Don't I know you from somewhere?

Sometime last month was the eighth anniversary of my departure from the TV news business. Even now, people occasionally recognize me –– usually from voice rather than appearance –– and ask, "Don't I know you from somewhere?" The last time it happened was yesterday.

I usually just say, "I don't think so." There is no way –– I mean literally no way –– to say, "Yes, you probably me recognize me from television news" without sounding like Ted Baxter. So I just wave my hand and say, "I am not the droid you are looking for."

One of the smarter moves I made after leaving TV was not to capitalize on the 'former news personality' angle by doing car commercials or some such. Besides, if you ever saw me on TV, you know I wasn't the kicky, trendy, 'Wow! Take a look at this!' kind of news person. I was pretty boring, and I didn't have a delivery that would lend itself to marching down the Magnificent Mile of Cars, waving my arms and yelling like a circus barker.

So when I left TV, I also left town for a couple of years, worked in San Antonio where no one knew who I was, then came back home as a private citizen.

I don't miss TV (to put it charitably –– I still have nightmares about it once in awhile), and I'm ambivalent about what I accomplished during that time. I was never a big local news star –– really I was just one of the foot soldiers. But if you think you know me from somewhere, that's where.