Articles Feature

A Furious Gayle King Caught in Firestorm

by richard06718

Journal-isms will appear infrequently until the end of February, while its author is on vacation.

Journalists, Celebs Take Sides Over Bryant Piece
Texas Anchor Arrested in Prostitution Case
Carl Sims, Veteran Editor, Reporter Dies at 78
Stringfellow, Ex-Mississippi Columnist, Dies at 59
Study Shows Indians Really Are Offended by Mascots
Blacks See Race as Central to Their Identity
‘American Dirt’ Publisher Pledges More Latinos
Limbaugh’s Most Racist Quotes Compiled
Short Takes
David Downie on Carl W. Sims

Support Journal-isms

Journalists, Celebs Take Sides on Bryant Piece

Fellow celebrities stood behind Gayle King over the weekend after Snoop Dogg and others lambasted the “CBS This Morning” anchor for asking about Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case during an interview with WNBA star Lisa Leslie.  

King herself “criticized CBS on Thursday for how it had promoted a recent interview that touched on Kobe Bryant, an unusual public rebuke from one of the most powerful figures in the network’s news division,“ John Koblin wrote Thursday for the New York Times.

“Ms. King, the lead anchor of ‘CBS This Morning,’ made her frustrations known on Instagram early Thursday in response to a social media backlash over her interview with Lisa Leslie, a former star in the Women’s National Basketball Association and a longtime friend of Mr. Bryant’s.

“To promote the five-and-a-half-minute interview, CBS used a 94-second video clip in which Ms. King asked Ms. Leslie about a woman’s 2003 sexual assault accusation against Mr. Bryant, who died last month in a helicopter crash.

“ ‘I know that if I had only seen the clip that you saw, I’d be extremely angry with me, too,’ Ms. King said in the video she posted on Instagram.

“In a statement hours after the anchor’s Instagram post, CBS News said it had mishandled the promotion.

“ ‘Gayle conducted a thoughtful, wide-ranging interview with Lisa Leslie about the legacy of Kobe Bryant,’ a network spokeswoman said. ‘An excerpt was posted that did not reflect the nature and tone of the full interview. We are addressing the internal process that led to this, and changes have already been made.’ . . .”

Sarah Ellison and Bethonie Butler added Friday in the Washington Post, “By Wednesday evening, King was talking to top network executives, including CBS News President Susan Zirinsky, about what went wrong. King was upset in those conversations, according to two CBS insiders who were not authorized to speak publicly. A CBS executive said that the network has changed its protocols for approving and editing videos in the wake of the incident, though the network did not specify how those protocols had changed. . . .”

The Post story had a wide scope. “Gayle King’s response to Kobe Bryant backlash captures the unique pressures she faces as one of the most visible black women in media,” the headline said.

Also on Friday, the National Association of Black Journalists announced that ViacomCBS “has accepted a request from NABJ, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) to meet in person with its senior leadership regarding our concerns next week.”

NABJ said it was seeking additional information about the King interview as well as “reports from Variety (the story can be found here) that indicate the company’s diversity staff is undergoing significant reductions that could, presumably, negatively impact diversity initiatives and commitments.”

Joe Otterson and Daniel Holloway reported Wednesday for Variety, “According to sources, five members of CBS’ nine-person corporate diversity team have been let go or have been told that their positions are likely to be eliminated. Among those affected are two high-ranking corporate diversity execs and three assistants, one of whom is a contract employee. All impacted employees have either left or are expected to leave the company by May 31. . . .”

Gayle King, left, “conducted a thoughtful, wide-ranging interview with Lisa Leslie about the legacy of Kobe Bryant,’ a CBS spokeswoman said. ‘An excerpt was posted that did not reflect the nature and tone of the full interview.”

Snoop Dogg was among the most vitriolic of King’s critics. Maiysha Kai wrote Friday for the Root that Snoop’s “disapproval escalated to a now-viral expletive-filled rant on Instagram in which he not only called King several pejoratives but accused her (and BFF Oprah Winfrey) of being complicit in a plot to destroy black men, ending his post by seemingly threatening the morning news host should she not ‘back off.’

“ ‘Respect the family and back off, Bitch,’ the rapper, author and TV personality spat at the screen, adding, ‘Before we come get you.’ “

Joining Snoop in his criticism were rappers Boosie Badazz and 50 Cent, singer-songwriter Ari Lennox and Lakers star LeBron James, former NBA star Matt Barnes, ex-football player Reggie Bush and model Naomi Campbell.

