the lady in black

one of the highlights of my career was the opportunity to work for and with bob and nancy maynard at the oakland tribune. i say "with" because it always felt as though the "trib" was such a collaborative effort that no one really worked for anyone else. we were all in it together.

perhaps that was because it was so important to the maynards that their newsroom reflect the community we served. at the trib it was not unusual to have a black city editor send an asian photographer and white writer to cover a latino funeral in east oakland, which would then be edited by an irish catholic assistant city editor.

that was life at the trib, the best place i ever worked.

one of the worst things about working there was also the best. there was no money. but that just made us work harder. the maynards, along with eric newton and roy aarons wouldn't settle for mediocrity, so even though the trib didn't have the numbers or the cash flow, we had the talent, the commitment and more importantly, the desire to be the very best.

that was something nancy, particularly, insisted on. she was such an accomplished woman with sterling credentials. to this day i've never ever met another journalist with equal parts style and intelligence.

the first time i met nancy was in 1989 at the opening reception for IJE's prestigious summer program for minority journalists. honestly, she scared me just a little. she was so glam and graceful. it kind of felt like having an audience with the queen. i think we all secretly wanted to be her.

as luck would have it i was placed in the sports department at the trib following my completion of the program. although i was still somewhat scared of nancy, my fear dissipated once i got to know her.

nancy always wore black. nancy always looked good. nancy was not a hands-on kind of mentor, but she always had time for you and praised your efforts when you had done well. nancy was a great mom. nancy's home office was solid red and was the coolest room i'd ever seen. nancy always smiled at me and spoke when she walked past my desk, but i'll never forget that one time when she rolled her eyes at me.

it was my 34th birthday and i was bemoaning the fact that i was six years from 40--as if that milestone would mark the end of my life. nancy was like, "baby, please."

the last time i saw nancy was at the memorial service for roy aarons here in l.a. at USC. i literally fell into her arms because i tripped on a snag in the carpet. although i hadn't seen her since Bob's funeral in '93, seeing her there felt like i was back in that dusty old newsroom on the fourth floor of the tribune tower in downtown oakland.

it felt good.

i always loved being around her. she was smart, straight-forward, cosmopolitan, somewhat vulnerable and knew her way around a joke. the more i got to know her, the more i adored her. you really couldn't help but look up to NHM.

about 13 years ago i was asked to write a tribute speech to nancy at an event honoring her career. i was in cincinnati at the time and missed my plane and was unable to get to oakland in time. i was crushed because i'd never actually had the opportunity to tell her how much i appreciated the influence she had on my career and life. i knew then i might never get another chance to do so.

the irony.

i think, however, she knew. maybe she got a clue when i started wearing more black than usual.

nancy, thanks so much for letting me ride on your shoulders.

falling

sometimes i make really stupid decisions based on my inability to realize that i'm no longer 20.

last week i foolishly agreed to take a redeye flight from l.a. to toronto so that i could have a full day to do whatever i wanted to do in one of my favorite cities in the world. it seemed like a good idea at the time since i had no way of knowing that i'd have one bitch of a headache during the 4.5 hour flight from lax to yyz.

translation: i got NO sleep.

regardless, i was determined to accomplish one of the goals on my bucket list once i arrived in canada. i had to see niagra falls. my parents had been there, all of my siblings--even my grandmother who passed away in 1981. i'd been to TO many times but had just never gotten around to making that 80-mile trek to experience one of the planet's most breathtaking natural wonders.

i was determined this time because i've come to realize that tomorrow really isn't promised. if you wanna do something, you have to do it now.

so, with my knapsack on my back and my camera equipment stored in my roller bag, i walked up to the rental car counter, handed the clerk my driver's license, credit card and new mantra.

i need a car right now dude. i'm living for the moment.

at 6:30 a.m., he so didn't care.

it was a lovely drive. sensing that i was going to need some body fuel, i stopped once to get an egg mcmuffin and a hot cup of tea. half of tea spilled out when i was trying to re-open the car door because i was too out of it to realize that the roof on my WTF kind of dodge is this was slanted.

about 35 minutes later i was driving through ontario's unimpressive wine country--i'm sorry, give me napa, tuscany, the rhone or my cousin arnie's homemade wine--and less than 40 minutes later i arrived in niagra, a little resort village that is about 200 miles beyond cheesy.

the canadian side of the falls looks like disneyland threw up on las vegas, circa 1967. the only thing missing was the rat pack.

ironically, once you get into that crazed maze of chain restaurants, casinos and tacky tourist traps, signs and arrows directing you to the falls are nowhere to be found. fortunately, i've been blessed with a good sense of direction. i looked to my left and there it was--god's eternal shower.

since i had gotten there so early i got to park for free in a lot that would have otherwise cost me $8. the streets were empty and i only saw a handful of people strolling along the edge of the falls.
the mist was so thick at times that you could barely see through it, but the raging currents cascading over that ledge were a sight to behold. suddenly my fatigue dissipated, my head stopped pounding and for about 20 minutes all was right in the world.

my only regret is that i couldn't share that dance with laura, rhonda, mary, pappy and all my other friends who are bravely fighting through some of life's inevitable challenges. hopefully, these visuals will strengthen them, too.