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Before my entry into the media Industry

In my latest blog post Back to Broadcast Media Sales! of the Broadcast and Media Industry series,  I ended with how much the media industry has changed over the past 35+ years and how it continues to evolve due to the impact of  the internet and streaming channels.  You should really read the aforementioned blog post before you continue with this one…

 

 

But I need to back up now because my real beginning in the Media industry was at the tender age of 22 at a community led public broadcast TV station in Bridgeport, CT.

I graduated from college back in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Media Studies from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.  Media Studies was an interesting field because we were taught a little bit about different media industries such as Public Relations, Television, Radio, Newspaper, Magazines and Photography.  It was just enough to peak your interest in what you might want to pursue further.  In my case I was fascinated my both Broadcast Television and Broadcast Radio.

However, once I earned my college degree, I continued to work the next 3 to 4 months in the same sales support position I held in college.  It was at a Bridgeport, CT financial services firm.  I also continued with my internship from the Summer before where I worked at a Bridgeport, CT Public Broadcasting TV station for a Minister from a local African American Baptist church.  Minister John and I collaborated on this gospel TV show called Lifeline Gospel Videos.  He was the host of  the show and I was responsible for interviewing gospel artists over the telephone, writing up and editing their biographical stories and broadcasting these stories on air in 2 to 3 minute increments.  My segment was called Bio-Line Gospel Videos. And it took me all week long to write, create, produce and serve as the talent for one segment.  This was back in the 80s so the videos stories were saved on Betacam and converted to VHS for home use.  Working on these video stories with the gospel artists was truly a labor of love.  I am particularly fascinated by everyday peoples’ stories and I also love to share them with others so this opportunity was Win/Win.   What wasn’t Win/Win was that this was an internship so I did not get paid one thin dime and as much as I loved my job, it did not pay the rent or the bills so consequently when it came time to put in my notice to the financial services firm so I had time to devote to the field I just earned a degree in, I quickly shed the public broadcasting TV station internship as well.

In my mind I was still on the right track though as the goal post college was to gain as much experience in the media industry as possible so by starting early with the Public Broadcasting TV gig, I had a little leg up on building my resume.  I called myself being “paid in experience” so I could command a certain salary for when I entered the field of Media.  In my opinion, back in the 80s, the media industry was like a closed fist.  There were lots and lots of people looking to get in and very few openings.  So it took a lot to pry open that “fist” and receive an open position (and this was both behind the scenes and in front of the scenes) as the supply of jobs truly exceeded the demand.  And this was at a time where the pay scale in Media (especially for behind the scenes positions) was extremely low but this did not deter people from trying to get into what was perceived as the “glamour field.”

 

 

As I mentioned, post college was when I discovered that living in Bridgeport, CT was not working for me anymore as I needed to be closer to a TV station and the closest,  WTNH “Action News 8,” was located in New Haven, CT.  As luck with have it, my sister Casandra and her husband Alfredo were living in New Haven, CT at the time.  They had not yet purchased their forever home in Ledyard, CT so they were living in a large 2 bedroom apartment in the Edgewood neighborhood.  I asked Casandra (since my plans of moving to the Washington, DC area after college and working in Media recently imploded) if I could stay with her and Alfredo until I got on my feet and they both graciously agreed.  I stayed with the two of them all Summer long rent free while looking for work as well as looking for an apartment.  Casandra was instrumental in finding me my first apartment, a Studio apartment on Whitney Avenue in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, CT.   The rent was $375 a month plus utilities for essentially one large room with a teeny tiny kitchenette, a teeny tiny dining area and a separate full bathroom.  I bought a tiny dining table and chairs for the dining area, a daybed for the living area because it served the dual purpose of a couch in the daytime and a bed at night.  The kitchenette was way too small to fit in any furniture.  Oh and yes, housing was very affordable back then and this unit was perfect for me (smile).

My apartment was located right on a bus line which was ideal because my car had died on the Merritt Parkway earlier that Summer and I really had no other way to get around.

As far as work, I chose to register with an employment agency so I could make money while focusing on finding a job in Media.  Right after registering, I was sent by the agency the following day to Easter Seals Goodwill Industries in New Haven, CT to work as a Job Coach.  As it turned out, the supervisors and Administrators loved me so much that they tried to convince me to stay and make a career of it.  I made it clear to them that I was on a mission to break into the Media industry and nothing was going to get in my way (smile).  I liked everyone there and I believed in their mission but not working in media was not an option (double smile).

