RIP John McWethy

John McWethy, a fixture on ABC News, while I was growing up, died in a skiing accident today. With his distinctive voice, he was a skinny blonde guy who got to travel the world reporting news.

When it came to news, we grew up only watching Channel 7, WXYZ, the ABC affiliate in Detroit. That meant such fixtures as Bill Bonds, Diana Lewis, Doris Biscoe, Rich Fisher and the rest of the "Channel 7 Action News" team, gave us the local goings-on during dinner. And immediately after that, Peter Jennings' ABC World News Tonight let us know about everything else.

One of the earliest news stories I remember was the Iranian Hostage Crisis, which lasted 444 days, from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981. And reporters like "John McWethy...ABC News...Tehran", would bring information from half a world away right into our family room.

That's right, the big room in the back of the house where we watched TV was the "family room", that small one in the front, with the furniture we never used, that was the "living room".

Anyway, my education in international politics, terrorism, the Cold War, the tail end of the Space Race, and everything else which will seem like ancient history to my nieces, came from TV. It was our window to the world, and our only one, because this was before Al Gore "invented" the internet.

So, to John McWethy, and all those who stood around the world with an earpiece and a microphone to bring us the news, I say "Thank You."

To John's family and friends, I'm sorry for your loss.

"MrDolomite...BlogspotCommentary...Hockeytown, USA."

P.S. Oh, and in an odd coincidence, I have skiied at Keystone Resort, in Colorado.