Yesterday, in some ways, was a typical day for a reporter. I was given an address of a house fire and sent to report on it. Robert Townsend was working the early shift and was already there. He did the live report at noon, then I was for the 5 and 6. I talked to "officials", neighbors, would-be rescuers... visited several churches in Mascoutah, trying to build a portrait of the 64 year old woman who died. It took Police a while to notify her relatives so we kept her name off the television for the first few hours. She kept to herself, I was told, so I didn't find out a lot - just she was a retired teacher, lived alone, was very religious, had health problems and a fixed income so there were struggles, and she was very kind. A life summed up in a few phrases. Of course there is so much more to every person than a few phrases, but in the time constrained world of local television news, that's the limit. But its an odd mixture of guilt, sadness, and respect I'm left with after a day like that. I'm a complete stranger summing her life up for our viewers and I always wish I could do more.

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