Personal Bucket List: Visit All US Presidential Libraries.

I’ve made some progress on this one, but naturally, I’d like to make more. I am a student of history, if that wasn’t painfully obvious before, and ever since I was very young I’ve had an interest in Presidential history. I don’t really know why, except that, as the leader of a country the cultural landscape, vision, scope, and identity of that country can be wrapped up in the embodiment of one individual. That is why Presidential terms are given titles such as “Age of Lincoln” or “The Kennedy Years” “Reagonomics” and “Obamacare”. 

Really any of these terms apply for more than the actions of one individual, but still much of what we consider to be culturally relevant can be found in the person who is the President of the United States.

In the last several years, I have visited the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids (his library is located at his alma mater, that place in Ann Arbor) and The Abraham Lincoln Library in Illinois. It’s kind of pathetic, but I’ve never been to the Harding Museum, even though it’s the closest in Marion, nor have I been to any in the state of Ohio (Hays, McKinley). That’s an issue to be sure.

Having said that, there are only a handful of Presidential Libraries which are considered significant enough to be national landmarks. A listing of these can be found here. At any rate, I would like to see what can be found at each of these locations. To tour the museums, see the exhibits, and study the archives would allow me to have a greater understanding of what made these men tick, and why they did what they did. I don’t know if I’ll ever use that knowledge, but for me, it will be a satisfying journey.

Thoughts on Father's Day

So it’s Father’s Day. In our home it wasn’t always a big thing as Dad was never really into celebrating for the sake of doing it. However, I know he still enjoys it.

Gary Flinn has always been a bit of an inspiration to me, though there are times when I think we are not exactly on the same page. He and my brother Will are more alike and as a result tend to be closer. But Dad has been a constant guiding force in my life. He taught me several things in life, primarily to have faith in others, to be honest, willing to do what it takes, and to always offer a helping hand or a kind word if it was needed.

His mechanical abilities didn’t get passed to me as they did to my brother, but what I did “inherit” I suppose is a willingness to get involved, mix it up a bit, and try to make things better, in spite of overwhelming odds. 

I’ll never forget when Dad used to MC the Hardin County Sheep Improvement Banquets. He would go out of his way to find humor, tell jokes and be a constant entertaining force that would make the banquets so much more memorable. Admittedly, there are days that I miss that.

When we talk, I try to keep Dad updated on what’s going on out in the county and world, but I always find that to be somewhat futile. In his job, he travels around the county on a daily basis and frankly, whatever is happening, he’ll know before I do. When you walk around the fair with Dad he’ll have to stop and talk with everyone, or everyone will stop him and say “Hey Gary! What’s happening with you?” This will then turn into a ten or fifteen minute conversation. We give him grief for that, but the truth is that it makes me proud to have a father who is respected enough in the community for this to happen.

So while we don’t always have the closest or best relationship in the world, the truth is that I am proud of my Dad and all that he’s been able to do in his life. He and my mother have been married for over thirty years, and have successfully raised three children. None of us are perfect, but I’d like to think that I’d look back on my own experiences thirty or forty years from now and consider myself to be as fortunate as he is.

Happy Father’s Day to my Dad, Gary Flinn, and to all the fathers out there! This one’s for you.

In reporting breaking news, sometimes it's darned if you do...

Sometimes seeing how people respond to news is just as interesting as the news itself (and yes, I’m using the word “interesting” in the context I usually do)

In my job, from time to time I have to cover a tragic news event. I’ve discussed this before, and it’s not something I like to do, but in the world of journalism there are times when it is necessary to report on events which are not happy or cheerful things. When people are seriously hurt, killed or a crime has occurred it is necessary for the media to report what happened, and that isn’t always an easy thing to do. Having said that, I am amazed at times what kind of a reaction a news story can provoke.

Compared to others, our community is rather small so perhaps I’m closer to this than some other places but every time there is an accident, fatal or otherwise, I go to the scene and get pictures. Sometimes I post them from the scene to let people know what happened and other times I wait till I get back to the station. The overall goal is to get the word out quickly, but also to let people know what’s happening. I mean, let’s say the crash happened on a busy street intersection or on a major road. If traffic is backed up, people will want to know why and plan to drive accordingly.

But every time this happens, we catch flak from people who think that we’re being insensitive, as we should wait till all family members are notified before we publish a picture.

First off, we have no way of knowing this, and waiting till law enforcement puts out a release can take a couple of days at times which means the news is old and people have moved on. News doesn't wait for anyone, but beyond that consider this. If you were listening to the initial report and wondered if you had a loved one involved, saw the picture and realized that they didn’t drive the car, wouldn’t you feel better about it?

And even if I did learn of a tragic event this way, I would be more concerned for the person involved. I could care less how I learned about it.

I mean, imagine if this man couldn't have reported on the Kennedy Assassination till all family members were contacted?

I mean, imagine if the media couldn’t report 9/11, or the Sandy Hook shooting till ALL family members were notified. It just doesn’t happen (One commenter today noted that she had 36 cousins that she would want to be notified before the media reported it. Imagine that.)

So what do you think? I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, but I am curious as to how everyone feels about this sort of thing.