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Short night's journey into day

Posted: Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:42 PM by Barbara Raab
Filed Under:

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

It always happens.

Anytime I'm forced to take a red-eye, the moment I board, the captain gets on the PA and says some variation of the following, "Folks, from the flight deck...good news...we've got some good tail winds tonight and we'll be four hours, ten minutes en route to New York tonight."

Everybody's different, but I equate nighttime with sleep. The fallacy of the red-eye is that you'll actually get restful sleep over four hours spent inside an aluminum tube, sitting next to a guy who has chosen your particular flight to catch up on some bill-paying under the intense glow of the reading lamp...which in the darkness of the cabin gives off the same amount of light as the sun. I'd much prefer the captain to tell us we're taking a special route over the polar cap, with our flaps partially extended to slow down our airspeed, allowing us all eight hours of restful sleep en route. I get how that would affect commerce, the environment and the like...but I dread spending the day after a red-eye...recovering from a red-eye. At least someone gave it an appropriate nickname.

The upside from last night's experience? I learned of a new use of the language. After arriving in the welcoming confines of Newark Airport, and after the wait for our luggage stretched into 40 minutes, I asked the Continental Airlines baggage supervisor what the hold-up was. She told me there had been a "problem downloading the bags." We're downloading bags now! I think that means tossing them from the cargo hold onto a cart, but I'm not sure.

To the broadcast: we just watched the Dow drop 300 points, there's a human cloning story in the news, Mitt Romney had quite an encounter with a reporter today, and our terrific series on gender, "The Truth About Boys and Girls," continues tonight. So we'll muster our energy, gather our forces and we'll have it all for you tonight -- we sure appreciate you joining us.

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"problem downloading the bags", has been my experience that means your luggage didn't make it onto the flight.

amanda - ridgewood, nj (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:54 PM)

Good Evening Mr.Williams, First of all, I am really sorry you were not able to get any rest on the flight back to New York. Sometimes it just isn't fair that someone next to you has to keep the light on so brightly. Then the phrase "problem downloading the bags" most likely means exactly what you think it means. I've seen the way bags are handled and they really do just throw them onto the cart. Anyway, I'm very happy you are back safe and sound in New York. Looking forward to the broadcast this evening! By the way the snow melted in my area because snow never lasts too long in Georgia.
(Also I'm very, very proud of Richard on winning his Dupont Silver Baton award for his documentary "War Zone Diary". Yeah Richard!! Great job!! Miss your reporting and hope to see you soon on Nightly News!) I'll post again after the broadcast Mr.Williams. Peace to all!
Hi Laurel!    

Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,Georgia (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:30 PM)

Good afternoon, Brian.  You have my sympathy, trying to go all day and then do a broadcast when you are sleep deprived. I hope you survive until election day.  
Your mention of "downloading bags" really caught my attention. Who is responsible for the unique phrases that are creeping into the English language these days?  I still can't get used to the fact that when someone disappears, we hear that they "went missing". In our local paper, I recently read about someone who had been sick and, after several weeks, "went better".  As a language teacher, I react to these expressions about like a person does when they hear fingernails scratching on a chalkboard.  
I enjoy your blog and your broadcast.  Please don't ever tell us that one of the presidential candidates "went winning"!

Margaret Cox, Springfield, IL (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:31 PM)

Brian I suggest you pick another airlines as I found Continental Airlines is one of the worse.

Now it's early out here in California but nothing hit harder then the Stock Market.  The Saudis must be real happy today now they can buy more shares in US banks and of course give more loans to the US for Goldman Sachs and Paulson's personal company to load up.  As for the American people we see our Law Makers stealing and even working with Al Qaeda.  Our President and Vice President are the most corrupt in the History of this country. We see Americans so misinformed they believe all the lies even seeing their being lied to.  Mitt Romney is giving promises to voters he can't deliver. McCain wants to say in Iraq for 10.000 years and bomb Iran for Isreal.  How did Americans get so dumb, we were better then this.  If we get an honest President who works for the people it will take years to clean up the corruption that has taken place in the pass 7 years by the current Administration.  We do have no one to blame but ourselves as we allowed all this to happen.  If Bush is allowed to stay in office until the end of his term, Iraq will be richer then the US.  Right now the US unemployment is so high but the US is giving jobs to the Iraqi men.  

Brian God can't help America as long as Satan is running the USA. I wish the real American Christians would  try looking closer at what their being told and read the bible for a change.  We can all pray but we're also responsible for our actions. Americans have done so well from the time this country was founded only to now allow it to be destroyed because we got lazy and didn't take care of our country or the earth.

Jackie Rawlings Riverside California (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:55 PM)

"problem downloading the bags... We're downloading bags now!"  

Brian, I'm waiting for the day when they can reboot an airplane after it crashes.  Thank god Microsoft doesn't make airplanes. The pilot would have to kick the instrument panel while slapping the copilot to get the plane to reboot.  Brings new meaning to the "Blue-Screen-of-Death".

Iowa (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 6:06 PM)

Brian, that guy paying bills on the red-eye flight might well work nights. I know that for me, a 2pm flight is a red-eye.

Dan, Portsmouth, VA (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 6:30 PM)

Brian: You blog a lot about flying commercial. I am always amazed that in fact, as much as you fly, that its always commercial. I would think for a variety of reasons NBC would spring for the private jet. After all, Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine, and the crew got to use it in the last episode of Seinfeld. (Granted it wasn't the Ted Danson plane). I can't imagine Brokaw flying commercial. What's the deal?

