Peter Jennings

I don't usually get emotional when a TV personality passes away. Last night I woke up with heartburn. I went to sit on the couch and turned on the TV. It was 3am. That's when I learned that Peter Jennings had died. For some reason, this hit me really hard. Maybe it's because I used to watch him anchor the national news every night since the 80s. My parents used to watch it every night when I lived with them and I would always sit and watch with them. Peter Jennings became a staple in my daily life. I always knew that something major went down when I saw the "Special Report" screen with Peter sitting in front of it. Whenever something major happened he always sounded so somber yet calming at the same time. He sometimes got emotional, I guess that's what made him seem human to me. The last time I saw him cover a major event was on 9/11. I watched him in the early stages, when one of the planes was still in the air. I remember him saying, "All other planes have been grounded as instructed. We know that something is up with this one. We pray for these people." I cried when I heard that. Seeing him on TV this morning made me sad. I hope that his family gets through this ok.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I totally agree.You'd think I know these people I get so sad.I read he had a 23 and 25 year old.It is so hard losing a parent that young because most likely you are still too young to fully appreciate them.I feel sorry for my sister because she was 20 when my dad died,I was 27 and just starting to realize how great we had it growing up with him for a dad.o.k. I did not intend for this comment to be about me or my family...really so sad about Peter Jennings we watched him too...

Jessica said...

I'm with you. I remain a bit surprised by how saddened I was when I heard the news. I've never cried when a movie star or musician died - no matter how much I liked them. I really think letting someone into your living room every night via the news breeds a kind of bizarre one-way intimacy. At any rate, it's a sad day for journalism.

The Unprocessed Project said...

It kinda hit me hard too. Peter always reminds me of being a kid and my parents would have the news on in the evening. My mom would be cooking dinner, dad reading the paper. Just his voice reminds me of a simple time in my life, my childhood.

:) said...

yeah..was..really odd. he was reasoniably young too. sad. :(

Kiddo78 said...

Of course I knew who Peter was, but we always watched Tom Brokaw. I'm gonna lose it when he goes, I bet...I agree with Katie: his voice in the living room reminds me of being a kid again.