Coat Un-Coat

Everyone is talking about him. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He evokes such strong emotions in everyone. I was talking to someone the other day about the introduction given for him by Columbia University President Lee Bollinger. I thought his comments were cowardly and rude. If you don't want the guy talking to your staff and students don't invite him! If you invite him because you believe in Freedom of Speech say so! I could see Bollinger saying, "I don't agree with him, but I agree with our priciples of freedom of speech and so we've given him this forum where we will listen, but we will also ask pointed questions."

Instead Bollinger wanted it both ways. He wanted to appease the critics who were calling for contributors to close their wallets for the University. So we get comments like these in his introduction, "You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated!" If he's astonishingly uneducated why is he addressing such scholarly types like the folks at Columbia? If he is astonishingly uneducated what does that make Bollinger since he invited him? Give me a break! It seems like he's another coward running a prestigious University. His actions really irritated me because I recently finished reading, "It's Not About the Truth" which rips Duke University President Richard Brodhead. Brodhead comes off as a total whimp who puts his finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. So what are the college students learning from these guys? I think it's pretty simple. Don't be a person of principle, bow to pressure, straddle the fence as much as possible. If the choice is to do the right thing or the expedient thing, always chose the path of least resistance. Those are pretty valuable traits for students heading out into the real world. Instead of important ideals, they'll become ideal candidates to run the next Enron.

But maybe I should get to the point of the headline now. What on earth is Coat-Un-Coat?I'm probably the only person on the planet who can make this claim. I was driving in to work the other day and I listened to his Columbia University speech for a half hour on CSPAN radio beginning at 3:30 am. I know, I know, I need to get a life. I was reminded of this because of a script I had to read this morning in the 6am hour. This is how it read:

"Ending his controversial visit to the United States, Iran's president says the nuclear issue over his country is--quote--closed."

That brings me to my biggest beef about Ahmadinjejad the guy can't speak for himself. Every few seconds he's either quoting someone or something. And that's why the headline reads "Coat Un-Coat." I don't know who hires the interpreter when a foreign head of state comes to our country. Is it someone from the State Department? Or does the big guy from Iran bring his own person? Whoever it was she had an uncanny ability say "Coat-Un-Coat!" At first it was funny, but then after he quoted a litany of scripture readings I was ready to rip my hair out. Coat-Un-Coat, Coat-Un-Coat, Coat-Un-Coat....UGGH!!! Of course the one thing he said that elicited the biggest laugh came from his own mouth when he said that there are no Homosexuals in Iran. I guess you can safely say they are tucked away in the closet with all those Coats-Un-Coats!

Lovin Lucy

Lucy and Dezi. Mention the two names and everyone knows who you are talking about. Talk about a pop culture touchstone! Recently our station ran a special called Moms Love Lucy. People tuned in. So when do you think I Love Lucy actually hit the air? I was just reading the pilot for CBS was done in 1951. Can you think of any programs on the air now that will still be in our conscience close to 55 years from now?

So this weekend I was at Three Fox Vineyards for the Lucy Stomp. http://www.threefoxvineyards.com/

They had several teams competing in the grape stomp. The winners walked away with some great wine. I'm pictured here with the honors John and Holli Todhunter, along with two of the contestants Frank and Karen Rutkoski. Karen and Frank are on the inside. John and Holli are on the outside.

I got the opportunity to do play by play as the contestants did their stomping. It was a lot of fun and brought back lots of memories of my early day in broadcasting. I used to do play by play and color for sporting events early on in my career. It helped prep me for this grape battle. In addition to the stomp they also had a costume contest, and you are looking at the winners who dressed up as Lucy and Ethel.

Skins Troubles

The skins have problems. It's pretty obvious. You know this team has problems not based on what happens on offense, or defense for that matter. Folks I'm here to tell you the problem with the skins is seen right in the stands.

