| I’m reading the book Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter’s Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times by CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. It’s a fascinating book, but not light reading. Scott has been an award-winning journalist and photographer for over for over 40 years. He was on the ground in New York for 9/11, he interviewed George Bush in its aftermath, he has covered war zones, presidents and visionaries; He has interviewed some of the world’s most fascinating people, and no story is too big or too small to tell, as long as he is showcasing the truth. For some reason, I’ve been thinking about all the questions I’d like to ask him, if were seated next to him at a dinner party. For example:What was the defining moment that lead you to go into journalism?How do you keep your calm demeanor when covering an event like 9/11?Where do you, as an untrained civilian, find the courage to embed with the military in a war zone?How do you do objective reportage, even when you find your subject arrogant, distasteful, or downright dishonest?How do you avoid letting your own political views bias your coverage of a politician or world leader with whom you disagree politically?After interviewing so many “luminaries” on the world stage, are you ever “star struck” when you meet someone?How often do you develop such a rapport with your subject that you become friends? Or do you interview so many people that this rarely happens?I suspect my list would go on and on, right through dessert. I’ve often thought about contemporary and historic figures I’d like to chat with over dinner. It’s interesting to ponder the questions you’d ask, if you were lucky enough to dine with them. It makes you think about the world in a different way. Actually, I’ve discovered that if you approach talking to almost anyone as if they were the most interesting person you ever met, most people actually turn out to be quite fascinating, once you get them talking. If you had the chance, who would you invite to dinner, and what questions would you want to ask? |
Out on a Limb 
Ah, a good question, Carol. For me, I would invite my mother …. a healed mother. I would invite the mother who was not lost in the throes of schizophrenia and a host of other challenges. I would invite the healthy mother I never knew; the mother who I look so much like now, and who I got my love of words from. We’d sit, break bread, perhaps have a glass of wine. We’d talk. We’d learn about each other. We’d laugh, exchange notes about books and movies and music … and plays. She loved the theater, that I do know. I’d tell her about my crazy drive across the country, and she’d admonish me to be more careful in the future. I’d reach out, and she would take my hand for a brief moment …. before slowly disappearing back into the mists of another space and time.
No, she might not be famous, but here genes helped make me who I am … and I would love to buy her dinner. ❤