Why I Never Throw Stuff Out

“Is this yours,” she asked? “Maybe it’s Helaine’s?”

ann's-button.jpgAs is often the case I went to dinner with Ann, Noah and Ted tonight. With a tiny bit of snow on-the-ground I had Helaine’s SUV so I volunteered to drive. On the way back Ann found a button on the car seat.

“Is this yours,” she asked? “Maybe it’s Helaine’s?”

This is Geoff she’s asking, the guy who didn’t always remember his wedding anniversary (uhhhh… late November… around Thanksgiving) or his daughter’s eye color (some pastel, right?)

Ann took the button and placed it in the cup holder for safe keeping. I planned on bringing it into the house when I got home. A small opportunity to be a hero.

Not so fast. I was just commanded to go to the car to get the button. Ann discovered it was actually hers!

This is why I never throw stuff out.

I Enjoy Dinner

No topic is off limits at dinner. The language is definitely not broadcast appropriate.

4-at-dinner.jpgI”m not sure if I’ve ever written about this, but among the best parts of my day is my dinner break. I’m not talking about the eating. I’m talking about the company. On most nights I go to dinner with Ann, Ted and Noah. These are the people I appear with on the 6:00 PM news.

Each of us is married, but none of us gets to spend our evenings with our families. Sometimes I refer to Ann as my “night wife.” We are thrown together by circumstance and lucky we like one another.

Lucky is the right word. I’ve seen and heard about anchor teams who hate each other. I remember a story from my station in Buffalo where one anchor (a shrill and ill tempered woman serving in Buffalo unhappily) called the other a “no-talent just as the mikes were turned on! He had no chance to respond.

No topic is off limits at dinner. The language is definitely not broadcast appropriate.

We solve all problems at dinner. We solve the problems at work. We solve the problems that plague the world. We are invincible as long as we’re untested.

We worry about our futures–what we will do when TV is no longer there. We already see the rapid changes which have overtaken our business and gutted its revenue model. It’s more than the economy that’s soured for broadcasters.

We’ve got it good. Will it ever be this good again for us or anybody?

Having good dinner companions is a big deal. I understand how lucky I am.