Fathers And Daughters...Acorns and Trees

This "goodbye" business is getting a bit old.

First Reitman, now Amy.

Ms. Taylor leaves us Friday morning after a bunch of years and more laughs--on the air and off--than my addled brain can retain.

You already know how I feel about Amy: smart, tough, funny, real, and truly one of a kind. And, I know where she got it from.

Amy's parents, Jack and Virginia, are living proof the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. We've had them on the air via the phone over the years, but I'd never gotten the chance to meet Dad face to face until Thursday morning when he shared an hour with us, telling stories about a daughter he obviously loves and respects.

Jack is a Chicago television and radio legend...he doesn't know it, but I was one of his most avid viewers, even though I lived well out of WGN-TV's range in the 70's.

In fact, Jack Taylor put me to bed more nights than he can imagine.

In those days, I was going to school and later cutting my radio teeth in Stevens Point--a city that had the foresight, even back then, to wire it's denizens with cable television. Point didn't have a station of it's own, and got only two signals from Wausau, so the city fathers decided it was time to seize the future and bring in the coax.

Cable brought us WGN/Chicago. That meant Jack Taylor's "Nightbeat".

I'm not sure what time it started, but I know it was on a lot of evenings/mornings when I came home from the bars. In fact, for many years, I thought Jack Taylor had three heads. I watched the one in the middle.

Jack's late night news recap told me all I needed to know about the world before I went to bed--trouble is, I usually passed out on the couch before he got to the end of the show. He would often be the last thing I'd see--telling me all that troubled our planet that day, but a reassuring presence that said all was well...that he'd be back tomorrow, when, hopefully, things went better.

I'm sure he had the same affect on untold millions of people in Chicago and wherever the cable carried 'GN. He must hear it a million times.

I didn't get to tell Jack what he meant to me today--only that I was nervous as I did the news in his presence. Today was about Amy, a dad she loves, and a father who's proud of what his daughter's done, both in the business he loves and at home she's made with her triplets.

In fact, today we didn't connect as viewer and fan. He said something that made me share his pride as a father.

At one point, he mentioned how as a parent, you share the joy and pain your kids experience. Watching him in the studio this morning, it was pretty clear he was feeling everything Amy was--the relief of knowing the job at KTI would soon be done, that the one at home would now get her full-time attention. Some sadness, sure, but also the contentment that comes with making the right choice.

What parent hasn't felt that as your child reaches a milestone, be it as small as a part in the first grade play or as big as giving the high school commencement address.

Amy's accomplishments are many. And, in a long and storied life, Amy is one of Jack's finest. I share his pride. I'm honored to have met them both.

Good luck Amy. And, thanks Jack and Virginia, for making her possible.