Over 50 & Under-employed
Farewell WNBC
Being called into the general manager’s office at a television station can often have quite varied outcomes. On May 1st this year I was summoned via email to come to my GM’s office to discuss changes coming to our morning show.
When I received the email I spoke to a co-worker who said that the rest of the team had already been individually brought in to discuss the plan. I assumed I was just the last in the chain to be notified asI was just the weather guy.
As I walked into the office and did the protocol handshake with both my news director and general manager, I attempted a light hearted joke referring to an incident that took place a month earlier (to be discussed in a future blog). It was pretty much met with the sound of crickets.
I really don’t believe my butt had quite made contact with the chair when the words “this is never an easy conversation” came from my GM’s mouth. To be honest, at this point I really just wished he stopped speaking and I could say “got it, thanks for everything, see ya!” I knew of course immediately this was my demise. The end of a nearly 24 year career at WNBC.
Five years, especially ten years earlier, these words would have instantly sent a wave of panic through my gut. I would have gone into some dizzying state of mind. However, the honest truth was I felt a peace come over me. Like much of my life has brought me since I turned 50, it’s been one loss leading to change after another.
In a 5 year period I survived and moved on from losing my Dad, some other friends and family, and the toughest of all, my wife of 32 years. In addition my son had a battle with cancer as well. For whatever reason, the reality of the fragility of life came at me for what seemed like an unrelenting tsunami.
This was just a job. Hearing the words “we are not renewing your contract” pales in comparison to your wife’s oncologist saying “Chris, the tests came back and there’s nothing we can do.” One thing 58 years of life has taught me is that everything is relative. Perspective can be the most powerful filter through which we live our lives. Of course, the lesson learned rarely comes without significant pain or discomfort along the way.
So there I sat in the chair listening to whatever words continued to follow the only ones that mattered( I’m effectively fired) and I nodded calmly and waited for it to finish. I had no questions of great consequence other than to get the details of my ending date, etc. If the entire meeting lasted 5 minutes it was a lot. I got up and exited with little else to say. In the awkward two months to follow I never again saw or spoke to my general manager.
As I walked further away from the office, I felt like something had been lifted from my chest and head. A weight of some kind was gone. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but I had some ideas. What I do remember thinking was that now for the first time other roads could be opened up and traveled in my life. Freedom! A scary freedom, as I have no roadmap or GPS to help me navigate these new unknown paths ahead.
On Tuesday, July 2, 2019, I bid farewell to WNBC with my final broadcast. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t tough emotionally. These people were my family. Many were with me when I went through the long ordeal from my wife’s diagnosis of a rare blood cancer, to her long brave battle, and to her final day. When you live through moments like that together you tend to be bound as friends forever.
I have included some pictures from that last day if you are so inclined to take a look. I hope for some of you who have been loyal viewers all this time this helps clear up some questions you had about what happened to me.
For those of you who don’t know me or my past, I hope the part we find interesting together is this new journey I now embark upon. I’m sure I’ll blog more on this part of my life again, but I want to focus more on what’s ahead.
My plan is to share my travel experiences, love of food and wine, sports, music and social hot button issues on this blog. I might even talk about the weather once in awhile.
If you got this far, thanks for reading. Until next time…sunshine always.