In a recent blog update about the death of Chicago broadcast journalist Carlos Hernandez Gomez, I included two photos taken from Carlos’s Facebook page, and noted that fact in my blog entry.

  However, this particular photo, of Carlos wearing his trademark fedora, was taken by Chuck Ferrara. That fact was unclear to me when I used that photo in my blog. Mr. Ferrara deserves proper credit for taking a photo that will bring happy memories to so many of Carlos’s friends. I’m pleased that Mr. Ferrara contacted me, so I can give credit where credit is due.

I was very sorry to hear of the death of longtime Chicago broadcast journalist Carlos Hernandez Gomez. Carlos died Sunday night after a valiant battle with cancer. He was just 36. He had most recently worked for CLTV, and before that, Chicago Public Radio. 

Carlos was a student of political science. He knew as much about the politics of Illinois and his beloved Chicago as any one on that beat. And, he was a master interviewer…known for his rapid-fire and no-BS questions.

  Folks in Chicago who didn’t know his name…knew his look. Carlos was often seen wearing his trademark Fedora. The man had style.

And, he was very good at what he did.

RIP, Carlos Hernandez Gomez. I’m richer for having known you.

(Photos courtesy of Carlos Hernandez Gomez’s Facebook page. Fedora photo courtesy of Chuck Ferrara.)

Has it really been a year already?

  Has it been a year since I pushed a little yellow button on my audio control board that growled “THIS JUST IN TO THE WCBS NEWSROOM”…and then said those words?

“There is an aircraft down in the Hudson River.”

January 15, 2009. It was a pretty average winter day in New York City - sunshine, temps in the 20s - until around 3:30pm.

“There is an aircraft down in the Hudson River.”

So began our WCBS 880 coverage of one of the more remarkable stories I’ve been a part of in my 30 years in broadcasting.

Before I get too far into this, I’d like to invite you to go to our special WCBS 880 “Miracle on the Hudson” web page. It’s a good page…with audio from our coverage that day, video, photos and a whole lot more. Please check it out.

January 15, 2009. What a range of emotions! At first word, a report of an aircraft down in the river is ominous. There were many questions - What kind of plane, did it tumble from the sky or try to land, etc.

My first thought was…it didn’t matter. As a pilot and student of aviation, I knew there was no such thing as a successful water landing by a jetliner. Pilots had tried in the past…with mostly disastrous results. There had never been a water landing by a jetliner where every one emerged unscathed. It was impossible. 

Until January 15, 2009…the day the world met two fellows named Sully and Skiles.

I have two lasting memories of the blur that was our WCBS 880 coverage that day. One is hearing my colleague Peter Haskell apologizing for being out of breath in a live report - he had literally been running alongside the river, as the tide carried the plane downstream. The other is looking at my on-air partner Wayne Cabot when we got word that every one was okay…wanting to say something to the effect of “You have got to be sh*tting me!”…but settling, as I recall, for something like “Wow!” instead.

I was really proud to do what I do on January 15, 2009. I was proud of Wayne Cabot, who showed that day why he’s the best in the business. I was proud of our team of reporters, who fought cold and darkness to paint fabulous audio pictures for our listeners. I was proud of our producer, Jonathan Clark, who never got excited or raised his voice the whole day - just told us what we were doing next. I was proud of our boss, Tim Scheld, who provided guidance and resources…but, otherwise, let his team do their job. I was proud of our newsroom staff, our web staff and even non-newsroom employees who pitched in to help. Heck, I was even proud of myself that day. I thought we all had a pretty good day.

Almost as good as the 155 people onboard Flight 1549 (except our feet didn’t get wet!).

I’ve posted two photos that I took the day after the miracle landing. The plane was eventually corralled and tied up directly across the Hudson from where I live. I literally walked out our back door and took these pics. They’re not all that great…but, they’re my own little photographic evidence of that amazing event.

And, again…please check out our WCBS 880 “Miracle on the Hudson” page. It’s fun to look at and remember…especially knowing that everything turned out okay.

“There is an aircraft down in the Hudson River.”

I sure hope I never have to say those words again.

I saw this headline today on NJ.com…the web site of the Star-Ledger newspaper in Newark:

Former Marine pleads guilty in road-rage shooting of NJ resident

Why? Why did they write it that way?

First of all, any Marine will tell you…there’s no such thing as a “former Marine.” Once a Marine…always a Marine!

But, really…the bigger issue is this. Why did they see the need to identify him as a former military guy? Would they write “former accountant?” “Former teacher?” “Former construction worker?” “Former store clerk?”

I know why they did it. It stretches back to the Vietnam war, when returning veterans were wrongly and unfairly pegged as some sort of deranged baby-killers who could SNAP at any moment.

And, the defendant’s attorney says this “former Marine” suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, after serving in Haiti.

Haiti? Stressful? For a Marine?

I digress.

The story itself is a good one. And, because of the defense lawyer’s claim, the defendant’s past military service is arguably somewhat germane to the story. (You can read the whole story here.)

