After decades of television news I dread going to work — Trigger warning: *This piece contains references to violence.* Last week, I was flying across this wide country, over the deserts and mountains, prairies, and great rivers from West to East, to meet my new bosses at a party in Washington DC. It was a change of guard that happens once…

Because my decades of news journalism did not always let me. — Some days I want to be flat, like the light in my backyard this morning. It’s bland, soft, and with little definition. It’s the kind of day when my back neighbor’s dog barks and the sound echoes off the fence and wraps itself around me like a comfortable blanket. …

So stop asking me how I feel — I know what she wants. I hear it in her voice. “How are you doing?” she says and pauses. “You know, with all that’s happened to you?” I feel her staring at me through the phone like I’m an injured animal that she wants to help. I pause. I don’t…

How bad news is bad news — Have you ever slowed down to look at a car wreck? You know, twist your head around to look at the mangled steal frame of what used to be a car, and say, “Oh my God! What just happened here?” I spent too much time looking at car wrecks. …

And why am I watching? — I turned on the television and looked at the long stretch of green grass with a small round object kicked around the field by young men in red and white jerseys. …

My Hostile Environment Awareness Training for a dangerous world — The room had no windows. It had one bright red EXIT sign above a door hiding behind a wall just in front of where I sat. The white tables in front of me were shaped like a horseshoe around a man named John. John was a sturdy man. His legs…

Travels through a disappearing world. — Sometimes I get sad when I sit down to write about nature. Because my words may be describing something that vanishes. Will my words be the only thing that remains? I realize that I have to choose my words carefully. Writing down what I have seen is my exercise in…

My manatee experience at the Canaveral National Seashore. — It stood about two feet out of the surface of the grey silver lagoon. It was round and black but only visible for a few seconds before disappearing into the water with no sound. …

The unsung heroes of America’s space program. — His metallic red walker steadies him. His back no longer works like it should. …