 

 

As luck would have it, a few months down the road I spied a Want Ad in the Classifieds section of the New Haven Register newspaper for a Local Sales Assistant at WTNH Action News 8!   I was overqualified so of course I got the job (smile).

 

 

I was elated.  This was my first entry into Broadcast Media as well as my first real paying job in the Broadcast Media industry so life was good – for reference please read My Entry into Broadcast Media Sales.

 

 

In the next entry of the Broadcast and Media industry blog post series I will chat about the differences between working in the sales departments of Print Media, Broadcast TV and Broadcast Radio stations.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

TVFL

 

Just Around The Bend…

I am feeling just a little melancholy today and it could be because I am unwell.  When I am unwell my heads veers off in many directions and it’s hard for me to stay focused on any one thing.  I’m normally happy, bubbly, and full of positive energy so this is quite a departure from my personality.  And to add insult to injury,  it is the end of the year which means both Christmas and New Year’s are a stone’s throw away.  The holidays tend to bring out the melancholy in me because they remind me of loved ones who are no longer with me.   Namely my sweet mother Jean, my baby brother Shawn, my ahead-of-his-time nephew Ahmad Sr., my endearing brother-in-law Alfredo, my beloved older sister Dana plus countless aunts and uncles way too many to name.

 

 

All that to say I like to play holiday Soul music interspersed with Rhythm and Blues around this time of the year.  It alternately acts as both a mood lifter and memory generator.   I put one song in particular “Happiness is Just Around The Bend” by The Main Ingredient on re-play.  Why?  Because this song is feeling much more relevant to me now than when I first heard it as a 12 year old girl growing up in the small town of Groton, CT.   It is not surprising that it was a chart topper for The Main Ingredient back in 1974.  If you have  listened to this song and especially the  lyrics you too will find it reminiscent of the world we are living in today.

 

 

To summarize:  it is about finding clarity in chaos, about  life feeling upside down and confusing and out of whack but despite that, not giving up, but hanging on because happiness is truly just around the corner – Love will win.

This song is so deep and I truly needed to hear it today –  Fact:  When this song was recorded by The Main Ingredient back in 1974 the world was struggling with the Watergate Scandal (erosion of faith in the U.S. Government) and the continued impact of the 1973 Oil Crisis which caused widespread inflation, gas shortages and “stagflation.”

Today in 2025 we too struggle with erosion of faith in our government, economic instability and as an added burden: inexplicable developments.  Despite what is happening around us, I encourage my fellow TVFL readers to continue fighting the good fight, remain focused and positive and stay the course because I for one am choosing to believe that Happiness is truly just around the bend…

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

 

 

Saturday in the (Central) Park

In Connecticut this week it’s hotter than July, the weekend is always right around the corner and there’s no sign of rain so What to do, What to do, What to do.   New York City seemed like a good option and it is quite literally a Metro North train ride away.  So me and my partner in crime hopped on the New Haven train on that Saturday with the idea of exploring Central Park – a park that I personally had not been back to visit in over 25 years (gasp!) and literally gave no thought about.  It was his idea, I was thinking South Street Seaport so it took him a minute to convince me to change my mind (smile).

 

Metro North train ride to NYC

 

Here are some fun facts I discovered about Central Park during my quick online research while on the Metro North train ride:

1)  Central Park is bigger than some countries.  There are 843 acres in the plot starting on the Upper West Side of NYC, measuring 2.5 miles long and 0.5 miles broad.

2)  Central Park is the oldest public park in the United States – the plans for the park were approved in the year 1853.

3)  Central Park is one of the most popular filming locations in the world – some of these films include Home Alone 2, Enchanted, Elf, The Avengers, Stuart Little and John Wick 2.

4) There are 58 miles of pedestrian routes in Central Park.  Because it is so large, my recommendation would be to focus on the famous sights such as Strawberry Fields, Cherry Hill and Bethesda Fountain.

5)  Central Park has only one single straight line – this park was purposely designed to have a natural flow of nature in it so the only straight line in the park can be found at The Mall.

