Go get your high school yearbook.  Go ahead, we’ll wait.  Read what people wrote.  Share.  It’s okay…most of your classmates said, “Always remember me.”  What better way to do that.

Some of the messages in mine–

“To a good Christian?”  (Whatup with the question mark!)

“I’ll always remember you and the way you ski.”

“You still don’t know your verbs, do you?”

“Remember all the fun we had our freshman year?  Well, if you didn’t have fun, that’s tough-titty!”  (From singer and reality show star Aaron Carter’s mom!) 

“Believe it or not, we really miss you in French class.”  (From the teacher)

“I’ll never forget you and your constant laughing.”

“I don’t have too many problems.  I hope you don’t either.”

“Good luck and all that bunk.” 

Job Title: Assistant News Director, KTBS

Previously: Newspaper and wire service reporter 

Interests outside work: Cycling, yard work (In this business, you frequently don’t know if you’re doing any good. When you mow the lawn, you can at least see you’ve accomplished something.) 

Nickname: Scoop. I got it my first day on the job as the police reporter. Two Bossier City detectives gave it to me. It stuck. 

Book: Pride and Prejudice 

Food: Shrimp 

Professional saying: Holding public officials accountable is like cleaning the kitchen of roaches. “You can spray once and they’ll be gone for a while. But the roaches come back again, similar to the corrupt politicians. You’ve got to keep spraying.” — Sam Dash.  

Personal saying: “It is important to know how to make a living and how to make a life. You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.” 

Biggest challenge: The man who gave me the scoop that made my career messed up later. We had to do the story; I couldn’t — and wouldn’t — let him off the hook. It hurt, but we still talk. I’ve found that when it comes to the decent people in public life, you can rough them up — but if you’re accurate and balanced and it’s justified, they’ll still talk to you.  

Second biggest challenge: Not strangling the reporters who don’t have drive. 

Do you miss newspaper work: Sometimes. You can’t do it as long as I did and not miss seeing your byline on the top of the front page.  

Biggest concern: Libeling people and being wrong. The media have enormous power and the pressure to be first can lead to incredibly bad decisions. The runaway bride in Georgia ought to be a lesson to every one of us. I once wrote a story about two men who unjustifiably lost their jobs. I was a rookie and took an official at his word and didn’t track the men down to find out what happened. It still haunts me. The only good thing about it was they got their jobs back.

Bravo! 

Last night I attended the Louisiana Tech University presentation of Sweet Charity.  What an awesome performance by students with so much talent!  There was a full orchestra.  The support was amazing.  Here are some of the actors (in full makeup right after the show).       

(L to R) Casey Allen, Michaela Madison, Coka Collins and Chris Mott. 

Okay, so I’m biased because Casey Allen is my son.  I had so much fun watching him and the other actors perform! 

Thank you all for an amazing performance and for the opportunity to see some of our future stars in person!   

   

I had the honor of interviewing blues greats Hubert Sumlin (Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, etc) and Buddy Flett (The Bluebirds) for a story that’ll air Monday night at 10:00 on KTBS. 

Both men have been near death.  And I thank them for being so candid about what it’s taking to come back and how they’re using music as a vehicle and source of strength for that. 

Buddy has had to learn to talk all over again after suffering from a rare brain inflammation.  Take a quick listen here and see how far he’s come in learning the music he once owned. 

To help Buddy with his rehabilitation efforts, the Benefit for Buddy concert will be Sunday night at 7:00 at The Strand.  Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Sumlin and others will perform.  And Buddy’s planning on taking the stage. 

Thanks, guys, for the inspiration to go on in the darkest and tougest of times.   

Talley Talker “Turtle” sent me a little sister for Hazel and Jimmy.  Thanks, Turtle.  I named her Eileen, because…well…look at her.  She leans. 

Someone brought a 4-year-old girl into the newsroom.  I know, I know.  Anyway, the little girl went straight for Eileen.   What?  It’s not like I could snatch Eileen out of her cute little hands and say, “Do you know who this is!”  The child will already have to undergo years of counseling after being exposed to a news environment at such a young age. 

Of course, I could submit a description of the 4-year-old baby snatcher to police and we could put her tiny mugshot on the news.