Ringside To History

It was back in the 1950's, but to me it was like yesterday.

I was in the first week of my first paying job as a reporter when my boss handed me a story that had been in the paper and said, "Call the mayor and see what he has to say about this."

I was terrified. Why whould a high and mighty official like the mayor of Fort Worth talk to the likes of me? But I got up my courage, swallowed hard, call the mayor's home number, and when his wife answered I identified myself and asked to speak to the mayor.

The next thing I knew there was the familiar voice of Mayor Tom McCann in my ear saying, "Yes, Bob?"

That's when I realized one of the great thrills of journalism - getting through to someone that everyone wants to ask a question.

Forty-three years later, I had the same thrill Friday - getting to be where many Americans would have liked to be - inside the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the historic arguments about the election.

It's an overworked word, but the Court is one of the last institutions in America that is awesome and facinating.

I have no idea what the justices will decide. As Anthony Lewis so aptly put it in The New York Times yesterday, "the Court seemed as divided as the rest of us."

No, my only tip this morning is to young people who may be torn about what to do with their lives. Take it from an old-timer: There are many ways to find happiness, but it's sure fun to be a reporter.