings take place in my office. If you catch me, I might talk to you. I'll tell you about the hours and what I'm looking for as far as live shot experience, etc. Most of the time, I counsel the recently-graduated to look at the smaller markets around Kansas City--Springfield, Columbia, St. Joseph, Topeka. If you don't catch me, leave a message. I check voice mail regularly and if I have something to say, I'll call you back. Most of the time I won't, because I don't have anything to say. You can call more than once but know that there's a thin line between tenacity and stalking. Be careful not to push, especially if you don't have the goods.

It's all about the reseach.  Look at our website, view some of the videos.  Do you like what you see?  Are we doing the kind of news you aspire to do?  How is our writing?  Are we creative?  If you're not impressed, we might not be the shop for you.  Life's too short folks.  Find the right gig and you'll be happy a long time!  Good luck on your search.

The Wayback Machine--November, 2004

Every once in awhile, I'm going to reach deep into the archives of my old blog and pull out a post from before.  This particular piece was written just before the November sweeps period ended in 2004.  There might be slight edits to protect the innocent...

"Sweeps Burnout."

A full week has passed since I last blogged.

And I am  t i r e d o u t.
Not so much that I can't function, mind you. I'm just feeling the "sweeps burnout." For instance, I watched an WREG "dramatization" super tonight that was so small (extreme lower right) that it got buried in the video. Usually I would laugh at the...attempt. Tonight I just smiled.

But you know what? This is how I always feel at the conclusion of Nielsen hell.
When will we/they ever learn? We should be in "ratings" all the time. Every day, every hour, every minute. Why should we save our best behavior for three or four months of the year. I was always a "what, in the book????!" manager when it came to requests for time off in February, May or November. July, I could handle. But I've been conditioned by sales and marketing and Nielsen to avoid allowing people to take time off during those three sacred months. And I'm really starting to wonder how wise that is. Why can't I expect people to jump high in January, April or October? And if they do, and if they need some time off in a "sweeps month"...why shouldn't I let them have it?
I'm just saying, is all.
Changing topics...let's all relax!  In the interest of amusement and relaxation, here's a joke recently sent to me:


INTERVIEW SKILLS, PLEASE. A reporter is dispatched to interview the chairwoman of the quilting society. A gentile lady, she greets him at her door with a warning: "My pit bulldog looks vicious but he's quite well behaved. But you mustn't say anything to the parrot!"


Agreeing to her terms, the reporter enters the grand dame's living room and commences the interview. And as she promised, the dog looks vicious but is calm, lying on the carpet and watching the reporter, his tongue lolling out between sharklike teeth.


But the parrot is a horror, screeching profanity and bloodcurdling curses at the top of his lungs with a voice that could curdle ice cubes. The reporter tries to persevere, but finally the bird gets to him and he mutters, "Oh, shut up, you!"


Whereupon the parrot, a wry grin on his beak, says, "Sic 'im, Spike!"
...
Another topic.Action News 5 has had a good run with the Mid-South Emmys. We've won enough over the past five years to make any GM or ND proud. Last night, the 2003 nominations came out and we didn't get many. I will admit to some initial disappointment but here are the facts: WMC is number one is this market. Has been for...years. We are UP in both rating and share in the key newscasts. We are VERYCLOSE to winning all news time periods, sign on to sign off. We don't do it with a sat truck or more crews on the street or fancy graphics or a fancy slogan. We do it in the trenches. We do it with journalism. We do it with our people. We do it with Mike Puccinelli, Carrie McClure, Ron Childers, Joe Birch, Donna Davis, Kym Clark, Dave Brown, Bill Lunn and Jarvis Greer on the front lines every day. Every single one of those people listed has at least three years in the market. Six of them have more than ten years. Four have more than fifteen years. Three have 25 years or more. That's what makes us what we are.
OK, so Carrie's on maternity leave but she'll be back. And until then, Renee Malone is doing a fine job of filling in.
My challenge to the other NDs....I'll put Janice Broach, Joyce Peterson, Anna Marie Hartman, Darrell Phillips or George Brown on our lead story any day. And we're ably backed up by other solid reporters and photographers, producers, editors and production folks who give 110-percent because they care about the product...
I'm thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to you...


