A disheartening day

This morning I washed my hair, got my tea, settled at my desk and turned on the TODAY show—my usual routine. I was just in time for the 8:00 announcement that Matt Lauer had been fired, and my first thought was that it was a joke. I had to tell myself it isn’t April Fool’s Day. Maybe that’s the way my mind went because my kids are always playing practical jokes on me. But this was clearly no joke…and it got worse as the day went on. More smarmy, nasty revelations that I really didn’t want to know.

I don’t think I’m surprised. It's trendy today to talk about how you never liked him, but I liked Matt Lauer, maybe because I’ve watched him almost every morning for twenty years. I liked his sense of humor, thought he brought wit and intelligence to his interviews. I didn’t notice what today so many have commented on—there was a dramatic difference in his treatment of women and men during interviews. What I did know was that he was a prima donna, convinced of his own importance. And I disliked his treatment of Ann Curry, Clearly, she didn’t make it as a co-anchor because he didn’t like her. And I always liked her a lot.

All day the banner of news across my internet screen has had four, five, and six repetitive pieces about Lauer, each opening with a different angle but then segueing into the same explanation from Andrew Lack about the revelations at NBC Monday night. Surely, they knew, and surely this wasn’t a surprise, so one wonders that they acted all of a sudden. But they wasted no time.

Okay, Matt, I’m disillusioned, and I sure hope I’m not going to see your face every time I turn on the TV for the next week. You’re toast.

I hate the phrase, “his turn in the barrel” which Trump cohort Roger Stone cheerfully applied to Al Franken and I have seen applied to Lauer today. But whose turn is in next? Lester Holt would break my heart. How about Chuck Todd—he was nasty to Nancy Pelosi Sunday on air, and I used to think he was using his show to campaign for Trump.  I know these unveilings are healthy, but frankly I’m sick and tired of them, thankful for the few voices that remind us most men are good and honorable. We’re just seeing the worst who seem, for now, to be in the majority. Surely not true. Pollyanna will now change the subject.

On a cheerier note, I ate my way through the day. Last night I chunked up a kielbasa, sliced some new potatoes, and sautéed it (sounds so much better than fried) for Jacob, then threw some leftover caramelized onions in the skillet for me. Had a bit of that with scrambled eggs this morning for breakfast, a huge bacon/chicken/avocado sandwich for lunch, and tonight—ahh, wait for it—a whole lobster because Lucille’s is having Lobsterama. I need to sleep ten hours to sleep off all that food, at least twice what I usually eat in a day. Sure was fun, though.