Since 1980, June 1 has been a significant day in my life.
On that sunny spring afternoon, I was sitting in a frantic control room in the basement of 1050 Techwood Drive in Atlanta, Georgia. A few feet above us, our boss was telling the world that the Cable News Network was signing on and wouldn’t sign off again until the “end of the world.”
Not everyone in that basement control room shared that outlook. We weren’t absolutely convinced we’d get on the air at all. Morning rehearsals (the last ones we ever had) were plagued with everything from audio problems to total power failures.
In its early days, CNN was breaking new ground in journalism on a daily basis. We also got occasional visits from “the boss” (top). (Below) This small group - shown here even before the network’s launch - were CNN’s “originals.”
Less than an hour before sign on, some of us were re-hanging the pieces of fabric on the columns in the newsroom. We weren’t certain the adhesive would hold in the heat of the TV lights.
But we made it…and kept making it.
In the early days, we were frequently disparaged as being “Chicken Noodle News” or “College News Network” along with other more “colorful”sobriquets.
Today, the unkind labels are considerably less complimentary. Unfortunately these were earned, not given.
These days, I have absolutely no contact with the organization, but I have a lifelong connection to the friends made in those decidedly different early days. I don’t watch national news unless I want to get frustrated by the basic rules of reporting having been replaced by what I call “positional reinforcement”. Others call it propaganda, but I’ve tried to mellow.
Yesterday, looking at some of the things I collected from that time so long ago, I wondered what we might have done differently had we known what we were setting in motion. It’s not so different from a parent looking at what a child’s become and wondering if they did the best job they could in rearing them.
The short answer to that question is this: we did the best we could do at the time.
Life is seldom as crystal clear when it stretches ahead of us as it is when viewed through our rearview mirror.
Forty-three years ago I got my first national credential. Nothing in the photo has changed except..everything.
Besides, playing “what if” is a quick way to put yourself into an irreversible funk.
Having climbed out of that dark hole before, I choose not to go there again.
Instead, I try to focus on how best to apply the things I learned then to situations I face now.
The redeeming characteristic of old eyes is an ability to see things coming further down the pike. Unfortunately, they see those things far more clearly than the label on a medicine bottle.
Aging peepers help me realize - and accept - that not everything done well is “epic.” Or that knowing/liking a popular musician doesn’t make them “legendary” - it makes them “contemporary.”
These days, I’m concentrating on dialing down my personal hyperbole. My old eyes confirm I’m late learning the lesson, but it’s still important.
There’s one life lesson I keep having to relearn: What happens in life is seldom as important as how we respond to it.
These days, I’m trying to turn down the volume on all the things clamoring for my attention.
Turning down the volume - at least temporarily- might be good for all of us.
Going into this weekend would be a good time to turn off our computers, pull our noses out of our phones and go analog.
You might make an “epic” discovery: not everything in life demands your immediate attention, deserves an instant response, or a “like” or an emoji or needs to be “shared” with others.
Contrast those ephemeral things with the fact that those flowers you keep ignoring won’t always be blooming.
And, more importantly, one day -sooner than you realize- the little ones who want your attention now won’t be little forever, or want your attention. The older ones who helped shape you won’t be here forever either.
Pay some attention to what’s really important.
Relax; we’ll keep you posted.
— Jim Shepherd
