The Newsroom

I dropped by the other day to pay a visit to my friend Hardy Brown, and walked away with another of those lessons in life Hardy always seems to lay on me.
For those who don't know, Hardy is co-publisher - along with his wife Cheryl - of the Black Voice News and himself possesses one of the most reasoned voices in our community. Though the words have been slowed by illness - Hardy suffers from a lesser form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease - the passion and meaning behind them is as strong as ever.
Which brings me to his story - of his childhood and a big pipe on the ceiling of the basement, where Hardy slept. He was afraid it was going to fall on him, but his dad convinced him it wouldn't -- that he'd hung countless pipes like that, and he could tell it was plenty sturdy. Long story short, years later, his dad told Hardy's wife he was afraid of that pipe too.
Hardy's take - that's what father's do. They provide a sense of security and fearlessness, despite how they truly feel.
As we talked more - about the economy, the presidential election, the problems of Operation Phoenix - I kept coming back to that story and how we handle our fears today. In the case of Hardy, here's a man who is quite ill and yet does all he can to keep it to himself. He shows up for work every day and continues to provide a strong leadership voice through his columns and editorials.
I'm sure he is afraid of that figurative pipe hanging over his head these days, but he doesn't show it.