It's probably not at the top of your "what if" list, but what if downtown Pittsburgh was the victim of massive flooding, a severe power outage or -- God forbid - a terrorist attack? It's not something any of us want to think about - but there are a group of people who prepare for the worst-case scenario every day. Yesterday, I was given a rare glimpse inside their world.

Sunday's dip in temperature and the howling winds that sent a chill through the air was the only hint I needed that summer was over. Not that summer which ends sometime in September, but rather the summer my guy friends refer to as "the Summer of Golf".

Folks, I'm going to be honest. I am tired. After two straight days of getting to be after 10pm and waking up at 2am, I have absolutely no energy. Even worse, I have no creativity. Can you believe it? It took 200 posts, but I have no idea what to write about.

If there was any doubt that mine is no longer the youngest generation, I had to look no further than our newsroom and my assignment for Wednesday.

As part of my weekly "Check It Out" segment, I had an interview scheduled with the lead actor in the Heinz Hall production of "Twelve Angry Men" - Richard Thomas. His claim to fame is the role of "John-Boy" in the 70's TV hit "The Waltons". Remember the famous line at the end of the show "Good night John-Boy"? Obviously the younger members of our newsroom did not. Melanie Taylor and Demetrius Ivory had blank stares when I mentioned the show - and the character. Not to worry. Their day will come.

I sat down with Richard at the Double Tree Hotel Wednesday. He was a very nice and engaging person - a man in his 50's but with a face that had hardly changed since his TV stardom of the 70's. Richard tells me he has always been a actor who lived for the stage rather than for the screen. His first acting role on stage - was at age six.

We discussed "Twelve Angry Men" - the play he's doing based on the movie starring Henry Fonda 50 years ago. Thomas plays juror number 8 - who tries to turn 11 other jurors over to his side in a case filled emotion and prejudice. It's a story that still has legs 50 years later - even more so because of our obsession with celebrity-court cases.

Thomas says he doesn't mind people recognizing - and identifying him - as John-Boy when he's doing this role. Still, he says every so often at the end of the performance, someone will invariably yell "Good night John-Boy" at the end of the performance.

He has been here before - shooting scenes a decade ago in the film "Wonder Boys", but he says this time around he plans to real visit and take in Pittsburgh and all it has to offer in terms of art, culture and museums. It was a joy meeting one of the icons of my youth and it would be worth you time to go see "Twelve Angry Men" at Heinz Hall. Just don't yell "Good night John-Boy" when the curtain comes down.

Really, I don't have a jealous bone in my body. Ask Sharon. She'll tell you that she wishes I would be jealous sometimes when others heap affection on her or tell her how pretty she looks. I wish I could, but I'm not the jealous type. Never have been.

I guess it all dates back to my first encounter with a situation that could have involved jealousy. One night at a party in high school, I walked in on my girlfriend at the time kissing another guy. I guess I should have been upset and started yelling and screaming or - at the least - crying. Instead, I looked them and said "OK" and walked out. I didn't really have any feeling about it whatsoever other than the feeling that this relationship was over. Believe it or not, I think that cool demeanor made her reconsider and ask for my forgiveness and we dated for another two months.

Being an emotional person by nature, I have never had that particular emotion. I guess because I just consider jealousy a waste of time and energy. I figure if you want something - or someone - you should find a way to get it rather than stewing over why you don't have it.

Now, the title of this blog is "I don't get jealous, but ..." and that's because I think I am experiencing a feeling of jealousy for the first time in a while. Every year, "Pittsburgh Magazine" features it's "40 under 40". It's a photo essay of 40 local people who are making a difference in western Pennsylvania - and they are all under the age of 40. Since they first started doing the award a few years back, I always thought it would be cool to be included in that group - because that has always been my focus since joining Channel 4.

Well, this year's list came out ( see the edition on newsstands now ) and I once again did not make the list. Now the only reason I feel somewhat jealous is that I turn 40 next year - so I will never be one of the "40 under 40". Even one of my good friends made the cut! Of course, to make the "40 under 40", you need to be nominated by someone - and I guess no one did but then again I did not ask anybody to speak on my behalf. I guess I just feel weird doing that.

I have won journalism awards, but this was one honor I was hoping to capture someday - and the fact I missed my last shot at the honor has brought out a feeling that I thought I didn't have - jealousy. I guess we all have that bone in our bodies - whether we like to admit it or not.

Maybe I got a shot at "50 under 50".