However, in the Daily News in New York, sports columnist Bradford William Davis quoted black female journalists defending King. “If you’re a black woman journalist writing about black men, it’s not unusual to be accused of some sort of racial betrayal,” said Soraya Nadia McDonald, a columnist at ESPN’s the Undefeated.

Celebrity academic Michael Eric Dyson, who made a video, and Susan Rice, Barack Obama’s former national security adviser, were among those who joined journalists in defending King.

The Washington Post story reported, “In an appearance on the ‘Today’ show Friday morning, Winfrey said King still isn’t doing well in the wake of the recent controversy and hasn’t slept in two days. . . .

“She added that ‘anybody can criticize anything,’ but said ‘misogynistic vitriol’ has made it dangerous. ‘It’s not just the people who are attacking you, it’s the other people who take that message and feel like that they can do whatever they want to because of it.’ . . .”

David Dennis Jr., a writer and adjunct professor of Journalism at Morehouse College, wrote for the Undefeated, “Here’s the message for Snoop et al.: If you truly believe in the work Bryant did to rejuvenate his legacy and make things right for his past sins, then you have to also believe that he would be vehemently against lashing out at a woman doing her job.

“If you truly think that Bryant spent the last 17 years of his life trying to undo the harm he caused, then you have to believe that speaking violence against King would go against what he stands for. If you truly think that Bryant is the man we wanted him to be at his very last moments, then you have to believe that he was someone willing to topple rape culture and the way we excuse those who perpetuate it by silencing the concerns of those most impacted by it. Addressing Bryant’s past and the efforts he made to right them aren’t tarnishing his legacy.

“But ignoring the holistic Kobe Bryant, though, is the surefire way to undo the efforts he made at the end of his life to truly change the world.”

Texas Anchor Arrested in Prostitution Case

.[Anthony Pittman (pictured), morning anchor at KVII-TV in Amarillo, Texas, and apparently its only African American on-air journalist, has been arrested on a prostitution charge and his bio removed from the station’s website.

[Update: News director Roger Gray said by email on Monday, Feb.10, “Sorry to report that Anthony is no longer with the station. As it is a personnel matter, I’m sure you can understand that is all we can discuss.”]

[Gray also explained that in Texas both the buyer and seller are charged with prostitution and that Pittman is accused of being the buyer.]

“KVII regrets to report that our morning anchor, Anthony Pittman, was arrested today (Friday Jan. 24) by the Amarillo Police Department,” a statement on the station’s website read. “The arrest and ultimate booking occurred in Randall County and he has since been released on bond. An arrest is obviously not a conviction, but we will keep our viewers aware as the case progresses.”

The station later released an updated statement: “We promised transparency in our reporting of the arrest of our colleague Anthony Pittman. Anthony has been charged with Class B solicitation of prostitution. It is considered a misdemeanor and with no aggravating circumstances, which do not appear to be a factor, the punishment if convicted is up to 180 days in jail and up to a $2000 fine.”

The arrest appeared to raise more questions than answers. News accounts in local media reported few details of the arrest. However, a posting on Facebook has drawn 651 comments, many raising questions, and has been shared 258 times. The Amarillo Police Department said it would not release more information without an Open Records request, which takes up to 10 days to process.

Some of the Facebook comments: “I guess Pronews 7 isn’t paying enough?” “Ol’ Chocolate Thunder” out here puttin it DOWN for his fans!” “Maybe he was the pimp. ?” “Damn bruh you was setup. Gots to be more careful smh” “Was he the ho or was he buying a ho?”

“The question is, [was] it legit prostitution or was it a guy having fun at a strip club? I’ve seen how liberal they can be when citing prostitution,” and “MUCH Support, Anthony! “Shame on the media for publishing… INNOCENT til proven GUILTY”?! Folks, really need to take their entertainment ELSEWHERE! Dare NOT, to cast the first stone. Pray, is ALL…any one should offer not Criticism or Judgement! ? & Much Love, Mr Pittman!”

The website of Hamilton Grant, a West Texas law firm specializing in solicitation cases, says, “Prostitution is a serious crime in Texas and is considered a problem in and around Amarillo. Even so, while prostitution is subject to strict penalties, it is often the case that the person offering payment for a sex act is actually the one who ends up in greater legal trouble. . . .