Kate and I went to the game yesterday. We took along our good friend attorney Wayne Gray. Wayne didn't sit with us, he was in one of the luxury boxes. So for Wayne it was part football, part work. I think Wayne was the only Redskins fan at the stadium who would leave feeling good. Not because of the outcome of the game, but the outcome of his conversations in the luxury suite.

Wayne is pictured at the right. Doesn't he look earnest? He got down to business at the game, but the same could not be said for the team. They looked solid in the first half, but collapsed in the second half. Which gets me to the fans. They were there in large numbers. In fact it was the biggest crowd ever at Fed Ex Field. More than 90 thousand people crammed into their seats. But as the Giants scored to go ahead in this one I looked up to see just over five minutes left on the clock. I also looked around and saw a mass exodus!

People were streaming out of the stadium. We aren't talking about a two minute drill, we're talking about 5 minutes! If Favre, Elway, Montana, or Brady were trotting on the field with five minutes left do you think people would be heading for the exits? No quite the contrary, fans would be strapping on their seat belts waiting for a wild, breathtaking ride.

So am I saying that Jason Campbell isn't any good? No not at all. What I am saying is the Skins seem to have the same problems year in and year out. The costly fumble, defenders being beaten in an embarrassing fashion, and a failure to execute when it matters most. Sound familiar? It's the skins with Jeff George at quarterback, or Brad Johnson, Tony Banks, Shane Matthews, Patrick Ramsey, and Mark Brunnell. The Skins have become a graveyard for quarterback careers. So what's the problem? I have no idea, but I can tell you this the Redskins haven't arrived! We'll know when they have when the fans believe in them. That will happen when they stay in their seats at the end of a close game against a division rival.

A LINK I CAN LIVE WITHOUT

I'm still shell shocked from an event that happened earlier this week. In today's blog you are going to get the inside skinny on the behind the scenes stuff. It was Mano e Mano, Mike Walter vs. George Carlin's 7 dirty words earlier this week. You know George came up with the famous comedy skit about the 7 dirty words you can't utter on TV. Actually I'm pretty sure you can't show them either. So you can imagine my terror when I came within seconds of getting one of those famous little words on the air.

We have a segment in our five o'clock show called links you can't live without. Our producer Jessica Glasser is always nice enough to send us the links a week in advance so that we can take a look at them before they end up on the air. The site on Monday was about those pesky passive aggressive notes left in the office. You know the type, "Your mom doesn't work here, so clean up your own desk, no one else will." It seemed innocuous enough.

So Monday I hobble over to the web center on my busted up ankle. I look at the website that has been called up. I stare at the memo that is prominently displayed and just minutes from going on the air. This passive aggressive note reads, "Your @#$$ cell phone makes lots of noise, so when you aren't at your desk turn the @##$#@$ thing off!" I do a double take and then quickly as I can I scroll down to the next note pictured on the website just as the camera is coming to me. I dodged a bullet. Later during the broadcast I pointed out to my good friend Jay Mishkin (or at least he used to be until he tried to destroy my career) that he had come very close to single handily destroying me. He pointed out rightly I might add that he almost single handily destroyed his own career. We had an issue with another Link a day or so later. I was complaining about it when Jay smiled and said, "Well it's not as good as Monday's, that's my favorite link ever, it was great!" I had to smile!

Scamper and Stomp

Sitting on the set yesterday during our 9 am news I listened as Andrea provided the highlights of the Redskins key win over the Eagles. I was struck by the word scamper. She mentioned that Clinton Portis scampered into the end zone. I had heard her say scamper at least twice yesterday. I said earlier in the morning that he had run off tackle, bounced of tacklers and dove into the end zone. Don't you love sports!! You can scamper, bounce, and dive. When was the last time you heard anyone use those words in a news story?
I remember years ago when I was a sports reporter at a radio station I used scamper so much that it actually became a part of my vocabulary. I was on a date and somehow dropped scamper into the conversation. The woman I was with doubled over in uncontrolable laughter. She asked if I was talking about a squirrel. Apparently the only time she had ever heard the word scamper was in a child story that was something like "Stacey the scampering squirrel." Apparently she didn't have much interest in sports.