6)  It is the United States most visited park with 42 million visitors annually and only 14 % of those are first time visitors – the rest are mostly local New Yorkers or visitors coming back!

7)  And last but not least,  you will be shocked to learn that Central Park is entirely artificial – looks can be deceiving but all of the parks natural features are man made.  All of the lakes, forested areas and hills in the park were all artificially created.

We caught the NYC Subway from Grand Central Station to Central Park – it is not so easy to navigate the Subway – nothing is as clear as it could be including the simple purchase of a MetroCard from the vending machine.  The vending machine never once mentions the price of it,  just that you can buy one card to use on an unlimited basis or a single card to be used once.  At any rate we finally figured it out – it costs $9.00 for the unlimited MetroCard and $1.00 for the processing fee.  We shared the MetroCard which did not last us too long because a single Subway ride is $2.90 (smile).

 

Standing in front of the Subway stop to our way back to Grand Central Station

 

We both wanted to make the most of our day trip to NYC (time wise) so we had already decided on renting Electric bikes – all the rage now as everybody and their grandmother seemed to have the same idea on that Saturday (smile).

We ordered the 2 E bikes online while on the 1 hour and 45 minute train ride from a store called Bike Rental Central Park which appealed to us as it was located just across the street from the W57th entrance to Central Park.  The 2 E bikes cost us $180 and included a helmet (which we both refused – too hot!) and a map of Central Park.  Locks were not included because as one of the store associates told us, these E bikes are expensive and they would rather us not let them leave our sight then park them and leave them locked up somewhere where they would become easy prey…

 

The bike rental store we found online and which saved us $50 dollars for pre-purchasing the E bikes

 

The hardest part of the day was deciding which way to go.  There were pedestrians everywhere, pedicabs with couples inside, horse and buggies with families, bikers, walkers, strollers, rollerbladers, scooters and again, E Bikers.  We did follow the map they supplied because as with the E bikes you are limited to riding on the streets, you must stay off the sidewalks and pathways and you always, always give pedestrians the right of way.  Not everyone was following the rules…

 

My E bike – I can’t lie, it took a little getting used to, I’m used to pedal power so this was an exercise in patience

 

As I mentioned before, Central Park is huuuuge so in our 4-hour E bike rental time, we wound up seeing the following, in no particular order:

Conservatory Garden  – the only formal garden in Central Park  – it is 6 acres long and divided into 3 separate parks.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir – this reservoir holds a billion gallons of water and is one of the park’s most scenic landscapes.

Wollman Rink – we lucked out on this place out because 300 tons of sand were dropped onto this rink for the first professional beach volleyball APV event ever held inside this park!  We could barely see from our picnic table as the crowd was massive but  nevertheless enjoyed our soul food lunch courtesy of Melba’s😋

 

AVP tour event – first time ever at this location!

 

Excited about eating our lunch at Melba’s – heard great things about it

 

Yummy lunch from Melba’s – catfish sandwich with chipotle mayo – I had previously eaten a ton of fruit from 2 different stands in the park due to the heat so I wasn’t as hungry as I thought but that sandwich was gooooood!

 

Melba herself touting her wares

 

Conservatory Water – Popular with families with children because of the famous climbing sculptures and the sight in the children’s classic and movie: Stuart Little.

 

Trying to hide my hiked up pant leg for E bike riding (smile)

 

Bethesda Fountain & Terrace – Bethesda Terrace is considered the “heart of Central Park” and rising from the terrace is Bethesda Fountain with the famous Angel of the Waters statue stop.

 

Lots of people wanted to take a picture in front of the statue so it took a minute before I could get my turn (smile)

 

That was basically it.  We plan on heading back on another Saturday this Summer to catch the other Central Park sights because again time and the unexpected precipitation (forgot to mention it started to rain lightly in the late afternoon from all of the humidity) worked against us.  Plus we were looking to drop off our E bikes so we could head to Times Square for some nighttime activity but all in all it was a good day and definitely worth the trip.

