September 1 2004

  We're BACK!!!!!!

    Since last we spoke alot has happened, both in the news and just amongst ourselves. For me, its
been an incredibly busy summer. And if you had told me that on September 1st, I would not have step
foot in the Irish Circle or Long Beach, or even gone for a swim at the beach, I'd have said that sounds
like a pretty crappy summer to me. And make no mistake, I miss all that stuff.
But it's been far from a crappy summer. It's been one of the most exciting ones I've ever had.
    I worked on 3 stories that I'm particularly proud of. Working that Yankee-Red Sox game on July 24
was something I'd only dreamed about since I was a kid. On August 8, a baby was bitten by a pit-bull at
his neighbors apartment in Brooklyn. I got to interview the baby's father and grandmother. It ended up on
page 3 of the next day's paper.
    Then 2 days later, I was watching the desk when I got a call from a southern sounding lady who was
eating at an Upper East Side restaurant where she saw Mike Wallace get arrested. I told my editors and
they were like "Who should we send down there?" I was like "AHEM!" I was the first media there and by
far the first newspaper. I even was able to get an exclusive photo of Wallace in cuffs from a busboy.
Matt Drudge had our story on his website (my second appearance on Drudge) and Charles McCord read
the part of the story I wrote on Imus in the Morning the next day.
    And it hasn't been a total washout either. On August 19, a good chunk of us got together at Annie
Moore's for dinner. Besides the fact that I kept spilling drinks all over myself, it was an awesome time.
    So, despite the fact that I've worked almost every weekend, I've still managed to have my fun. And
when work is fun too, it makes it easier. Don't get me wrong, there are nights where I'm wondering why I
decided to get into this racket. I was in the Bronx two Friday's ago on a shooting during a basketball
game between two projects. I tried talking to people at the hospital but nobody said a word. I got lost on
my way to the scene and the editors were ready to kill me. Another night, I was waiting at Elmhurst
Hospital for the family of a man who was seriously hurt after a chunk of concrete fell off the overpass on
the Grand Central Parkway. Nobody back at the Post believed me when I told them there was no other
family members there. Ends up the man's wife was all the way out on the Island and didn't get to the
hospital to the next afternoon.
    But for all those lows, there are more highs. So it's been good. And hopefully, it will just get better. At
this time last year, the future was totally uncertain. Now, while there are no guarantees in life, things are
going in the right direction.



The Olympics

    Had an interesting debate with a co-worker last week. He said that he was rooting against the USA
Men's basketball team. Of course I thought this ludicrous. How can you live here and root against your
country? And this wasn't even someone who was born somewhere else and moved here.
    He response was that he couldn't root for Allen Iversion, or LeBron James, couldn't root for a team
that didn't bust its butt on defense, or hit a simple outside shot. It kind of makes sense.
    But still I said, you root for the uniform, for the flag that will fly if the US wins the goal medal. Hey, if
John Rocker was pitching for the US Baseball team, (perish the thought) I'd put aside for a moment the
fact that he's a compete asshole and root for him to strike out the side. Of course with the anti-doping
policies being enforced, that scenario would never present itself.
     Still, an informal ESPN.com poll showed that only 49% of over 10,000 people polled were
unconditionally pulling for the US team, while 24% wanted them to lose and 26% are kind of hoping they
lost. Sad
    But alas those people weren't disappointed. The US lost to Argentina on Friday. They won the bronze
medal on Saturday, but that means nothing. They ought to be ashamed of themselves. And if Stephon
Marbury is what we Knick fans have to look forward to as our franchise player, we're in deep doo-doo.
     There was some controversy in gymnastics, when American Paul Hamm took gold, only to be told
that he won because of a judges mistake and that the gold should have gone to the South Korean. There
was a huge outcry for Hamm to give back his medal. It ends up that mistakes were made by the judges
on the South Korean kid's program too, effectively canceling each other out. All I have to say is, if South
Korea was willing to give Roy Jones Jr. his 1988 gold medal, then we could talk. Otherwise, they should
just shut the f--k up.
What would the Olympics be without some crazy controversy anyway?

Speaking of crazy controversies, what the hell is going on in New Jersey?

    I went to pick up my paycheck on August 12, and the kid on the desk said "You may want to split
quickly. The Governor of New Jersey just announced he was resigning because he's gay." I was meeting
up with the Keaveney's and Danielle, so I was in no mood to stay. But as Billy Gorta would say "This was
a tabloid's dream."
    I'm in the camp that says Jim McGreevey quit more because the man was closing in on him rather than
his preference for men over women. His administration had corruption written all over it. It's a shame too,
McGreevey was a good Irish Catholic like myself, who brought some energy to the Garden State.
Unfortunately he was crooked as the day was long, and with piles of inquiries loading up on him, he
bailed out. When the going got tough, he came out. Then he got out.

John Kerry's War Record

    I understand the appeal of having a President with a military background in this post 9/11 world. I
know why John Kerry has reminded us at every turn that he is a decorated veteran of Vietnam. Especially
since President Bush at best served in the Texas Air National Guard and at worst didn't even report for
duty there.
    But now this organization that is looking to discredit Kerry's service in Vietnam. They call themselves
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. They deny that they are funded by the Republican Party.
    Two Sundays ago on the beach, my uncle, a hopeless liberal who makes Al Franken look like William
F. Buckley, was ranting on about politics. My poor dad was desperately trying to tune him out. But I had
to ask my father one question. Being a decorated vet himself, isn't it almost impossible to fudge stuff
like that?
  Unless he could somehow find someone higher up to lie and vouch, then yes, it would be hard to get a
medal you don't deserve, much less 3. These people are grasping at straws here and they know it. The
Bush administration is obviously starting to feel the heat.
And again, at least Kerry went there right?

                                                            WEEKLY MAIL AT THE RNC

    Well, so far I got to go into our office space, which is in the MSG Theater, on Friday. I  snuck a peek
into the arena, and all the balloons and stuff were on the ground. I hope they have better luck with the
balloons here then they did in Boston. I suspect they will. New York knows what they're doing when it
comes to things like this. In Boston there was so much confusion. Here, things are much more
organized.
    I'm not sure I'm going to get back in there till after the convention is over. I did get to go to Roseland
Sunday night because Jenna and Barbara Bush were attending a gala there. My main job was to hang out
and make sure there was no trouble, but I got into the photographers area, so I was only about 10 feet
away when they walked on the red carpet. No surprise, being who their father is, that neither one of them
are particularly swift. Jenna kept saying to Barbara "This is crazy, this is crazy" If I had been on the rail, I
would have asked them if they had any tune-ups before they left the hotel, but it was so crowded and
loud, they wouldn't have heard me.
    Jenna might want to mix a salad in with her margarita's too. She's by no means heavy, but she's got a
little beer gut going. Barbara's actually much prettier in person than I thought.  The women at this thing
were incredible. Not that I was looking to much......
    So I'll try to file reports on what I do and see regarding the convention. Unfortunately at this point, it
looks like I'll be doing more non-convention stories, as the more seasoned vets get to do those stories.
I'll be doing the shootings and the hit and runs that are always so much fun.

Hope you didn't miss me too much
Have a Great Week
Wild B.