Which brings me to the most important sports question of all time. How do we know that Clinton Portis was scampering into the end zone? Perhaps he scurried into the end zone, or scooted into the end zone. Let's face it, if you are running on a football field, you must either

A.) Scamper

B) Scurry

C) Scoot

You can not run. Try using all three words in a conversation today, who knows the person you are talking to may just erupt in laughter.

Now on to the other S word....STOMP. As many of you know I am a card carrying, or is it trophy carrying Stomp champion. To the left you will see me in the corner of this image as I stomp the competition in the celebrity grape stomping competition earlier this summer. Saturday I will either scurry, scamper, or scoot on down to Delaplane Virginia for another grape stomping. I would encourage you to come as well. Instead of my feet mashing down on grapes, I will have a microphone in hand. I will do play by play as regular folks try their hands at grape stomping. Come out enjoy the nice weather, and some great wine, and wear your best Lucy or Desi costume too. The fun begins at 2:30pm. Make sure you stop by and say hello. I love meeting blog readers!! Here is the link to Three Fox vineyards where the event is taking place. http://www.threefoxvineyards.com/events.htm

Being Blog Worthy

I get e-mails on occasion. They read something like this, "I read your blog today and really enjoyed it." Got one just like that yesterday. Okay I admit it, it was from my sister Kathy. I love you Kathy! Which got me wondering am I really blog worthy if the only people I know who read this are members of my family and the Assistant News Director Catherine Snyder. And no knock against the boss or anything, but she's paid to look at this stuff.



So who is blog worthy? I'm here to nominate my friend Steve Revare. Let's just say Steve was speeding along on the information super highway while I was still on training wheels. He has his own website, with a blog, and he's just wrapped up writing his first book. I had the pleasure of working with Steve at one tv station, and his wife Polly pictured with him here at another.

I heard from him the other day because he's looking for a literary agent. So family members and Catherine if you know of a literary agent please get a hold of Steve.

So why am I writing about Steve. Because he has so many insights on life and our business. So I'm lifting part of a recent blog by Steve and reprinting it here without his permission. I mean with his permission. Here is what he recently wrote:

According to a new study, 86% of Americans are satisfied with their jobs. In fact the average job satisfaction rate has not dropped below 82% since the study started in 1972. So how does a story's headline to an article describing the study read? "American Workforce Surprisingly Satisfied."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070831/sc_livescience/
americanworkforcesurprisinglysatisfied
Nothing about the results are actually that surprising. Perhaps it's the headline-writer who isn't satisfied. No wonder. Think about how thankless the job must be? You do your work right and no one notices. Do they give out a Pulitzer for excellence in headline crafting? I think not.And when you do it wrong, everyone notices. Here's an example: "Clinton, Edwards butt heads." http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/NEWS/708280409
I'll bet the world's headline-writers fall in the 4% who are extremely dissatisfied with their jobs.

Steve's blog got me thinking. I worked for three years at USA TODAY. During that time frame I met a lot of employees. Photographers, reporters, editors, but I can't remember ever meeting one headline writer. I wonder where they keep them. Before my time at the paper I worked at WFLA in Tampa. We were housed in the same building with the folks from the Tampa Tribune. So I met all sorts of print people during my time there. But you guessed it I never met a headline writer.

You've heard of Alcoholics Anonymous, I suppose there isn't a need for a Headline writers anonymous group. Let's face it they are already anonymous. If you would like to read more of Steve's musings take a look at.
http://revare.blogspot.com/

WILD WEEK

I had to paste this picture here. Why? Because this is one of those weeks that will drive you to drink. And even though it's Friday it isn't over yet. We're in the city tonight for the opening of a brand new restaurant. A close friend has invited us and so we're going. Tomorrow night we are at the Wolf Trap Gala. Sunday I plan to collapse. I knew I was in for a wild week when the week began with a late dinner with old friend Ted Alemayhu. He's the head of U.S. Doctors for Africa. http://www.usdfa.org/index.cfm?views=home

Ted's concept is great. Africa is suffering from a brain drain. So many gifted doctors head to other countries rather than stay on the Continent. Many study abroad to pick up their skills and never leave. One of those places is the United States. So Ted thought why not send some doctors from here to there?

Ted is from Ethiopia. He's the founder and CEO of U.S. Docs. He was here in Washington for some meetings at the White House and a host of other things. We spoke on the phone and he said, "How about an early dinner?" With my schedule those are magical words. I couldn't have been happier, until he utters his next sentence. "How does 7:30 sound?" It's so funny how each person has a different definition of early.

So we meet at Etete Restaurant on U street. It is a great Ethiopian restaurant. The food is terrific and so is the conversation. Ted wants us to come to New York next month for their East Coast gala. Last year I had the honor of emceeing the event here on the east coast at the World Bank. This year Russell Simmons will be there, along with Earth Wind & Fire performing. http://www.usdfa.org/gala2007/ We already missed the gala in Los Angeles. It was huge! About as huge as one of the guests. Yes that's Dikembe Mutombo with Ted. He may tower over my friend, but I'm willing to bet he can't match him when it comes to energy. I'm still trying to work on Kate to see if we can go up for the event. It's guaranteed to be a lot of fun. But as crazy as our schedules are, we might have to miss it.

The next day was a solemn one as Americans reflected on what happened on our soil 6 years ago. It was the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th,2001. Wednesday I ended up in Baltimore. I was up to see my friend Rory Markas. I never would have dreamed I'd be on the Angels pre game show. It was a blast. Just imagine you are a kid growing up in Southern California listening to Dick Enberg call the Angels games. Then one day you are on the broadcast. Pretty wild stuff! So yesterday I took a breather. Then today to close out the week I spent a little time with the President of the United States on our 9 am show. Can it get any better than this? Okay we really aren't that close that he would just drop by the station to appear on the air with me. It's the President that will be on display at Madame Tussauds. The new museum opens early next month. http://www.madametussaudsdc.com/

Have a great weekend!

An Angelic Day

I'm sitting in the lobby. There is an imposing figure sitting opposite me. We both have something in common. We are armed with cell phones. He's already on his. I punch the redial button.

"I'm in the lobby!"

The voice on the other end is just as brief.

"I'll be right down."

He was. Rory comes into view and spots the guy sitting opposite me. He smiles and says hello. The Hulk like figure says hello back. I'm almost certain I know him. I had seen him in the lobby of a New York hotel a year ago. I ask Rory just to be sure.

"Who is that guy?"

"It's Vlad."

Vladimir Guerrero is having a huge year again. If only he had stayed with the Nats. Rory is Rory Markas the voice of the Angels. He's also a long time friend. We've know each other since our first day of college. That's a long friendship. Whenever the Angels come to Baltimore we get together. It might be breakfast or lunch. Sometimes Kate and I will head up to Baltimore to take in a game and then go out for drinks with Rory after.

This year it's lunch. So I arrive around noon. We walk over to the Inner Harbor. The food isn't important, the conversation, and the reminiscing is important. I plan to be here for an hour, but after about three hours of visiting it's apparent that I'll be heading home in time to hit the evening commute in both Baltimore and Washington D.C..

All of a sudden out of the blue Rory says:

"Hey why don't you do the pre-game show. I do a ten minute interview before the game, how about if I do it with you?"

I can't see why he would want to interview me for a pre-game show. But he has an answer for my puzzlement.

"We'll talk about the Nats, whether or not they've pulled fans from the Orioles. I also want to talk to you about 9-11 since it's the day after."

So I agree. The next thing out of Rory's mouth is this.

"You better call Patty."

Patty is my sister. So I call her with the details. I also call my sister Janet. I figure if I let them know, they'll let everyone else know. On the ride home from Baltimore my sister Janet calls.

"I got in the car, drove over to Mom's, and made her come out to the car to listen."

My mother is in her 90's, so that's no small fete. It means going to her apartment and getting her up and behind her walker. So it took a little bit of effort. Janet is sky high, then she puts my mom on the phone too. She's just as excited.

"I don't get to see you, or hear you. This was great"

So my long time friend had done a couple of things. He got a ten minute interview. He enlightened the people of Southern California about how 9-11 affected our collective psyche here on the east coast. But most of all he gave my mom reason to smile. That's the best gift of all. He truly is a great friend.

The Anniversary

It seems almost obscene to me that we, and I mean we as journalists, are talking about whether or not Brittany Spears is fat on this day. Does it dishonor the people who lost their lives on this day six years ago? Or is it a good sign that America has moved on from the events of that horrific day? I can only answer for myself. It seems beyond belief that we are talking about Brittany's weight on a day like today.

Last year at this time it was on the front page of every newspaper. After all it was the five year anniversary of the tragic events of that day. Today you had to dig to find 9-11 coverage in the papers. On the front page is the 9-11 story of this day. General Petraeus is plastered everywhere.

But I keep thinking back to this day six years ago. I was comforted to know I'm not alone. I was struck by a new Zogby poll that shows four out of five Americans say September 11th, 2001 is the "most significant historical event of our lives." Clearly that's the case for me.

I've recounted the events of that day so many times. I was stuck in traffic and witnessed the American Airlines jet slamming into the Pentagon. I feel like my life is broken into two parts. The life I lived before the attacks. The life that came after. I will never forget the suffocating depression that seemed to hang over me on that day, and the days that followed.

Now I can look and see how 9-11 sent my life on a path I never would have predicted. It's no small irony that a week before the anniversary I was informed that I will become a board member of the Dart Society starting in November. I am committed to their mission. They believe in helping journalists confronted with trauma, as well as victims of trauma. They have definitely helped me.

I guess in many ways my life is richer because of the events of six years ago. I think it's because I have met like minded journalists I never would have known had the attacks never occurred. Because of the Dart Society I was able to spend time in New Orleans listening to journalists who witnessed a wounded community and felt helpless. I told them I knew how they felt, and I did. I listened as they expressed themselves about what it's like to talk to your children after a horrific event when you know you don't have any answers and you seem powerless to comfort them. I told them I knew how they felt, and I did. That's powerful life changing stuff.

Of course if you boil September 11th, 2001 down to one emotion, it's about hate. So I guess it's not surpising that for years I've received my fair share of hate mail, and hateful phone calls. Here is an example of an e-mail I got just a month ago.

Mike,I have just seen a clip of you defending your account of
seeing the
AmericanAirlines plane crash in the Pentagon and the
amazing
'accordian-like'collapsing of the wings, You forgot to mention a
few
other
amazing things that were evident at that moment - 1. The
widows next to
the crash
hole where the wings would have contacted the
wall were not broken.
2. The
two 9-ton titanium engines where nowhere to
be seen, 3. The lawn that
the
plane slid along was pristine (tennis
anyone?), 4. The 3B's (baggage,
bodies
and blood) weren't anywhere to be
seen. I guess you were so
traumatized
at witnessing such a horrific
event that you forgot about all
these
other unbelievable happenings.The
truth will come out and those who
participated
in the greatest hoax in
the history of the planet will be
punished. You are a sad
excuse for a
human being. Regards, Tom

I have gone to great lengths not to change a thing about Tom's e-mail. That's in stark contrast to the people who have selectively edited my words from that day six years ago to support their claims. All of the e-mails carry the same tone.

The hate mail is just part of it. There is also a lot of venom directed at me on the Internet. All of it comes from people who don't want to believe that a jet hit the Pentagon. The internet used to produce phone calls when I was at USA TODAY. I used to talk to the people on the phone, and respond to every e-mail. Over time I realized that it didn't matter much what I said. Their minds are made up. If I remember correctly I answered the e-mail from Tom this way.

Thanks for your kind note. Thanks also for having such an open mind.

Warmest regards,

Mike Walter

Troy Hanford (pictured at the left) is a friend of mine who has met some of the conspiracy theorists. He believes that the reason they cling to the conspiracy theory is that the truth is just too tough to take. So they come up with an elaborate conspiracy theory and they make it their mission to expose it, and bring the perpetrators to justice.. By doing so they gain control. I don't know if that's accurate. But I do know the truth of that day is incredibly painful.

It was a day that started like so many others. Too many good people went through their usual routines. They took their showers, ate breakfast, jumped on the road to the office, and settled in at work with a cup of coffee. Then in the blink of an eye their lives were over.

I learned the most powerful lesson of that day when I got home after what had to be the longest day of my life. My daughter who was in junior high school at the time greeted me at the door. She threw her arms around me and hugged me as if there was no tomorrow. It went on and on. I think she knew what I knew. Too many children in our country would never get the chance to do what she was doing. My eyes moistened as did hers, we didn't say a word, we didn't need to. So that's how I plan to honor those people that didn't get a chance to come home six years ago today. I plan to hug the people I love today, I think if your smart you'll do the same.

THE CULT OF MOTIVATION

I entered the Verizon center to see a lot of glassy eyed people with notepads. Folks who had spent hours scribbling notes, and hanging on every word as an endless parade of motivational speakers made their way to the stage. Of course I missed a lot of the motivation. I had a choice to be motivated, or take a nap. I took a nap. Before you laugh just think about my predicament. How bad would it look to see a guy sound asleep during a motivational speech?


Thankfully my wife gave me the condensed version. As I watched thousands of people getting worked into a motivated frenzy I couldn't help but think that the truly motivated were busy working while all of these people were sitting in the audience. I understand that we all need to have our batteries recharged so this is probably a good thing. But pardon my cynicism but what can you really learn during hours and hours of these motivational speeches? The answer is simple. There is no silver bullet. I'm certain a lot of the people in these seats want some simple magic tool to success.

Everything I heard is stuff I already knew. Guess what? You have to work harder than the other guy. You have to dig deep. You have to be driven, blah, blah, blah! The thing that bothered me was this cult like feeling about it. The rah, rah, rah aspect. The pyrotechnics when Sugar Ray Leonard bolts on stage. The red, white and blue confetti that came pouring down when former Secretary of State Colin Powell hit the stage.

Powell's speech was great. But was it about motivation? No way! I got the sense it was the same speech he gives all the time. It dealt with his time as Secretary of State, his time as head of the Joint Chiefs. He talked about foreign policy and encounters with such leaders as Mikhail Gorbachev. But he never once mentioned the word motivation. How did Powell get to where he is? What motivated him? What did he learn along the way? I don't know, he didn't tell us.

I left having enjoyed my time. I felt enlightened, and perhaps inspired and motivated. But I really didn't see this event having any real meaningful effect on my life. That is until my daughter called. She was upset, I tried to comfort her without much success. Then I handed the phone to my wife. Kate had spent hours listening to all these motivators. What I witnessed was truly extraordinary. She managed to calm Courtney and motivate her. So there you have it after all my belly aching I guess you can say I'm ready to join the cult of motivation.

Updates

Today's blog is all about updates. Yesterday I wistfully talked about that last first. Trevor my son's first day of school. It would also be his last as he begins his senior year of high school. I talked about the prospect of being an empty nester. I also wrote about birth order and the story that I did on Trevor's first day of school so many years ago. I did a comparison on Trevor and another youngster Spencer Kietzman. Spencer was a first born in his family, Trevor is the baby of our household. Spencer is the son of an old pal Kevin Kietzman. The reason I brought that up was there was a story in USA TODAY which shows that first Born's are more likely to grow up to be CEO's. So I suggested Trevor rekindle his relationship with Spencer since he would once day be a big boss. Well Kevin read my blog and weighed in from Kansas City.

Here is Kevin's e-mail.

Mike: I completely forgot about that story. Spencer is the LEAST likely of my three to become a CEO. Check that, he might be his own CEO but he won't make any money. I'm thinking he could start his own business selling logo pens or something. Right now he can't stay employed making sandwiches!

We'll try to get him in the easiest, cheapest school we can find. K-State! If he starts next year, I figure he'll graduate in 2014. Things are well here. The Chiefs are mediocre at best. Going to be a loooooong year. Go Redskins!

By the way for those of you checking in to find out about Trevor's first day at school, I'm happy to give you this detailed report. Here is the scene setter, the site is the dinner table as Kate asks about his day.

Kate: How was your first day of school?

Trevor: I don't know!

Kate: Do you have some good teachers?

Trevor: I don't know!

Kate: Do you have any friends in any of your classes?

Trevor: I don't know!

Kate: Is Reid in any of your classes?

Trevor: No!

So now you know as much about Trevor's first day of school as we do. I'm sure we'll continue to get detailed accounts like this as the school year progresses. Oh the joys of having a 17 year old son.

In a recent blog entry I talked about art and my brother. In

this recent blog entry about my brother elicited an e-mail from him. I mentioned recently that he will be forever remembered for a project he worked on in Venice California that features this piece of art on the right side of the screen here.

Well I got an e-mail from Larry yesterday it reads:

Hey Mike,

Here is the Alexan Universal building…this one does not have a clown attached to it.

Larry Walter
Project Superintendent
Trammell Crow Residential

Alexan Universal Project

So here are the pictures in case you run into Larry. I don't know about you but it's an incredible project. Congrats to my brother. Talk to you again tomorrow!

A last first

This is it! Last night my son Trevor was roaming the house looking for this document and that. He was upset. I think he wasn't upset that the documents were missing. I believe he was a little apprehensive about that first day of school. This will be his last. He'll say goodbye to high school at the end of this year. And if he heads off to a college out of town we'll be saying goodbye to him. Empty nesters? It's all happening too soon.

I remember vividly his first day of school. I did a story on his first day. It aired on the Fox station I was working at in Kansas City. A colleague of mine Kevin Kietzman had a son the same age as mine. Kevin is pictured here with another buddy Todd Leabo. I think you recognize the guy in the middle. Todd and Kevin worked with me before they became media titans. They bought their own high powered radio station and now live in palacial mansions. I ran into them in Florida when we were all covering the super bowl years ago. I forgot to ask Kevin how his son was doing. You see all those years ago, Kevin's son Spencer was starting school at Heartland Elementary. So was Trevor. I wanted to do a story on birth order. So this worked out great for me. I could be there for his first day of school, and I could get a story too.

Spencer is the first born in his family. Trevor is the youngest or last born sibling in our family. So I did a preview piece on what you could expect from these kids by the time they left high school and went out into the real world. Ironically I am reminded of that this morning by Del Jones Cover story in the Money section of USA TODAY. For the piece he asked Vistage to survey CEO's. What he found was the birth order question struck an unprecedented nerve.

The bottom line is the first born is much more likely to grow up to be the CEO. So when I get home today I'm going to tell Trevor to dust off his resume and send it to Keitzman. Wait a minute, he doesn't even have one. Well that doesn't matter I'm going to tell him to get his resume to Spencer now before he becomes a big shot. On second thought maybe I should have handed my resume to his dad back when we were sitting in the basement of WDAF all those years ago. Then I could be a media titan today too. I never did ask Kevin where he fell in the birth order. I'm guessing he's a first born.