Today at lunch the elder stateswoman in our lunch group sat down at the restaurant table, noticed that Ed Bradley had died (she saw the news feed on one of the many teevees) and then was completely paralyzed by the teevee. The waitress asked her for her drink order and she didn’t even pay attention. Someone else ordered for her. We settled in, had some general conversation, the waitress came back and we ordered. The paralyzed woman had to be snapped out of it to order. I snarkily wondered if she had ever slept with Ed. Yes, brilliant journalist who blazed a trail. But, we’re at lunch, order your food because we don’t have all day. And, once you’ve read the news feed on CNN you have the news because they REPEAT over and over again.
A little while later, after she snapped out of it, she told a story about 60 Minutes calling her office years ago and asking to confirm/deny something or other and she was snippy to the producer who called. So it wasn’t a stretch for me to wonder if she had snogged Ed.
Towards the end of lunch she looked at us and said, “You all are probably too young to remember Jessica Savitch.” The youngest member of our lunch group is in her mid-20s. Perhaps she didn’t know who Jessica Savitch was but those of us in our mid-to-late 30s and the 50 year-old certainly did. Frankly, I drifted off a bit until the wise old lady couldn’t remember the exact details of how Savitch died. So I chimed in with “car accident, canal”.
Maybe we aren’t all too young to remember. Maybe the condescending tone needs to stop. Maybe I need a few days off.
