My mother made me do a crazy thing before I left to cover a war

(I’m pulling out a column from way back in honor of the brave journalists covering the mess in Ukraine.) 10 years later I still can’t believe I did this. But, I guess when your mother catches you keeping one of the biggest secrets of your life, you do as you’re told. Rewind the tape to 2003 when President George W. Bush had declared the US would invade Iraq. If you remember correctly, he just didn’t say exactly when, which, it

Read more

Strangers Clean Up CNN Center Atlanta Following Night of Out of Control Riots

Strangers picked up glass and scrubbed graffiti at CNN Atlanta The worst and best of Atlanta CNN Center Atlanta has seen the worst and best of this city in a span of less than 20 hours. People began to gather Friday afternoon in Downtown Atlanta protesting a number of police officer shootings including the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Things were peaceful for many hours. They eventually got out of control. Someone set a police car on fire.

Read more

CNN Correspondent Ed Lavandera And Crew Help Rescue Elderly Couple In Texas Floods

CNN correspondent Ed Lavandera is just one of the many reporters, producers and photographers in Texas covering the devastating floods. They are there to do a job. Report the news. And, And, They are human beings first. None finer than the folks who work for CNN. Ed was in the middle of a live shot with anchor Ana Cabrera when they came upon a house with an elderly couple that needed rescuing. There was never a question of what was

Read more

My HLN Interview: I Can Go Home Again!

Feeling so grateful to my professional family at HLN, first cousins to CNN. The beautiful Christi Paul invited me to come talk about reinventing my career, finding love and becoming a mom. The producers also found a ton of clips from my CNN career. Those moments seem like yesterday and another life. Just in case you missed the segment, here it is. If you want to see more about “Hope Possible,” you can find it here. Available in both print and

Read more

So, About That Time I Remembered My Life Changed; Maybe Yours, Too?

So, about that time I remembered my life changed…. A couple of precious gifts from neighbors showed up at my front door this week. No, not covered hot casseroles dishes so that I wouldn’t have to cook dinner. Though, that would’ve been nice. All contributions are always graciously accepted. This story starts with Eli. You know all that stuff you hear about what’s wrong with young people today? None of it is true about Eli. Here’s a young man who

Read more

What’s There To Be Thankful For Anyway?

Some days I struggle with that sign. The one that hangs on the wall just inside our front door. “In Everything Give Thanks” it reads, painted on a simple wood plank. My friend, Dana, gave me that sign about six years ago, a reminder of a time when things weren’t feeling so thank-y around here. A reminder of a time when something that seemed bad at first, turned out to be rather awesome, something indeed to be thankful for. I don’t know

Read more

When I Used To Be Someone

Whoa! This column got a huge response. I’ve received more email than I have in a long time. Feel free to comment at the bottom. And please catch my column each week in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the Dayton Daily News.   All I really wanted was a manicure. Really, just about a half-hour to myself, a trim of some nasty hangnails and a couple coats of pretty light pink nail polish. “Bubble Bath,” I read on the bottom

Read more