One Story He Forgot to Tell

(2005) There are a lot of people I can say I’ve been through a lot with. Of course, none haven been there with me more than my parents and sister. But there are some friends who I’ve shared some of my life’s greatest and hardest moments with. There are others that I have shared the world’s greatest and most difficult days with.

But one person comes to mind that’s literally been through just about every major world event with me on a daily basis. Sadly, he died this week. I’m talking about long time ABC News anchorman, Peter Jennings.

Since I can remember he’s been right in front of me giving me certain facts, opinions or just a human element to make what was happening real. Even as a kid I can remember hearing him talking as I would fall asleep late at night. He was an icon of American journalism. He was on America’s TV sets for four decades, along with the likes of Tom Brokaw with NBC and Dan Rather at CBS.

I can remember him covering Hurricane Alicia when we lived in Houston in 1983 and the Shuttle Challenger explosion of 1986. I recall his words when President Reagan was shot. I remember him talking to us about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. He was there in the elections of Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush. He was there during various Olympic events and he helped us deal with the Oklahoma City bombing and the Waco compound ordeal. He brought to us other events as well such as various Mid-East conflicts, “Watergate”, and Vietnam. He helped us deal with various wars, economic struggles and social issues. He even stirred the social pot with TV specials like “"The Search for Jesus" in 2000 and "Jesus and Paul — the Word and the Witness" in 2004. I watch the news today because of him.

But no one made the events of 9/11 more real than he did. I watched, as like most of us, he cried as he tried to give what facts he knew about that terrible day. It was Jennings to a “t”. He made the news worth watching and being from Canada, he wasn’t even a sworn in American until 2003.

Despite his political leanings, Jennings was a decent representative of life itself as an American. Sometimes his comments made me mad, other times he was sincere and right. But he was consistent and was always there.

Unfortunately, the one story he never completely explained was that of smoking and how it kills. He told us in April that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Less than 4 months later, he was dead. Suddenly the face and voice so many of us had been used too as a source of comfort and stability is now gone.

Funny how his “mark” on society now has nothing to do with what he said all of those years. Now it has to do with what he did all of those years. His legacy just might be the millions who claim they’re never smoking again.

Sure, like many, I’ve had my share of smokes in my life. Sadly, during my college years, I tried a lot of things I wish I would have never heard of. My Papa Jack smoked cigars until I was in my early teens. My mother smoked when she was younger. My granny smoked her entire life. And, like many of you reading this, I have family and friends that smoke packs and packs a week. Some smoke a pack a day like Jennings did. Sure, I enjoy a cigar, a “clove” or a pipe here and there. But now I’m thinking I’ll never have another.

I don’t want to be gone 4 months from now.

Do you?


“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own…” 1 Corinthians 6:19


© 2005, J. Brady
"I say it as I see it and I make no bones about it."