“Solicitation of prostitution in Texas is simply defined as agreeing to exchange money for a sex act and then taking a step in furtherance of that act. In other words, no sex act needs to take place in order to be charged with or convicted of solicitation of prostitution. . . .”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Pittman was at KVII for six years and 10 months, and since 1992 has worked as a sports journalist in Palm Beach, Fla., and San Antonio.

Carl Sims, Veteran Editor, Reporter Dies at 78

Carl W. Sims (pictured), a veteran of the Washington Post, Boston’s weekly Bay State Banner, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis and Newsweek, died Jan. 30. He was 78. “Ten years of battling prostate cancer simply left him absolutely defenseless,” said a cousin, Marsha Botts.  

Funeral services are incomplete, according to Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park & Funeral Care in Mesa, Ariz., where Sims lived with his wife, Barbara, known as Bonnie.

‘”Raise a glass. Heck. Let’s raise two. He deserves it,“ (Facebook membership required) his stepson, David L. Downie, wrote Saturday on Facebook. “And so do you. And smile. He would want you to smile.”

David Downie is the son of Leonard Downie Jr., a Washington Post veteran who became executive editor from 1991 to 2008, and Bonnie Downie. Sims’ relationship with Bonnie Downie, his future wife, caused a minor dustup in the Post newsroom at the time — including threats to Sims’ safety — especially given that Sims was black and Bonnie Downie and her children white. Sims and Bonnie Downie left D.C. in 1970; Sims wrote in 2017 that the couple were celebrating 45 years together.

Leon Dash, now a professor at the University of Illinois, said by email of Sims,’ death, “It is truly sad and a significant milestone.” Sims, who started at the Post in 1965, and Dash, who began there in 1966, were “part of a generation of black reporters assigned to cover the openly racist Metropolitan Police force.” It “started with Jesse [Lewis Jr.], then Carl and, later still, me.”

Jack White, who also worked with Sims at the Post before becoming a Time magazine columnist, recalled, “I remember Carl, wearing a sailor hat with the brim turned down, pimp walking into the newsroom, the picture of a night police reporter! The main police reporter was the legendary Al Lewis. The other reporters in the cop shop from the competing Washington Star and Daily News were a couple of dumb bigots. Most of the cops were dumb hillbillies. They were so racist they had made it impossible for Simeon Booker, who I think was the first black reporter at the Post, to cover the beat.” White, Booker and Sims were all Nieman fellows at Harvard University; Sims in the 1972-73 academic year.

Sherrie Marshall, who went on to her current position as editor of the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph, wrote on the funeral home’s site, “As an intern at the Minneapolis Tribune in 1978, Carl in his editing role allowed me to see the possibilities. He was smart, dedicated, kind and encouraging to this young pup. He was such an intricate part of the news operation and a great host to those of us who didn’t want to call it a night after the Little Wagon shooed us out.”

David Downie’s Facebook posting serves as a de facto obituary.

“Carl traveled the world but never forgot his roots. He was a friend to many, a husband to two, including my mother, and a father to three, including me. He was a mensch. Raise a glass.

“A child of segregated, and yes racist, Washington DC, Carl [chose] to rise above. High school, college and then, believing in [America] and indeed our world, he applied and was selected to be part of our first class of Peace Corps volunteers. To Sierra Leone. Yeah. I know. I would have washed out too. . . .”

Continued at end of this posting.

Stringfellow, Ex-Mississippi Columnist, 59

Eric Stringfellow (pictured), a former columnist for the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss. who held positions at Jackson State University and Tougaloo College, died Wednesday of cancer, Sarah Fowler reported Friday for the Clarion Ledger. He was 59.

“A 1982 graduate of Jackson State University, Stringfellow had a career in media that spanned decades and he authored a column in the state’s largest newspaper.

“The founding chairman of Tougaloo College’s Department of Mass Communication, Stringfellow also had served as executive director of University Communications at Jackson State University, and interim chair of JSU’s Department of Mass Communications. He would later run unsuccessfully for Hinds County commissioner.

“In 2018, he moved to Hawkins, Texas, to serve as director of communications and then assistant professor of mass communications at Jarvis Christian College. . . .”

Fowler also wrote, “Stringfellow was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and bladder cancer on Jan. 21. He underwent surgery in Jackson with plans to start chemotherapy but he ‘never recovered,’ Courtney Stringfellow said,” referring to Stringfellow’s son.

