I mentioned Chris Moore of FOX Sports Radio the other day. He has a theory: after you reach a certain age, a phone call is never a good thing. When you're young, you get party invitations, those "Hey, let's go out for a beer" and similar calls.
When you grow a little older, it's the bank, the broker, the credit card company, the doctor, the dentist, and the mechanic on the line.
Or, it could be the office.
I was snoozing away at 6:00 PM Tuesday when the phone rang. The caller ID on my cell phone said it was the TV station. I answered anyway. The assistant news director said Tom Williams was sick, and I was needed to co-anchor the Wednesday morning news. I'm normally off Wednesdays, but, hey, you know me. Team player. I took the gig.
The anchor desk is nothing new. I've been there weekend mornings for ten years. I haven't filled in on the weekday broadcast in quite a while. It's a little different. I've "co-anchored" exactly one newscast since August of 2000.
I will preface this by saying it's not brain surgery. No one dies if it doesn't go well. It's not extreme manual labor like digging a ditch. To many, co-anchoring appears quite easy. I'm sure it is once you're used to it. I'm not.
I was lucky. I had Mindi Ramsey to my right. She was patient with my stupid questions and very easy to work with. Two good producers also helped in the process. Tom Williams is very fortunate.
Tom, I hope you're feeling better.
Mindi, thanks.