/pp

The Road to Sedition (we're on it)

My pal Bonnie sent this to me today. 

If you consider yourself a journalist, please read it.  And ask yourself, when was the last time you practiced your craft?  When was the last time you were proud of what you produced?  When was the last time you aggressively pursued the truth?

We must put ourselves and our precious reputations at risk.

We must ask tough questions.

We must not be afraid.

We must expose.

We must.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dark humor but it always makes me laugh:

When I'm wrong.

This past week has had some great leadership lessons for those of us who made decisions every day.

Bill Belichick gambled and lost last Sundays's game against the Colts.  Les Miles (LSU) couldn't get his field goal team on the grass quickly enough Saturday and blew a chance to win against Ole Miss.  Notre Dame's Charlie Weis is probably facing the end after his team lost AT HOME in double overtime to Connecticut (who? what?!).  Mark Mangino, a man who had the Kansas Jayhawks at the Orange Bowl a couple of years ago will be fired as soon as those in charge can figure out an exit stategy.

All of these men have been at the top of their game.  And they've made incredibly bad decisions.  How they handle their mistakes is up to them.

How I handle mine has changed since I first became a news manager.

I've always been pretty decisive.  But I'm not always right.  In fact...if TV news was baseball and I was a batter, I'd be in the Hall of Fame for making correct decisions five out of ten times.  Nobody bats .500 forever.

There are no flawless bosses. Even the great ones have their quirks. But the best bosses I've had have also been self-deprecating sometimes.  Admitting faults.  Admitting wrong decisions.

Local news is not baseball.  Running a newsroom is much harder than baseball. 

I am demanding.  I have high standards and I don't like my team to make avoidable mistakes.  But we do.  Every newsroom does.

So when I make a mistake, I try to be very overt about it.  I say I screwed up.



I wish I'd learned this lesson earlier in my career.

System Restore

Last Sunday the NY Times did not appear on the front lawn.  That's the second time it's happened since we moved to Olathe, KS.  So, Sunday afternoon, I logged onto the customer service website (which will NOT be linked here) so that I could complain and get a credit for my loss.
Because John was making arrangements to fly to CT for his cousin's funeral, I probably paid less attention to the computer workings than I usually do.

I am not a neophyte.  I understand about viruses and I know better than to click on random links but Monday night, I had a virus message.  I ran my virus software (Trend Micro) and it told me there was a Trojan that couldn't be quarantined or cleaned.  Apparently I'm not the only one.  Was I a latent victim?

I tried to delete the offending file.  Nope.  So I shut the machine off and went to bed at midnight.

Tuesday night, I ran the virus scan again.  In Safe Mode.  It appeared to be deleting bad stuff but when I finally was prompted to restart, the virus message  YOU ARE INFECTED still appeared.  I shut the machine off and went to bed after the late news.

Wednesday night, I tried everything I could think of.  My virus scanning software no longer worked.  The freaking whatever-it-is virus had completely taken over (even CTRL_ALT_DEL) did not work.  (I was urged to contact my adminstrator.  I'm the administrator, dammit!)

Tonight, I came home with a determination to wipe the damn thing clean and start over.  I created the eight System Restore discs back in the fall of 2004.  John's dad had just died.  John was still in Connecticut, caring for his family.  We lived in Germantown, TN.  Carly was in college, Charlie in high school.  Dottie still ran around, crazy, when we put dog food in her bowl.  I worked at one of the most dominate NBC affiliates in the country.

Five years later, as I put the discs into the CD drive, I thought back.  Rewind.  Fast forward.  The death of Clyde.  The death of Bernice.  The death of my job at WMC in Memphis.  Move to Syracuse.  Move to Baltimore.  Move to Kansas City.  Friends lost, friends found.  Eight discs took just over 53 minutes to load and copy. 

Good times. 

I'm in a good place now. 

Can't wait to see what the future holds!