” ‘It was already stage 4,’ he said. ‘It was pretty much nothing they could do.’

“Courtney Stringfellow said his fondest memories are of walking around with his dad and ‘all the attention that he would get.’

” ‘It just felt like he was this big important guy, one of the most popular people at the newspaper,’ he said. ‘We would go in the newsroom, we would walk in, he was charismatic, the room would light up…man, when he wrote that column, he ended up being bigger than life. He was a local celebrity. . . .’

“According to JSU’s website, Stringfellow was past president of the Jackson Association of Black Journalists, the 100 Black Men of Jackson and was a former board member for Mission Mississippi, the Margaret Walker Alexander Research Center, Baby Steps and the Tiger Fund. He was a member of the Margaret Walker Alexander Research Center and was a board member of JSU Sports Hall of Fame. . . .

“Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at New Horizon Church, 1704 Ellis Ave., in west Jackson. A viewing will be held on Wednesday at Peoples Funeral Home, 886 N. Farish St.”

Study: Indians Really Are Offended by Mascots

“Contrary to polls showing that relatively few Native Americans take offense at the Washington Redskins’ name, a new UC Berkeley study has found that at least half of more than 1,000 Native Americans surveyed are offended by the football team’s 87-year-old moniker and Native mascots in general,” Yasmin Anwar wrote Tuesday for UC Berkeley.

“The results are particularly timely in the face of Native American protests against caricatures of their culture, including the tomahawk chop — performed by fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, who won Sunday’s Super Bowl — and other sports teams with Native American monikers.

“The study’s findings, to be published this month in the journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science, show that the degree to which those surveyed identified as Native American influenced how offensive they found Native mascots.

“Of those polled for the study, 57% who strongly identify with being Native American and 67% of those who frequently engage in tribal cultural practices were found to be deeply insulted by caricatures of Native American culture.

“Overall, the results suggest the controversy over the use of Native representations, such as chief headdresses, war cries and the tomahawk chop, is far from over. . . .”

In Philadelphia, 8-year-old Cynadie Brown, right, and her sister Cerenity Brown, 4, of Pine Hill, N.J., carry a sign for the year 1624, among 400 black children gathering near the Slavery Memorial/President’s House on Independence Mall on Aug. 25, 2019. 1624 commemorates Queen Ana Nzinga of the Mbundu people, who fought against the Portuguese and their expanding slave trade in Central Africa. The 400 children walked across a stage representing each of the 400 years since the first documented enslaved Africans arrived in America, during a commiseration commemoration organized by Avenging The Ancestors Coalition. (Credit: Tom Gralish/Philadelphia Inquirer)

Blacks See Race as Central to Their Identity

“Black History Month, which is celebrated every year in February, honors the achievements of black Americans throughout history,” Amanda Barroso reported Wednesday for the Pew Research Center. “It’s also a time to reflect on larger themes of identity and community. Findings from Pew Research Center surveys conducted in recent years show that most black adults feel that they are part of a broader black community in the United States and see their race as important to how they think of themselves.

“About three-quarters of black adults say that being black is extremely (52%) or very (22%) important to how they think about themselves, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey.

“By comparison, about six-in-ten Hispanic (59%) and 56% of Asian adults say being Hispanic or Asian, respectively, is extremely or very important to their identity. Only 15% of white adults see race as a central piece of their identity. The share of black adults who say their race is central to their identity varies by age – adults younger than 30 deem race a less important part of their identity than do their older counterparts. . . .”

Oprah Winfrey, left, author Jeanine Cummins and CBS’ Anthony Mason on “CBS This Morning.”

‘American Dirt’ Publisher Pledges More Latinos

“Less than a week after canceling Jeanine Cummins’ entire ‘American Dirt’ book tour and acknowledging ‘deep inadequacies’ in the rollout of its bestseller, the publishing company appears to be making changes, or at least promising them,” Dorany Pineda reported Tuesday for the Los Angeles Times.

“A group of Latinx activists met on Monday with officials at Macmillan, the international parent company of Flatiron Books, which published ‘American Dirt,’ to deliberate over steps the publisher could take to increase Latino representation in the industry.

“According to the release, the publisher made commitments to ‘substantially increasing Latinx representation across Macmillan, including authors, titles, staff and its overall literary ecosystem’ as well as ‘developing an action plan to address these objectives within 90 days.’ Macmillan also said it would ‘regroup within 30 days with #DignidadLiteraria and other Latinx groups to assess progress’.”