 

Sincerely,

 

TVFL

 

 

Re-Discovering Savannah

Life sure is funny.  Not Ha Ha funny, but peculiar funny…The first time I found myself in Savannah Georgia was wayyyy back in June of 2011.  It was the same year that I was  diagnosed with colon cancer.   I had planned a memory making trip down to Hilton Head, South Carolina with my niece Keedah and all four of my sister Dana’s grandchildren:   Rashidah (9), Ahmad (8), Kenyon (7) and Rasoul (5).  The goal was to give my oldest sister Dana a well deserved and much needed break.  I  rented a 4 bedroom condominium from this couple in Cheshire, CT (this is before Air BnB was invented), a Dodge mini-van with extra car insurance and brought movie videos, board games and lots of snacks.  As you might guess, I was receiving a ton of negative feedback on taking a long road trip after being diagnosed with colon cancer so before I was to go I consulted with my Colorectal Surgeon and I’ll never forget what he told me.  He said, Go, but when you return, we head straight to surgery’  Lucky 7.

 

I knew then that life was truly for living (smile).

 

All that to say, we spent 1 day out of our 10 day vacation in Savannah, Georgia –  just an hour’s drive away from Hilton Head, South Carolina.  That 1 day was so memorable that I promised myself that I would go back, but this time I would stay in Savannah.

 

This is that time (smile).  14 years later.  Life sure is funny…

 

Fast track to now.  It’s June of 2025 and the world has gone batshit crazy.  Fast paced and full of not so good surprises.  The goal this time was for me and my man to get the heck out of Dodge (Connecticut) to truly relax and unwind from everything.  I remembered the quaint city of Savannah with the cobblestoned streets that I had visited over a decade ago so that’s where we headed.  My weather app showed sunny days with plenty of sunshine for the entire week.  I was super psyched!  The reality was that when we arrived on Sunday June 8th the rain was coming down in buckets playing match games with thunder and the sky, dark and foreboding.  This scene played itself out so many times throughout the week that we decided to just rough it and try to enjoy ourselves.   Oops, I lied. There was one day of the week (Wednesday, June 11th) where the weather played nice and actually remained sunny and dry the entire day but the remainder of the weekdays and nights were unpredictable.

 

We stayed in the historic district of Downtown Savannah at a cute-as-a-button boutique hotel named The DeSoto Savannah.  I chose this hotel because it was convenient to everything – retail, restaurants, parks, and sightseeing.  The DeSoto had an outdoor pool on the second floor, as well as a small gym and a day spa.  We never did make it to the hotel restaurant, 1540, because we were too busy exploring other parts of the City but from what I heard the breakfasts and dinners were delish.

 

In my opinion, the best and easiest way to explore Savannah is to do what we did on our first day out.  Buy tickets to a Hop on Hop off trolley tour.  By the way, we purposely did not rent a car at the airport because The DeSoto only offers valet parking due to the congested parking situation and the historic downtown district, where we stayed, is walkable.

 

James purchasing our All Day Trolley tickets

 

We chose Old Town Trolley Tours because they were highly visible and very convenient.  No matter what neighborhood you were in, an Old Town Trolley  arrives every 20 minutes.  The cost was $45 per person and that got you unlimited trolley rides between 9am and 5pm to 15 different Savannah destinations.  If you rode the trolley from the 1st stop to the 15th stop without getting off, it would take you an hour and a half but if you, like us, hopped on and off to the neighborhoods where you wanted to take a deeper dive, then you might not get to all of them in the 8 hour time frame.  It’s worth it though because each trolley ride comes with a narrated tour so you are being educated about Savannah and her dark past.

 

Old Town Trolley tour bus

 

Our very first trolley stop was to The Savannah Visitors Center and History Museum where we totally enjoyed visiting the SCAD (Savannah College of Art) Museum –  a place where all the artwork is created by faculty, students and alumni!

 

SCAD’s explosive enrollment growth over the years includes international students from 20 different countries!

 

All of the artwork seen here at SCAD is done by students, alumni and art instructors alike!

 

Love all of the color schemes

 

One of the quilts on this  wall reminds me of one of my sister Casandra’s quilts (smile)

One of our most memorable hop offs was to City Market which is chock full of Artists, local merchants, candy shops, coffee shops and restaurants with bars.  We liked this neighborhood because it felt lively and energetic.  The cobblestone streets, the horse and buggys rides, all felt very authentic.

