At the start of my career
at the ABC television network some 25 years ago, I was a video operator for the
central film control dept. We were responsible for controlling the video levels
on 15 film projectors, for the local ABC TV station and the TV network in New
York. In those days all the news was filmed with 16 mm film cameras. Two years
later, I was promoted to a senior video operator. I was then trained to color
correct the motion pictures for the network. The most memorable was The Ten
Commandments. In 1984, I was sent to the Olympics in L.A. I worked on the
opening and closing ceremonies and track & field. I worked with a number of
video operators; we setup about 26 TV cameras for the events at the Coliseum.
It was an event I’ll never forget. I won an Emmy for outstanding individual
achievement as a senior video operator. In 1985, I was asked if I would
like to work in master control, I jumped at the chance.
I was responsible along
with 16 other individuals, for making sure that the network programs,
came through master with the proper video levels, and in turn took the signal
and sent it to two 90 foot in diameter satellite dishes that are aimed at
various satellites at 23,000 miles in space, in turn feeding the ABC Network to
over 220 ABC affiliates around the US, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico. Over the
years, I have worked on shows such as, Good Morning
America,
Nightline, 20/20, Monday Night Football, World News
Tonight. On occasions, I would stop and pinch myself to make sure it
wasn’t a dream.
In 1992, I went for my annual eye exam, the doctor gave me a field test, and I missed a lot of the dots. I was sent to a specialist in Pa. I was given a battery of tests.I was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration. I continued to work over the next 10 years without any noticeable change to my overall vision. About April 2002, things started to get darker; the funny thing it wasn’t nighttime but the middle of the day. At work, we used 7 different computer systems; I was having trouble following the events on the screen. I was also having difficulty reading the testinstruments, and then there were those dark audio and video racks that we patched into for incoming and outgoing feeds, also various studios needed to be patched. The racks seemed to be getting darker by the month. As the months went by, my eyes got worse and I found myself looking for brighter flashlights to use for those dark racks. I would always be on the search for brighter flash lights.
I ended up buying a headlamp; it had 7 L.E.D. lights, push the button once it lit up one light, push it again it lit up three lights, and push it a third time it lit up seven lights. My colleagues at times would see me struggling and would lend a helping hand. I knew the day would come when I would have to leave the job I loved. I considered my job as a hobby; work was driving to New York everyday. I did eventually find the brightest light of all and that was attending the Joseph Kohn Rehabilitation Center, in New Brunswick.The center opened my eyes to awhole new world. It has rebuilt the confidence and self esteem that I had lost over the last couple of years.
