I was scooping ice cream to go along with my fresh chocolate chip cookies Sunday night (yes I cook) when I got a call from my producer telling me Osama bin Laden was dead and his body was in U.S. custody.
For the next few hours I worked the phones from my home office hoping to find people I knew who had hunted bin Laden. Luckily, one of the most accomplished people I know returned my text message immediately.
Jim Davis is a 20+ year veteran of the FBI, he was present shortly after Saddam Hussain’s capture and had spent several months in Afghanistan commanding the FBI’s Special Agents as they looked for bin Laden.
Jim checked with his boss (the Governor of Colorado) and agreed to talk to us on the phone during our live 10 p.m. newscast.
He was just as I knew he would be: well spoken and insightful.
After the news ended, I stayed up talking to other sources about how bin Laden’s capture might affect the security of Americans. We all hoped it wouldn’t.
With a few hours sleep, I was up in the morning.
Jim and I had a nine a.m. interview set where he agreed to talk more about his experience. I wanted our viewers to understand what it’s like to hunt the most wanted man on Earth.
We met at his office. He brought dozens of pictures that I used tonight at five p.m. to help tell the story.
Because the rest of the news doesn’t stop for breaking news, I still had my usual day of investigative reporting.
I’m preparing for the next installment in my Home Loan Lifeline series. We’re helping homeowners who are having trouble dealing with their banks.
My other producer and I had two shoots set up for mid-morning and early afternoon.
Both went smoothly and we rushed back to the station so I could put together my interview with Jim. We had a short time to log the interview, write it, track it with my voice and edit it.
When I have busy days, I’m reminded how much I love my job.
It seems the busier the day, the more fun I have.
Now at 6:30 p.m., it’s time to relax… until something happens and we do it all over again.
