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Tears for our community

We read horrific stories about the tragic ending of life nightly.  Car wrecks, child abuse, murders, and more.  So why then could I not completely hold it together Wednesday night at 10?  I am able to most nights, right?

Perhaps it was the culmination of the recent horror we’ve all witnessed.  The five serial murders.  The youngest victim, Abby Tyler,  just 15 years old.

Then Wednesday the 8 year old girl, Brooke Center, who police say was intentionally murdered in a twisted domestic violence scenario that will be hard to ever get out of our minds.

I had not seen Brooke Center’s picture until the story hit the air Wednesday night on News Channel 7 at 10 on the CW.

Earlier in the evening, the horror of the crime, had me welling up with tears when I stopped to think about it.

But when I saw that sweet, innocent, precious face - on TV during the 10 O’clock news, it all became too much.

Most of the time we are so busy “doing” on the news:  gathering the facts, writing them and communicating them to you - that we don’t have much time in that moment for “feeling” it.

Wednesday night was one of those rare moments where I couldn’t help but “feel it” and show it.  There was no escaping it.

When Susan Smith drowned her precious boys in the 90’s I remember being so swamped with the breaking developments, that I just didn’t have the opportunity to completely absorb them.  But when I got off the air, within minutes I cried.

September 11th was similar.  Able to hold it together on TV, but when I left the set - the tears started.

Perhaps it’s important to have these brief glimpses into the heart of a broadcaster like myself, so you can truly understand we’re not hardened robots up there reading this bad stuff. 

We feel it.  Just like you.