I always felt that the greatest thing we can do as people - TV broadcasters or otherwise - is give back to the causes we care about. Whether we donate our time or our dollars, everything we do can make a difference. With that in mind, Sharon and I decided to spend this pas Saturday helping to "make a difference".

The day began at 8am in Houston, Washington County where Val Porter from the WDVE Morning Show had put together a pancake breakfast and auction benefiting the Washington County Animal Shelter. Val asked myself and Sally Wigging to come and shake hands and greet people. What amazed me is how many folks showed up -- well over 300! The line went out the door and they had to head back to the store for more pancake mix. In the end, $9900 was raised and two dogs found homes.

Around noontime, Sharon and I headed to Churchill for the Animal Rescue League Fashion Show. Here is Sharon and I posing with our new friend, Sami.

This event was different for me. Sharon was modeling and Sally served as emcee for the audience of some 200 women. I was happy to be a face in the crowd and play the role of "Mr. Sharon Stockey" for a change. Although, I had an embarrassing moment. Lunch was served and started with a small bowl of pasta - and then a salad with chicken. I was waiting for the main course when I was told by Sally that this was a "ladies lunch" .. and that was all that was being served. Always wonderful how women stayed so fit and trim .. and now I know why.

The fashion show was a financial success -- and one of the dogs was adopted. As for Sharon, she bought the shoes she wore in the show as well as some jewelry.

We weren't done running. We got home at 3pm and left at 4pm, bound for Sewickley. Sharon and I served as honorary co-chairs for the Sewickley Country Club Crawl benefiting the Heritage Valley Hospitals and their new C-section unit. It was a 50's theme .. and that's why we did the goofy pose with the sunglasses.

Photo courtesy: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The crawl took 160 guests - by trolley -- to the Sewickley Heights Country Club for drinks and appetizers, then to the Allegheny Country Club for dinner and then the Edgeworth Country Club for dessert. It was a fun evening and a chance to make many new friends. I did not feel we did a whole lot as honorary co-chairs, but the folks at Heritage were happy to have our involvement at one of their fund-raisers for the second time in three years.

We spent both money and time giving back Saturday .. and we were exhausted .. but we were also filled with the good feeling that - in some small way - our participation made a small part of our world a bit better than it was before.

The surprises did not stop there. My interview with Mayor Ravenstahl allowed me to enter the mayor's office for the first time. He's a sports fan, just like me, and has pictures hanging in his rather large office with various athletes and a signed Mario jersey. But the thing that really got my attention was the way Ravenstahl is preparing for tonight's showdown: No mock debates. He just goes through his notes and quietly prepares. I think a lot of it comes from his days as a place kicker at Washington & Jefferson. Back then, kickers pretty much practiced by themselves.

I'm writing on Andrew's blog because this concerns him in a way.



I was doing a news story at a high school football game on a Friday night when one person greeted me by saying "Hi, Mr. Stockey." It surprised me a bit because Andrew is younger, taller and better looking than me. He's also black, and I'm white.



I corrected the man in what I hope was a gentle manner, because misidentification never bothered me in all my 28 years in TV, because I'm also better at faces than names. And when you're on a news scene, it's only important that you be recognized as a person to go to in order to get the news out. In that situation, it doesn't really matter if your name is known.



For years, my friend Ralph Ianotti, a reporter for another station, has been telling the story of how he was mistaken for a colleague, Harold Hayes, who's black. Ralph is white. So I have a similar story now for him.



But the story I like to tell instead is how I was recognized on the street after one day and one appearance on WTAE-TV. That showed me that this station has a truly loyal audience with whom I've loved interacting ever since.



So, never hesitate to talk to us, even if you don't know our name (unless we're about to go on the air live), and we'll never hesitate to appreciate it.

Help! My blog is being hijacked!

While on vacation in the South Pacific for the first time, I made several observations I would like to share with you.

As you can see, we didn't just eat healthy food and exercise during our stay in Hawaii. We also like to indulge in the local drink menu -- and perhaps the tasty thing I tried -- was actually called "Blue Hawaiian".
What do you think is the rage when it comes to food in Hawaii? Sushi? Poi? Would you believe spam? That's right, spam is the bomb for the residents of the islands .. especially when it's served as sushi. Take a look at the spam musabi roll I had before one round of golf in Ewa Beach.

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that one of my passions in life - is golf. So how could I go to the islands and not play at least one round of golf? Sharon and I started our tour of the Hawaiian fairways when we traveled to Maui on Tuesday. We stayed at the Kaanapali resort .. and with the course just outside our window, we hit the links.


The "Kai" course at Kaanapali is one of two at the resort. Since we chose not carry our cumbersome clubs, we rented "sticks" at the resort. For Sharon, that meant using a set of men's clubs and, for me, it was a set of Titleist irons and woods. No matter what clubs we used, the views were spectacular. Look at the view from the tee at number 9.

With rented clubs, I wasn't expecting much from my game .. but I suprised myself. After 16 holes, I was only 7 over par .. and on pace to shoot a career low. That's when I made the fatal mistake of looking at my scorecard .. and finished with an 86 .. tying my career best.

Two days later, Sharon had booked us a round at the scenic Wailea gold course in the southern part of Maui. This was as luxurious a course that I had ever played with stunning vistas and a birds-eye view of the ocean on nearly every hole. Just look at what was behind us on the first tee.

We got paired up with a Eric, a former college football player turned stay-at-home dad. Judging by the way he hit the golf ball, I could tell he didn't spend every moment with his eight-year-old daughter. His company only added to a day of golf to remember ... for many reasons. I may never play a more pictureque golf course. It even made my score of 100 palatible.




We we're set to leave late Saturday night from Honolulu, but we had to be out of room by 3pm. So how do we kill six hours? Leave it to Sharon, who has the golf bug bad, to suggest another round before we depart. We found - of all places - an Arnold Palmer designed course. The Hawaii Prince Golf Club was in this residential community call ed Ewa Beach. As you can see, Sharon used the round as an excuse to wear the newest golf outfit she had purchased on vacation.
One lesson we learned while in Hawaii? There is a big difference in conditions between the morning and afternoon. By the time we teed off, the wind was howling. It would do more than just psh your ball one direction or the other. It would literally take a ball heading left and send it right at a 90-degree angle.





Still, it was a scenic and beuatiful venue .. allowing us to see Honolulu as we teed off from various holes. Once again, the view helped me get over my score ... which was once again a disappointing 100. While the golf was great, boy it was expensive .. and we didn't play the real high end courses. If you do want to play golf in Hawaii, my advice is to not only pack your clubs but also a lot of cash.


Tomorrow: The final chapter of my Hawaiian adventure .. the humorous side.

Mahalo!

In Hawaiian, it has many different meaning but foremost it means "thank you". Thanks for being so patient while I took some time off to rest and relax and re-energize myself for the work year ahead.

Sharon and I got back late last night and I'm still on Hawaii time - some six hours ahead - and I'm a bit jet-lagged. Still, I will be blogging and sharing some photos from my island adventure starting bright and early tomorrow morning. I will return to the morning show on Wednesday.

Once again, mahalo, and thanks for coming back to my blog. I look forward to not only sharing my stories and thoughts, but hearing yours as well.

Aloha .. until tomorrow!

You might remember a few months ago, I asked for you help. Sharon and I wanted to go on a "big" vacation. The plan was to go someplace new and different. I asked for your suggestions - and boy, did you respond. I got suggestions to go to resorts everywhere, from Idaho .. to Italy, from Orlando to the Outer Banks. I have to admit, I was overwhelmed by the 50 or so e-mails I received and I thank you for all of them.

In the end, Sharon and I decided to do something tropical, something exotic --- and do it somewhere in the states. So after much careful consideration, we have decided to head for HAWAII this weekend!

We have never been there before - and we haven't made any grand plans beyond staying at a resort in Honolulu and playing a couple of rounds of golf in Oahu. My plan is to rest and relax on the beaches as much as possible and, if I do get bored, then visit some of the tourist spots. I'm planning on packing plenty of reading materials - and may even try to get a laptop - so I can do some work while sitting on the beach.

Yes, I'm excited because this is one of those things I can cross of my master list of "things to do before I die". The only bad part here? I have to spend 10-plus hours in a plane. I don't like long trips and, if you read my blog earlier this week, you know my feelings on turbulence.

During my Hawaiian excursion, I have decided not to blog. I just need to take a break and relax and lose myself in another world for a few days. I hope you will all understand, but when I return in a week or so I will have pictures and stories from Hawaii. I even got my first digital camera so I can share my vacation with you.

I'll miss you all while I'm away, but I'll be back. Aloha!

Like you, I have been following the story of Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch with both interest and empathy. If you are not familiar with the story, Dr. Pausch has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. A husband and father of three small children, he has been given less than five months to live.

Before I start blogging, I have to show you this. We often get items into our newsroom for organiztions and groups trying to promote thier various activities and events. Marcie Cipriani is holding up the latest one ... from the gas company.




I think I'll bring one home to Sharon. Of course, I'll explain it's significance before she gets it. Now onto today's entry into the blogosphere.


I'm not much for watching Oprah. Never have been, but each morning we do promote what Oprah will be talking about at 4pm on Channel 4. Today's promo got me to thinking,. The title: Why did you get married? Oprah is asking various couples to share their initial reasoning for tying the knot.


That's not easy if you have been married 35 years, but it's hardly a walk in the park for me though I have been married seven years. What was my mindset back in 2000? I can't even tell you what I had for dinner last night. Still, I thought I would try and maybe by understanding the past, I would get a better sense of my marriage today and in the year to come.


As I think I have mentioned before, Sharon and I met on a blind semi-date at a strip district nightclub - Millennium - back in 2000. At that time, I had had many relationship that has failed and while I was commitment shy, I was also hungering to make that commitment to someone and pour my whole heat and soul into it. Not bad for someone who never thought he would get married.


In Sharon, I saw all the things I was not: thoughtful, generous, forward-thinking and frugal. She was also pretty cute and in great shape, something that appealed to me visually. I also remember we hit it off in our initial conversation, discussing everything from sushi to skiing. I felt - for the first time - that having something to talk about was as attractive as having a shared physical attraction.


So what put me over the top - and made me decide to finally "take the plunge". It's kind of weird but the moment I knew we would get married happened after Sharon went house-hunting, looking to move out of her condo and rehab an old house on the backside of Mount Washington. I took one look at the house and was mortified by the condition it was in. Later that afternoon, we had lunch at the Gandy Dance at Station Square and - I think it was at that moment we started discussing the plan for "our lives together": When "we" would live, what kind of house "we" wanted, etc. Without saying the "m" word, we pretty much decided we would be husband and wife someday.


There was to be a more formal proposal later, but I do remember at that time that marriage was what I wanted. Not because I felt "the time was right", but rather because " the person was right". I know it hardly makes for a great tale on Oprah, but it's what happened .. and looking back now, it was the right decision. The right decision then ... and continues to be the right decision today.

The temperature says it's summertime.
The calendar tells us it's fall.
But these gifts sent to us here in the newsroom, let us know that Halloween is just around the corner.


Our morning news producer, Nick, told us about these pumpkins brought to us from the folks at Starbucks and created by the talented artists at Douglas' Culinary Cravings. The images of Kelly and myself are taken from some promotions photos that were done years ago -- but these pumpkins look so much like us, it's scary.

Don't believe me, take a look:

How about that? Kelly thinks we should places the pumpkins on our front door steps so that kids will be able to see them while trick or treating. I say we don't want to scare the kids away. Just kidding.

The pumpkins are much appreciated and it's one of the cool things about the morning show. We can have a little fun while covering the real hard news of the day. Plus, when it's all said and done after two hours of morning TV, what will people remember? You guessed it: the pumpkins.

Have a Happy Halloween ( a little bit early )!

I'm back .. and I missed everyone so much! For those of you who are still hanging in there and reading my blog, thanks so much! I'll be blogging all this week -- and I will let you know my blog schedule when I go away next week on my BIG vacation. The vacation that was chosen from your suggestions. My secret destination is coming your way later this week.


I was planning to tell you about my trip to Fort Myers last week today, but my job has intervened once again. There is a running joke in this newsroom that everytime I leave town, something happens and something is different when I return. Guess what? It happened again. We have added three new faces to our morning show family.



I walk into the news room this morning - and we have an additional reporter. Joining Marcie on the streets is Ari Hait. Ari does some great work on the 11pm show and now he will be joining us in the mornings. He's a Jets fan and a big sports fan in general and I think you will find his pieces interesting and refreshing. He will be teamed on the streets with our chief photographer Ralph Bell.



Then, Ashley DiParlo walks in just before 4am - with breakfast for the newsroom! Talk about making a great impression on the first day. She's also joining our morning show - and will be live with her trademark "Plugged In" reports as well as the latest buzz from Hollywood.


With Demetrius, Melanie, Marcie and Scott Stiller already here - as well a producer Nick Matoney - we have a cast of hundreds bringing you the morning news. Oh yeah, there's Kelly and myself. We will try not to get in the way of all these reporters as they help to wake you up in the morning. At the same time, we'll still be the silly, stupid, over-caffinated pair that we have been since the start.


As for any more changes, you will just have to wait like me to see what's planned. I know whatever comes our way, it's meant to make the show more informative as well as more enjoyable for you. Talk to you tomorrow ... and it's good to be back!