A life less ordinary

After a very long day visiting family, we came home and had a very long night trying to get our daughter to sleep. At 11:40 p.m., my husband threw up his hands and said that she was just going to stay up until she naturally wound down. So, as my eyes began blinking and I became one with our new sofa, I searched for some news on TV. Much to my surprise, I tuned into ABC and Charles Gibson was eulogizing Peter Jennings. Instantly, I was awake, calling for my husband to pay attention to the news broadcast. We wondered what happened, it was all a huge shock.

I never have time to watch the evening news these days. Usually I get my news at some point in the afternoon and/or online. So I wasn't aware that Jennings had announced he was battling lung cancer in April and since then has been absent from his post.

I can't say that I was a devotee of Peter Jennings, but he has been a fixture since my childhood. After the departure of both Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather and now this, it seems that I am in uncharted territory, in the hands of untested guides. But more than that, Peter Jenning's death is disturbing. He was the perpetually young one, the handsome guy, the one that wooed lady luck. I wasn't aware that he was sick and it seems unfathomable that death can descend so abrubtly. In a time when people seem largely shallow and news is increasingly about celebrity activity, it is sad to see the demise of someone who seemed to pursue more weighty matters. In short, I realize only now that I will miss his presence (and Tom's and Dan's), if not always his journalism.


Perhaps I am waxing sentimental because I don't deal well with death. It reminds me of my own family members that have died, some terribly young like my step-mom. I think about eulogies and the awkward eating afterwards. I think about how one day I'll be the one in the casket eating worms while a small group of people that care will line up in front of the lox platters.

For Peter Jennings, there will be millions of people eulogizing him over extra salty water at the company cooler. That, if nothing else, is a testament to his successful life.