RATHERGATE

“I love you but I have to park a satellite truck here,” I told a guy driving an SUV with press plates. Miraculously he smiled and drove on, turning left on West 57th, leaving me to defend the last parking space on the corner of 10th Avenue.

CBS had announced their “Rathergate” findings. Unfair, inaccurate. Four people fired, and a blight on Dan Rather’s legacy.

The sat truck parked, I looked for my crew among the half dozen tv teams staking out the CBS broadcast center at 524. W 57th. We strolled down to 555 w 57th, where 60 minutes is located over the BMW dealership, glaring at a crew that started to follow us, and calling them sheep, until they drifted back to the pack.

It was cold in lee of the building. “I forgot my gloves,” I told the crew, “and I ran right down here without a shower.” Circle of stink, I’m sorry. In the car were my nice warm boots, but on my feet were a suede pair, with 4-inch heels, and that’s what I was wearing when Andrew Heyward, President of CBS news, emerged. I recognized him by the moustache and nice topcoat. “Here he is, I told the crew.”

“Mr Heyward,” I greeted. Will there be more resignations? (he didn’t respond). I fed our grab shot from the satellite truck.

We were back in front of CBS the next day. I bought hot chocolates for the crew. A security guy talked into his Nextel while Dan Rather sneaked in the back way.

I thought about the joke about the village where the carpenter is known as Joe the carpenter, the guy with the juicer is known as Tony the juice guy, and one guy who engineered the road, established the library and grows orchids said, you make one mistake and you’re known for it forever. The guy’s name is Roger the pigfucker.

When Leslie Stahl came out from w555, I asked her, “how’s the fallout affecting you?” “Not good,” she said, getting into a limo.