Ross Kansas City, KS (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:30 PM)

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Nice to see you back in snowy and rainy New York City this evening. On the subject of political news the candidates in both parties seem to show much divide among different groups of voters. Perhaps it will be another close primary in South Carolina for the candidates. I wonder if there will be another different winner for the Republicans. Hopefully one of the same previous winners will come out on top because preparing for the convention becomes somewhat difficult without a clear frontrunner. Or then again someone altogether different will win. It all comes down to the voters. Regarding the report by Mr.Costello about the crash landing of the British Airways 777 at Heathrow Aiport, it is good news nobody was seriously hurt or killed. The plane certainly looked terrible all broken apart on the grass and that taxi driver was pretty fortunate the plane missed his taxi. Finally, concerning the series "The Truth about Boys and Girls" ,I think it is definitely not fair that a woman is not paid the same salary as a man for the same job. That woman featured in the report who is a doctor experienced a real discrimination of salary due to being a female in her field. I'm glad she won her lawsuit,yet she can no longer work anywhere which it really unfair. I hope she is able to open a private practice and continue her practice of medicine. Thank you for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Again, it is nice to have you back in New York. Try to get some rest! Peace to all!
(Again,I have to send my great congratulations to Richard!! Yeah!!)

Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,Georgia (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:33 PM)

If you happen to hop on an Express Jet flight, Brian, you could have my brother-in-law as your pilot.  He isn't a fan of red-eyes, either!  

Ugh the idea of cloning makes me slightly squeamish.  I had a rare occasion to see the "Today" Show's 10 o'clock hour when Dr. Snyderman was talking about the issue and she made it easier to understand.  While this is a great advance in science and I support its promise, the greatest concern I have is the temptation to take this knowledge further than it should go.  As Dr. Snyderman so apty stated (for those who missed it): the debate should not be about whether this science is necessary, but how to create legislation with everyone's differing definitions of the gray areas.  Would you suppose the use of one or two cells to recreate one or two others, and say no to actual humans, or ban all recreation, period?   I didn't get to comment yesterday, but just the idea of the possibility of consuming cloning meat and dairy is enough to scare me back to my vegan vegetarian childhood!  

Thank you for the "Boys & Girls" series.  As I am not currently engaged in the work force, I don't have to worry about it!  Even though that discrimination exists, the question is: do I personally want to fight it, or simply live knowing its there?  

Stephanie Umbro, Maine (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:34 PM)

Amazing - Brian Williams, one of the most famous people in America, flies commercially? I find this hard to believe...if his flight is grounded due to weather or mechanical problems, how is he going to show up to anchor the NBC nightly news? I always assumed that all major TV anchors flew on corporate jets. How about a story on this sometime?  People would be really impressed that Brian suffers the same hassles and stresses of the rest of us tawdry travelers.

Mark Albrecht
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

PS: If he can sleep on a plane, I'd like him to share his secrets with the rest of us who can't. No wonder he's such a good newscaster - if he can put up with red-eye flights and show up chipper the next day...one tough dude!

Mark Albrecht, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:35 PM)

Dear Brian:
Good of you to provide the pronunciation of Nevada. I would like you to consider the pronunciation of "news" as given in your introduction. It rhymes with snooze. My dictionary says "news" should be pronounced as if the "ew" is pronounced as in "few". My recommendation is to lose the California accent (not yours, theirs). Sincerely, Tom Stonecypher

Tom Stonecypher (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:50 PM)

Brian ,

 I am very lucky to find out a way to reach you . I am a big fan of you , no wonder you are the Father of the Year in 1996 and the Man of the Year in 2001 .Do you have auto biography ? . I always wanted atlest my kid be one of those great men among which its you .

Good Luck,
kavitha

kavitha,Leesburg,VA (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 10:10 PM)

Brian,

Just caught up on two night's worth of the news (thanks, TiVo!), and was very interested in the "boys and girls" segment about college admissions Wednesday, and how colleges are lowering admissions standards for boys as a way of keeping "gender balance" in the student bodies.  I was a bit surprised that no one made the analogy to the more widely publicized (and more often condemned) practice with regard to race.  The issue was in the Supreme Court just a few (five?) years ago, where the Court decided that the University of Michigan (which wanted racial diversity in their undergraduate classes) could not use race as a quantitative factor for admissions.  A lot of folks (not to mention 6 Supreme Court justices) didn't think the university's goal (a student body reflecting American society as a whole) was sufficiently important to justify discriminating against white students.  I wonder if those folks (and justices) would feel the same way in the context of gender.  Seems to me that affirmative action -- in the sense of helping students with lower academic scores get into college -- is far LESS justified in the context of helping boys than it is in the context of helping racial minorities.

If I were the parent of a girl with stellar grades who didn't get into a college that admitted boys with lesser qualifications, I'd want to read Gratz v. Bollinger (the University of Michigan case) very, very carefully.

Elizabeth, Reno, Ne-VA-dah (yea, that's right) (Sent Friday, January 18, 2008 12:27 AM)

I was disappointed that on Thursday's broadcast you "reported" Romney's encounter with a confrontation AP reporter merely by playing clips -- rather than actually doing some fact-checking for us to help us understand which (if any) of the two contestants' allegations might have merit.  As it was, you merely used the confrontation to create anger or glee in the audience, not understanding.  Inadequate "reporting" from such an august news figure as yourself, I thought.

Kevin Butler, Maynard, MA (Sent Friday, January 18, 2008 1:25 PM)



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