 

Love Love Love the horse and buggy rides

 

After our time in City Market, we caught a new trolley and headed for The Lucas Theater neighborhood.  Here we enjoyed a sushi lunch at Sushi Hana, an ice cream from the famous Leopold’s Ice Cream Shop and an almost dinner at The Olde Pink House…it was a Monday so The Olde Pink House, which was highly recommended by my girlfriend Kristie, is closed on Mondays…

 

Our last trolley ride was to Forsyth Park which is Savannah’s largest and beautiful green park and it covers many City blocks.  At the park we discovered the Forsyth Fountain which I realized made for a perfect photo op (smile).

 

Forsyth Fountain

 

The next day (Tuesday June 10th) we decided to spend on River Street since that was the very street that lured me back to Savannah.  When I was in Savannah back in the day with my two nieces (my other niece Dimitrica had driven up from North Carolina to stay with us at the condominium for a few days) and 3 great nephews and 1 great niece, we landed on River Street and I fell in love.  Back in the day there was a free riverboat ferry ride to the 4 squares of the City of Savannah,  This free riverboat ferry would drop you off in a neighborhood (square) where you would spend a certain amount of time before getting back on the ferry to be transported to the next square – we had a blast on all 4 squares.  Incidentally that riverboat ferry no longer exists, I suppose it was replaced by the Hop On Hop Off paid Trolley rides because there are no longer just 4 squares to visit, now there are 22!

 

River Street today is a whole vibe.  From the JW Marriott Art Gallery which features breathtakingly beautiful artwork, to the slow leisurely walks by the river, to the restaurants – from fast food to casual food to fancy food,  the gourmet chocolate and candy shops with free samples and many different types of popcorn, gourmet coffee shops, colorful bars, boutiques, and tour trolleys careening up and down the cobblestone street, River Street still has my heart (thump, thump).

 

JW Marriott – the art gallery is must visit!

 

The popcorn was delish!
The art gallery was magnificent!

 

 

Today’s riverboat ferry is Queen sized (smile)

 

Had a nice conversation with the Regional Store Manager of Byrd’s Cookies, one of the fastest cookies franchises in the South

 

Uber Day was Wednesday as we had plans to visit a real soul food restaurant called Geneva’s located about 20 miles east of downtown Savannah.  We lucked out because it was sunny, hot and dry all day.   When we asked the locals which restaurants they recommended for soul food, Genevas Famous Chicken and Cornbread Company kept coming up.  And it was worth the Uber ride – yum!

 

Our young waitress at Geneva’s was lovely and very accommodating.
I ordered the 2 piece roasted chicken lunch which came with black bean salad and their  signature corn bread – yummy!

 

Made it a point to meet Geneva, the owner of this establishment who worked alongside her staff, very down to earth, no airs whatsoever

After our meal at Geneva’s we called a new Uber and were headed back to our hotel when our driver convinced us to take a detour and go to Tybee Island.  My niece Mona, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee and visited Savannah with her son Harlem, highly recommended that we visit this island.  Mona was not wrong (smile).  And spontaneity ruled the day because here we were, our belliesfull from lunch, headed to the beach with no gear (smile).  I’m so glad we made the trip – it was a fun time – my kind of island – beach vibes and all!

 

Beautiful beach day
Nice time on the boardwalk but wishing I brought my bathing suit

 

Perfect weather for a Frozen Blueberry Icee

 

Popular place today for beach bites

 

On Wednesday evening,  still in the spirit of spontaneity, we bought tickets to an Old Town Trolley Ghosts and Gravestones tour.  Ghost tours seem to be all the rage so I read up on why Savannah is considered one of America’s most haunted cities.  It comes down to these 5 reasons:  1)  Bloody Battles; 2) Deadly Diseases; 3) Fearsome Fires; 4) Mysterious Murders and 5) Savage Slavery.  I won’t go into it in this blog post but it’s an interesting read.

 

Our host of the ghost tour was perfect for this role – captivating, believable, even had an English accent (smile)

 

I preferred this 2 hour nighttime tour because we actually visited 2 different mansions (The Andrew Low House and Perkins and Sons Ship Chandlery) where the ghosts allegedly still reside (unlike some of the other tours where you visit the actual graveyards which is little too creepy for my tastes).  The Ghost tour and trolley price was $55 for Adults (children under 13 were not allowed).