Pineda also wrote, “Cummins’ migrant tale ‘American Dirt’ sparked a raging storm of controversy over the past few weeks. Published on Jan. 21, the book has been accused by critics of being a harmful act of cultural appropriation, riddled with cultural inaccuracies and stereotypes about Mexico and the struggles of migrants. It inspired snarky parodies on Twitter and sparked discussions about how far the publishing industry still had to go to represent the diversity of the Latino experience. . . .”

Rush Limbaugh was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by first lady Melania Trump Tuesday after President Trump’s State of the Union address.

​​
Limbaugh’s Most Racist Quotes Compiled

“Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has announced that he had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer,” cganemccalla of News One wrote Monday. “The 69-year-old made the announcement on his show on Monday, ABC News reported. Limbaugh also announced that he intended to seek treatment.

“There was a mixed response to the news across social media as people on Twitter seemed torn when it came to Limbaugh’s legacy of making racist comments. Limbaugh has been a lightning rod for controversy over his career that spans nearly five decades. In that time Limbaugh repeatedly attacked Black and brown people, like when he helped champion the so-called birtherism conspiracy theory that incorrectly challenged former President Barack Obama‘s nationality.

“Because of the news on Monday, NewsOne has updated this list that was created back in 2010 when Obama was in the middle of his first term in the White House. Keep reading to find a running file of Rush Limbaugh’s most racist quotes.”

1. “Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?”

2. “Right. So you go into Darfur and you go into South Africa, you get rid of the white government there. You put sanctions on them. You stand behind Nelson Mandela — who was bankrolled by communists for a time, had the support of certain communist leaders. You go to Ethiopia. You do the same thing.”

3. “Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.”

4. “The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies.”

5. “They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?” . . .​

Short Takes

Items recovered from The Museum of Chinese in America Collections and Research Center on New York’s Mulberry Street are loaded onto a truck for transport on Jan. 31. Among them was the first Chinese American newspaper published entirely in English. (Credit: Elise Wrabetz/NBC News)
  • “After a fire damaged archives of the Museum of Chinese in America in New York last month, items feared to have been lost forever have now been recovered,” Karen K. Ho reported Wednesday for NBC News. “Some of the treasured surviving pieces include original copies of the first English-language Chinese American newspaper in the United States and a Chinese typewriter believed to be the oldest one of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.” The Chinese American Times was “a one-man operation by journalist William Yukon Chang, who began publishing it in 1955. ‘It was the first Chinese American newspaper published entirely in English,’ museum spokesperson Edward Cheng said. ‘We have the most complete collection of that, and the thought of it being lost was just unimaginable.’ . . .”
  • Freelance journalists Rebecca Nagle (pictured) and Darcy Courteau are the recipients of the 2020 American Mosaic Journalism Prize, which includes an unrestricted cash prize of $100,000, the Heising-Simons Foundation announced Wednesday, calling it one of the largest dollar amounts given for a journalism award in the United States. “Nagle’s journalism includes the podcast, ‘This Land,’ which explores Native American rights, and Courteau’s includes a June 2019 feature in The Atlantic, ‘Mireya’s Third Crossing,’ about an undocumented immigrant’s harrowing journeys across the U.S.-Mexico border. . . ” The prize is awarded for excellence in long-form, narrative, or deep reporting about underrepresented and/or misrepresented groups in the United States.”

(Credit: WFSB-TV, Hartford, Conn., via YouTube)

  • The Dutch Embassy in Washington appealed Thursday to Americans, especially journalists, to help find relatives of 172 African American soldiers buried in the Netherlands as U.S. troops helped liberate the country from the Nazis in 1945. It is the 75th anniversary year of the liberation. Dutch children have adopted the Margraten cemetery tombstones of the African Americans, who dug graves then in the segregated U.S. Army. A Dutch team has traveled the United States identifying some of the families, a website has been created and a spurt of news stories appeared in 2018 after a mysterious suitcase was opened and provided a treasure trove of information about one of the soldiers, Sgt. Willie F. Williams. James Baldwin, a 95-year-old veteran with a doctorate who served in the 784th Tank Battalion then, was among those speaking at the embassy event.

  • On Monday, State Rep. John Becker, R-Ohio, noticed Deon J. Hampton’s tweet that he was leaving Newsday to become an investigative reporter at the Cincinnati Enquirer, and tweeted back, “Clermont County would be a great place to start.” Becker, who is from that county, said last week that he believed the county’s GOP leadership was corrupt, cleveland.com reported. Hampton noted that he will be one of the few black investigative reporters in the country.
  • “After a judge rejected a complaint to indict him for involvement with hackers who accessed Telegram messages from several Brazilian authorities, U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald said that he is going to the Supreme Court in search of a decision that guarantees more clearly what the federal constitution says,” Júlio Lubianco reported Friday for the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.
  • “Nigerian authorities must investigate the death of Alex Ogbu, who was killed during a police crackdown on Shiite Muslim protesters in Abuja on January 28, 2019,” the Media Federation of West Africa said Tuesday. “Ogbu, a journalist with the Regent Africa Times newspaper, was not covering the protest but was rather passing by when he was hit by a bullet . . . After the incident, the police initially claimed in a statement (which failed to identify the victim as Alex Ogbu), that the victim ‘hit his head on a stone while running during the protest and died in the process.’ However, a spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police, Anjuguri Manzal, later admitted that their men shot a ‘passerby’ and promised that the incident would be investigated. . . .”

David Downie on Carl W. Sims

‘Carl never let us see what was certainly justifiable anger at the racist stupidity they encountered. To hell with those assholes — for that is their destiny. Carl [chose ] instead to live a fun and exemplary life. . . .”

By David L. Downie, on Facebook Feb. 8

Carl Sims (Cw Sims) died a Wednesday ago. Raise a glass. Heck. Let’s raise two. He deserves it. And so do you. And smile. He would want you to smile.

Carl traveled the world but never forgot his roots. He was a friend to many, a husband to two, including my mother, and a father to three, including me. He was a mensch. Raise a glass.

A child of segregated, and yes racist, Washington D.C., Carl choose to rise above. High school, college and then, believing in America and indeed our world, he applied and was selected to be part of our first class of Peace Corps volunteers. To Sierra Leone. Yeah. I know. I would have washed out too.

Once back in the States, he went to work at the Washington Post. Part of an historic metro staff. He married. Had a son — Carl Sims Jr. A fine man.

After a while, he met my dad (they both worked at the Post) and my mom. He liked my dad. He married my mom. (Long story — and funny). Some of their love affair was not easy. But Carl never let us see what was certainly justifiable anger at the racist stupidity they encountered. To hell with those assholes — for that is their destiny. Carl [chose] instead to live a fun and exemplary life.

Soon after D.C., Carl, mom, my brother and I moved to Boston. Carl become editor of the historic, awesome and famous Bay State Banner — back when newspapers really, really mattered. Mom went to law school (yes, she graduated at the top of her class, but this paragraph is about Carl).

With Carl heading the Banner and all the cool people in Roxbury wanting to befriend him, and all my mom’s outrageously cool law school friends (some of who lived with us), their house parties became the best house parties in the 1970s. . . .

Later, after Carl spent a year at Harvard as a Nieman Fellow (I know, pretty cool huh?), we all embarked for N.Y, and Newsweek. 98th and Broadway baby! And way before that neighborhood was part of the oh so boring upper west side.

Despite the allure of N.Y., Newsweek proved too corporate for a believer in real journalism like Carl, so off to MN did we go. Bonnie spent 30 plus years crushing polluters as part of state government and Carl helped the Minneapolis Star and Tribune pump out accurate national news. (Remember when we had that in every city!). Writing and facts matter, people — and Carl helped enforce both.

Carl and Mom crushed Minneapolis for 30 years. Great friends. Great work. Great parties. Then retirement — in MN and AZ — and many, many trips all over the world. Laura and I and the kids joined them for some. Namibia comes to mind (TY Aunt Daniel!), as does Bonaire. But they went everywhere — Egypt, Russian rivers, Australia, Turkey, hidden taverns in hidden cities, Southport, you name it. Carl met folks and made friends on every continent except Antarctica (why go there, he said once, it’s effing cold). He lived life.

But cancer sucks. So here we are. On a red-eye, heading home from AZ. I got there too late to say goodbye. But we all knew we were sort of saying goodbye when he left CT after Christmas. But still, I want to see his face and hug him. Cancer sucks.

So raise a glass my friends. Dance when you can. And hug the ones you love. Everyday. Hug them.

Carl would want you to.

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