Where my thoughts are flowing...

For ten minutes now a blank screen has stared me in the face, not a single single letter typed on a digital piece of paper.  My head is full of thoughts and my fingers swelled with the words aching to get out.  But all I can do is think of Alison Parker and Adam Ward.

Courtesy WDBJ-TV via AP

Parker, a television news reporter, and Ward, a television photojournalist, were conducting a live morning interview on August 26 for their station, WDBJ, when a disgruntled former co-worker walked up to them and their guest and opened fire.  Parker ran for her life as did her guest, while Ward appeared to fall to the ground.  While the guest survived, both Parker and Ward were shot and died a short time later.

Think about this for a moment.  It will be painful, but I need you to internalize this situation.

A news crew was murdered live on the air.

This blog has been dedicated to my weight loss journey, but for today, for this moment, I'm going to change its direction.

I don't often talk about my professional life in any form.  Not through my blog.  Not through social media and not publicly.  I'm not ashamed of it by any means.  I believe it to be a noble, honorable profession.

You see, I'm a television journalist.

Not like Parker or Ward.  No, I work behind the scenes as a producer.  Up until recently, I produced a morning news show five days a week.  Every day, I had a hand in sending multiple live crews to cover the news of the day; crime, the first day of school, a rocket launch, severe weather.  You name it.  I've produced a show about it.  And every single time, the safety of my friends figured heavily in those decisions.

But while you can plan and take precautions, life still happens.  That's reality.  As a matter of fact, life is our business.  Journalists cover stories to educate.  To inform.  And yes, believe it or not, to protect communities.  That meteorologist breaking into the broadcast of your favorite show doesn't do so to make you mad... it's to save your life.  You may not think so, but that's exactly why the decision is made to interrupt a normal broadcast.

Some of you out there despise journalists.  Believe you me, I've been on the receiving end of those comments plenty of times.  You believe we're out to sensationalize tragedy or underplay your child's football team winning a championship.  That there's this "if it bleeds, it leads mentality."  While I grant this the case for some, most of us really just want to tell human stories.  Your stories.

I've seen reporters and photographers cover terrible stories and be ever changed because of those stories in both positive and negative ways.  I've lost sleep and shed tears myself.  Some believe we are heartless and unsympathetic, but nothing can be farther from the truth.  We tell the stories we tell because of our hearts.

And today... our hearts are broken.

This business is small.  All of us jump from station to station making friends and extending our professional families.  Almost all of us have crossed paths with former co-workers at least once... whether we suddenly find ourselves working for the same station again or working for competitor stations in the same market.  My point is this:  while I never met Alison Parker or Adam Ward nor will I have the honor of doing so, they're family.

So where do we go from here?

We keep reporting the news.  We go live in the field and we tell the stories that need to be told.  Yes, we take extra precautions, but we move forward.  It's what we do... and we do it in their memory.

Until next time dear reader... Be Infinite.

Courtesy WDBJ-TV via AP

“PIPPIN: I didn't think it would end this way.

GANDALF: End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.

PIPPIN: What? Gandalf? See what?

GANDALF: White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.

PIPPIN: Well, that isn't so bad.

GANDALF: No. No, it isn't.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings