As a Dallas native I found myself lost looking up to a skyline of stars set behind towering pine trees when I moved to East Texas six years ago.
In pursuit of a career in news and sports broadcasting, my wife of less than a year and I watched Reunion Tower fade from the rear view mirror as we drove toward open pastures and turned our heads to unfamiliar road kill. A move just 80 miles from the life I knew brought with it a different culture. ‘Yes sir’s’ and ‘no mam’s’, ‘fixin to’s and ‘already dunnit’s’. In time, and with the occasional translation, I adapted to the lingo and the easy going, but hard working family values that flow through region as crisp as the water.
With my eyes always on the finish line (returning to Big D), work had to be done. I had to learn and grow as a man and as a journalist. With one attribution on the local tv station came my first born child. With a state championship football broadcast came home ownership and my second born. With a growing reputation in the region came my third baby girl and high hopes for the future. From car wrecks, to snake smugglers, to natural disasters and heart ache, I covered it all. With joy came disappointment and with success came failure. But one thing remained constant; that Dallas skyline painted so vividly in the back of my mind.
I was always told, as most kids, teenagers and young adults are, to follow my dreams and it will pay off. The strength and passion it takes to hold on to a vision of yourself shouldn’t be underestimated, but the will to work for what you desire is the moral of my story. For me it has meant judging chili cookoffs and chasing ‘Big Foot’ with a microphone. For others, it will mean something else.
Now, as I look out the office window onto the beloved streets of my hometown a finish line is nowhere in sight. Instead, I see the results of my efforts and the responsibility of doing what I love for the people I cherish most.
It’s good to be home.