 

I felt like I was entering a house with no exits when I spotted these three (smile).
The house slaves pictured here interestingly enough outlived everyone in the house

The very next day Thursday June 12th  we headed to Franklin Square to visit  Broughton Street and eat and shop.  We had some time to kill before our next tour:  Savannah is for Morons so this close-by-us neighborhood was perfect for killing time.

 

We ate appetizers at B Common Restaurant – one of our super friendly Uber drivers recommended it as a great place to go if you are looking for somewhere to eat downtown
The 2 dozen oysters we devoured were delish 😋

 

Who knew that sausages wrapped in glazed donuts was a thing?!?

 

After eating we arrived to an air conditioned trolley tour called Savannah is for Morons.  It was 2 hours of non-stop craziness and laughter.  These 2 zany female comedians, both named Dani, took us on a wild hilarious ride throughout the City of Savannah and gave us a drunkard’s view of its history.  We even (in the middle of the tour) stopped at an irish bar called McDonough’s for drinks which was ironic because on this very day I was quietly celebrating my 5th year anniversary of being sober (smile).  Consequently I ordered a cranberry juice with lime (double smile).

 

The 2 Dani’s in cute matching rompers were a hoot!! And well worth the $55 dollars apiece for this comedy tour!

 

On Friday we had a plane to catch at 4 in the afternoon (by the way, Delta Airlines is by far one of the best airlines I have ever flown on – from beginning to end, it seems like they truly take pride in customer service.  I’m so glad my girlfriend Jeani has built her career there).   End of commercial (smile).

We walked back to the City Market neighborhood for more shopping (I found a fab boutique called Whispers that I didn’t want to part with) and we lunched at the Cafe at City Market.  We also spent a ton of time in a small art gallery which featured various artisans and their wares.  I met this dynamic artist by the name of Jery Taylor –  her work spoke for itself – simply beautiful!

 

Mrs. Jery Taylor, Quilt Artist, Basket Weaver, Painter, shall I go on?!?

 

These 2 women ran my fav boutique called Whispers and offered impeccable service!

 

So that’s my Savannah story.   Fun Fact – Forrest Gump’s iconic bus bench scenes were filmed in Savannah, Georgia.  I’m sure you can imagine why the actual bus bench has long since been moved to a Georgia museum for safekeeping (smile).

 

Sincerely,

 

TVFL

 

My Current Situation Part XI

I have not followed up on My Current Situation series since 2021/2022 so I have to catch you up.   Here we go:

 

I am working 100% of the workday in the office as a Media Sales Professional at WTNH TV (ABC) News 8.  This has been the case for the past 3+ years (post-Pandemic).

 

 

I no longer wear a face mask to anywhere.  I only wash my hands when they are dirty (smile).  I don’t clean my vegetables.  I still look suspiciously on when someone coughs or especially hacks near me…I dress for work in work attire since I am actually in an office and meeting with clients.  I’m back to traveling for pleasure – both domestically and internationally.

 

 

And honestly, when someone catches Covid 19, I look on with sympathy as if they just informed me they have a nasty cold.

 

 

The former is my reality in the month of April of 2025.  Since I started my blog a decade ago, I have been diligent about not including politics as the purpose of this blog is to do one or two things:  inspire, motivate, entertain, bring joy, hope, and spread good vibes.

 

 

With this particular blog post I have to deviate off the path a bit because I am so annoyed at the state of affairs in the U.S. and beyond under our current administration.  And I am also quite saddened by some people who do not practice compassion or empathy for others whose own boat is smaller or may not even exist.

The overall mood for me is that the Pandemic was a walk in the woods compared to what is going on today (smile).

 

 

I don’t want to get too deep but I will say that despite what’s going on, I still feel hopeful that in the end, human nature’s goodness will triumph over wickedness and depravity.

 

 

My recommendation for all this madness is finding solace in a higher power, working with a Mental Health professional, practicing meditation, exercising at a gym or from home, making time for yourself to do the things that bring you joy, staying away from toxicity and negativity (people and otherwise) and finally, being grateful for having a sound mind, healthy body and spiritual soul.

 

Cheers!

 

P.S. If you are a non-drinker like me, the glass of wine may be swapped out with a fruit juice of your choice (smile).

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL