A Forrest Gump Moment During Iran Contra in 1986

As a reporter, you never know how things are going to turn out when covering an event or story.

From time to time, you get a front row seat to history, or a small piece of it. That's what happened in 1986 when President Reagan tapped then Senator John Tower of Texas to be among those investigating the Iran Contra Affair through the Tower Commission.

This was the story of the day, at the time. And once he was named, journalists needed to gather reaction from Tower himself. That day, Tower was in Dallas and I was sent out with an AP photographer.  He gave a brief statement and I filed for radio and print. The way it worked out, that photographer got this shot of Tower, and I just happened to be in it.  The photo was on the front page of The New York Times, one of the Dallas papers and, I suspect, a number of others.  I'm the guy in the trench coat to the right. (click photo at the left to enlarge New York Times photo).

Tower himself would die in a plane crash in 1991.

As if to bring this full-circle, I hosted another then-member of the Tower Commission, former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft for a National Press Club Luncheon in 2011.  By that time, Iran Contra didn't come up, but we had a full discussion of issues involving Pakistan, Afghanistan and terrorism.  (Photo below courtesy of Noel St. John)

Here's a link to the video of the NPC Luncheon.

Talking Heads and Soundbites -- 26 Years and Still Going Strong

Years ago, in the midst of the punk and alternative rock eras, one had no idea that some of the lyrics splashing around would find resonance a generation or two later. 

"You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?"

So a few grey hairs later, I'm reminded of the song "Once In A Lifetime" by the Talking Heads, which referred to the notion that one could essentially wake up realizing that a lot of time had passed.
Such is the case as I reflect on the fact that it was 26 years ago that I reported for work for the first time at the AP Radio outpost in Dallas. I had packed all I owned into a two-seater Ford EXP with no air conditioning for the move from Buffalo. (Air conditioning wasn't a must in Buffalo, New York). I drove to stay with my mother for a few days in my hometown of Coffeyville, Kansas, before making the sharp turn south to the "Big D".

It was an exciting time. I truly appreciated the tremendous opportunity I was given, although sad to leave my friends behind in Buffalo, where I'd worked for the previous four years for WEBR and WBEN. In Dallas, I was anchoring for the Texas AP Radio Network and providing reports for the national network.  I would work with tremendously talented and kind colleagues led by the late Brad Krohn, as well as Amanda Barnett and Jim Ribble.  They helped me to embrace the technology and demanding work flow. Amanda and Jim are still in the industry doing great things in Atlanta.

Back then, we were using reel-to-reel tape, cart machines and a proprietary computer workstation to get our work done. That was as the digital transition was just beginning, before most people were using personal computers and cellular phones were heavy lunch bucket devices with no Internet connection.

A year later I would be moving to Washington, where I've continued to work for the AP, mostly focused on business and the economy.  Since then, I've been blessed in more ways than I could have ever expected, thanks to my wife Jeanne and son Christopher, other family members as well as my friends and colleagues.   Alongside radio and video, social media has been added to the media mix I  think about.  And users of media have sat down at the table to help decide what we'll be working on during any given day.

By the way, I didn't replace that small car with no air conditioning until immediately after my arrival in Washington.  That was a lot of driving to afternoon news conferences with the windows down around the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  

So, as I listen to the music of the day, admittedly less now than back in the Talking Heads era, I can't help but wonder what pithy lyric might find predictive resonance down the road.