Eddie Vizzo

We have a routine on Saturdays during the football season. No matter where we live, John finds a casino that has a free NFL football contest. Reno, Memphis and Syracuse were not a problem -- casinos were readily available. Other places, not so much but we managed.  The rules are simple. You pick who you think will win the game, slide a "players card" through a slot and then leave.

Yeah right.

While we don't gamble as freely as we did five years ago, we still like to give money away, for some reason. Probably because both of us have tasted small victories. A hundred here, a couple of hundred there...sometimes more. When Carly and I went to Reno to scatter Clyde's ashes, I won $800! (Thanks Clyde)

But now we always stick to our budget of losing. Once fifty bucks is gone so are we.

Saturday was no different. We went out for breakfast and then took the dog for a walk.

Dottie is now a very old doggie.  (We got her as a pup in Tulsa in 1994.)  She doesn't enjoy life as much as she once did.  But she does like these walks (we think) and we also believe that the mile or so does her good. 

When we get home, she's exhausted.  She can't climb the three steps up to the front door so either John or I carry her up and then she sleeps for most of the rest of the day.

Saturday started pretty much the same way it always does.  Breakfast, dog walk, grocery shopping, casino.

John's cellphone rang just as we were entering the Harrah's parking gargage.  It was his brother Billy.  Bill is forty-seven years old but we always refer to him in the diminutive.  He's the youngest of two.

"I have bad news," he told John.  I was watching John's face and I saw it screw up in sadness and confusion immediately.  I knew somebody died.

John's parents are both gone.  We miss them all the time.  He has two aunts, one of which is in her eighties.

He turned to me and I waited for the bad news.

"Eddie Vizzo died."

Edward Vizzo was John's cousin's husband.  It might seem like a distant leaf on the family tree but in John's small group, it's a big loss.  Ed and his wife Rainy had two children.  Jessica and Jennifer are only a few years older than our two.  When Rainy's mom and dad got too old to care for themselves and Connie, their developmentally challenged daughter (who is older than John), he built a home where all could stay.  He was a big hunk of the glue that held them altogether and we always said he was "a good guy."  He'd give you his last nickel, if he thought you needed it.  He was always kind and welcoming to me when John and I were first married.  And then, when Carly and Charlie were youngsters, he looked for ways to entertain and include them.

Google him and you'll find...not much. Edward Vizzo Electric didn't have a rating with the Better Business Bureau.  That's not surprising to me.  Ed Vizzo was a journeyman electrician who did business with people who appreciated his one-on-one approach.  He had plenty of loyal customers and others waiting in line.  In fact, he died while working for a client.  Felled by a heart attack in the kitchen.  That person called 9-1-1 right away and administered CPR but he was gone.

I don't know his medical history but he had a stress test recently.  His doctor told him that a surgery might be necessary in a couple of weeks, another stent perhaps.

If I were a young, thin, non-smoker who never drank alcohol, I might move on without much thought beyond the grief I feel for Elaine, Rainy, Jennifer and Jessica.

But that's not the case.

And so I'm studying this.

Thank you Eddie Vizzo.

Taking flight

Tuesday evening we got a news release from the Lafayette County Sheriff.  Five men, a father and his four sons had been arrested for "sex crimes."  We learned some of the horrifying details from the charging documents Wednesday.  Among the allegations:

• a victim was forced to have intercourse with her grandfather
• that she was forcibly sodomized
• a dog was part of at least one of the abuse incidents
• the victim and her siblings were forced to participate in mock weddings after which they were abused by their uncles

The victims are now adults.  Some of the accused men were "lay preachers" at a church in Independence, MO.  A church spokeswoman says they are no longer part of "the priesthood."

Police spent the day digging for clues. The victim says she and her siblings buried glass jars with notes detailing the abuse at the suggestion of their abusers.

The cops also think there may be a body or bodies buried on the farm formerly owned by the patriarch, Burrell Mohler.

This is the type of story that is fraught with pitfalls for any news department and we've already stumbled a few times. We have to be so careful!

There is a court hearing scheduled for Thursday.  I'm sure we'll be covering this story for many years.