Feeling homesick.

Last night I went on a stroll through the Internet. It started on the NPR website. I listen to it in the mornings and wanted to read a little about the on-air personalities. That got me thinking about WCRB, the wonderful classical radio station in Boston. For me, WCRB and WQXR in New York are the absolute best classical stations. I was excited to see that the former is now broadcasting over the net, and as I write this, I'm listening!

WCVB's Natalie Jacobson

Then I started poking around the sites for the Boston TV stations. I had heard that Natalie Jacobson, the longtime news anchor at WCVB, the ABC affiliate, had retired from the station. So I went to read about that. Then I went looking for the news operation at WLVI, which is now the CW affiliate. I used to love their 10 p.m. newscast. It had terrific on-air talent, and since it was an hour in length, the show had a really nice pace. Not at all rushed like most news programs.

I was really sad to learn that the station's been sold to Sunbeam, which owns Channel 7 both in Boston and South Florida. They've got a really crappy, flashy news program, which has now replaced the 10 p.m. newscast of WLVI. Back in December, they summarily dumped the entire news division of WLVI. Jack Hynes, the longtime anchor of the show who had retired and only occasionally came back for special appearances, apparently ended the newscast with some harsh words about the sale of the station.

(I know you're thinking, "who cares about this shit," but...well...it's my blog. I'm being entirely self-indulgent and whiny.)

Anyway, all of this made me homesick for Boston. I lived there for 17 years; at this point, it's the majority of my adult life. I love the weather here and I have a fabulous job, a great boyfriend, a best friend I will see to the grave, and some good friends. But I miss the cosmopolitan nature of Boston. I miss the city itself, the politics, the media, the beat of the place. For me, it's still the most beautiful city in the country, and still holds a spell over me, a connection that started when I first saw the place when Martin moved there in 1985.

WLVI's Karen Marinella

I miss Laura Carlo on WCRB in the morning. I miss Karen Marinella on the 10 O'Clock News, and Natalie (and her former co-anchor and long-time husband, Chet Curtis). I miss the Boston Globe (yeah, I can read it online, but it's not the same). I miss the Improper Bostonian, a weekly newspaper/magazine-thing. I miss the T with it's unique smell. I miss the Public Gardens in summer, and wandering the shops of Newbury Street.

I miss seeing Chris and Drew all the time. I want to see Martin and Michael, Martha and Jurgen, David and Ben, Andy and his new boyfriend, Mark and Zane (I got to see them just last month), Jose and Brian, Paul (even though he's in DC now). Nan, Pammy, Bev, Sistah (a frequent reader of this blog), Dorene, and others with whom I worked and continue to be in touch with. I haven't even met Sistah's and Dorene's kids!!

Happily, I'm visiting in a few weeks, but I'll only be there for about two days before heading up to Maine for the weekend. I'll get to spend time enjoying the city with John and Cary, and then see a lot of the guys in Maine for the weekend). I'm hoping to see Martha and Jurgen, and I do have to sit with my financial advisor.  (What I really need to do, though, is impose on Chris and Drew and ask to stay for an entire week sometime next year.)

What I don't miss is the winter weather. Cold, gray, rainy, snowy. Yuck. It lasts too long.  But yet, there are days when it might be worth it. Maybe one day, some years from now, I'll go back.  When this current job is done (at least five years from now), I think about starting my own consulting company. Maybe I can have a place here and a place there. (I can dream, can't I?)

I live in Florida now. But Boston is still home.

(I know that after reading this, I will get an email from Christopher telling me that I'm welcome home anytime. They've been trying to get me back for two years now.)

Some day guys, maybe some day.

Comments

[sistah]

Did you know that Chet and Nat got D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D??

WLVI TV 56 was my FIRST job ever and I loved those people - the last broadcast was very SAD.

[Karen]

Well, I care about this shit. Boston was my home for 18 years. I rarely feel homesick for it though, mostly because I didn't take advantage of living there when I did. But there will always be some things I miss, like Kelly's on Revere Beach and the beautiful fall weather.

This post reminded me of how completely ingrained the people who bring us the news can become in our lives. Jack Hynes was my favorite. Intenet news just isn't the same.

[Glenn]

Sistah: I had forgotten that you were at Ch. 56. And yes, I knew about the divorce. Chet actually lives in Ft. Laud part time. Mike's seen him around town.

Karen: I agree with you about our news people being part of our lives. You are absolutely right. Part of the problem for me is that I just haven't warmed up to any of them down here. I can't get into local news here.

[sistah]

Jack Hynes used to complain about the "new whipper-snapper" reporters who (and I quote) "don't know the difference between south boston and the south end!" He was a classic.

[Glenn]

Yes, he was a classic. I loved that newscast when Jeff Bardt was paired with Karen Marinella. They were so fun to watch. He was goofy in a nice way.