But for the headline to blast Former Marine is sensational and unfair.

And, unnecessary.

This is just a quick note to pass along something that I think is really cool.

For many years, Spike O’Dell was the morning host on Chicago’s legendary WGN Radio 720. Spike retired at the top of his game a year or so ago, and he and his wife, Karen, moved to Tennessee…where they’re now enjoying the fruits of their hard-earned success.

Spike has a hobby. Bird-watching. Well, bird-feeding, too.

And, he’s installed a live web cam that looks right at the feeder outside his office window.

You should check out his live stream. You’ll find yourself spending more time than you should watching the birds as they fly up and chow down. He’s got all kinds…red ones, blue ones, grey ones. It’s fun!

Please take a few moments to relax…and watch Spike’s birds!

Have a great day!

Steve

So, I stepped into the elevator to go downstairs to the CBS Broadcast Center “Station Break” cafeteria. As the door is starting to close, I hear, “Please hold the door!” Okay, no prob…I did.

What follows is proof that no good deed goes unpunished.

The woman who stepped into the elevator immediately starts complaining about how cold it was outside (27F at the time, with a windchill of +16). She asked me if I hated the cold. Being an old Chicago guy, I told her I had pretty thick blood…I didn’t think it was all THAT bad.

Then she said it.

“You larger men like cold weather.”

I’m sorry?

“I’ve found that to be true. Maybe it’s your girth, I don’t know. But you larger men like cold weather.”

Ummm…

“I think it’s because you have more padding.”

She then went on to say that she could easily spend the rest of her life in the tropics…even if it would frizz her hair.

“Oh, haha. I guess you wouldn’t have that problem.”

Thankfully, the elevator reached the lower level. Even more thankfully, she turned left out of the elevator…and went straight, toward the cafeteria.

Where, by the way, I bought a cup of soup and a scoop of chicken salad with tomato and cucumber slices. 

Even larger guys like soup and chicken salad. I’ve found that to be true.

My wife, Jeanne, and I saw Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig in “A Steady Rain” on Broadway Saturday afternoon. It was a powerful, although somewhat dark, show…and, it was cool to be up close to Jackman and Craig in their two-man show. Each actor did a very nice job.

After the show, Jackman and Craig held an impromptu on-stage auction, benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. It’s a great cause. 

We ended up buying a couple of Playbills hand-signed by Jackman and Craig. 

If you’d like to support this very worthy cause, please check out this web site.

Thanks!

p.s. - “A Steady Rain” closes this coming Sunday, with a specially-added 7pm show…in which all proceeds will benefit local, NYC charities.

I’m just askin’…

And, please don’t try to blame “bad lighting” or something like that.

(photos courtesy Getty Images)

  When Game Six of the World Series reached the top of the 9th inning last night, I turned down the sound on the TV and turned up the radio. If the Yankees were going to win the World Series, I wanted to hear John Sterling make the call. John didn’t disappoint.

“Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! THHHHEEEE YANKEES WIN!”

I know there are a lot of Yankee haters out there. That’s fine. Whatever.  I’m not one of them.

People here in New York who were born Yankee fans - or at least grew up with the team in the late 1990s - may think that winning the World Series is a birthright. It’s not (as witnessed by the last nine Series-less seasons).

I’m what you call an “acquired taste” Yankee fan. I’m a Yankee fan by choice, thank you…not birthright. I was born in California and then lived 20+ years in Chicago before moving here a few years ago. I don’t know when I started liking the Yankees a little. Maybe all the way back in the 1970s, watching the bickering between Billy Martin and Mr. Steinbrenner.  Maybe it was the late ’90s, with the emergence of Jeter, Pettitte,Posada and Rivera. It was certainly solidified when I joined WCBS 880, the radio flagship of the Yankees. I became a fan!

This is the first time that a team I really liked has won the World Series since the Oakland A’s of the early- to mid-1970s, when I was a kid growing up in California. Oh, I was in Chicago when the White Sox won in 2005. It was fun to watch their World Series run, but I was never a die-hard White Sox (or Cubs) fan.

I’m not a jump-up-and-down kind of fan. But, as I listened to John Sterling call the final out last night, I found myself quietly doing a Derek Jeter-esque bent-arm clenched fist. The radio broadcast on WCBS was several seconds ahead of the TV broadcast…so I knew the outcome before my wife saw the final play on TV. I turned up the sound on the radio.

 Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! THHHHEEEE YANKEES WIN!

Indeed!

So, excuse me, Yankee haters. Let me - and other Yankee fans - enjoy the Yankees’ 27th World Series title.

My WCBS 880 colleague, producer Lou Zambrana, put together this nice AudioFile that brings you the sounds of the Yankees’ Game Six win.

Now…bring on the parade in the Canyon of Heroes!

(Yankee celebration photo courtesy Getty Images)

I’m all suited up and ready to go. 

Good luck Yankees!