Hey Clooney, I've got your next project
Sacket's Harbor children returned after 1,000 protest detaintion by ICE
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There I was on Sunday afternoon standing outside the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway in New York City with a couple hundred other people hoping to catch a glimpse of a movie star.
That's not like me.
I'm not obsessed with celebrities and if I'm ever in the vicinity of one, I leave them to their privacy.
But this was George Clooney.
For me, Clooney always had a little more heft, a little more character than the average Hollywood type. His father was a television journalist in Cincinnati and Clooney initially went to college to follow in his footsteps. And my experience with children of journalists is they grow up with a little bit more of an appreciation for the First Amendment and freedom of the press.
Clooney is starring in the play "Good Night, And Good Luck" and the week before 60 Minutes interviewed Clooney about the stage version of the showdown between the between CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
"When the other three estates fail, when the judiciary and the executive and the legislative branches fail us, the fourth estate has to succeed," Clooney told 60 Minutes. "We're seeing this idea of using government to scare or fine or use corporations - to make - journalists smaller. Governments don't like the freedom of the press. They never have. And, that goes for whether you are a conservative or a liberal or whatever side you're on. They don't like the press."
Clooney was talking as much about current events as about the 1950s, but he was speaking words that resonated today.
"It's a fight that is for the ages. It will continue. You see it happening at the L.A. Times. You see it happening at The Washington Post, for god's sake," Clooney said in the interview. "Journalism and telling truth to power has to be waged like war is waged. It doesn't just happen accidentally. You know, it takes people saying, we're gonna do these stories and you're gonna have to come after us. And that's the way it is."
Clooney is that rare celebrity who seems accessible, a nice guy that women find charming. I know my late wife did.
When my play The Last American Newspaper was commissioned, my late wife immediately decided Clooney should play me.
I was surprised by such a compliment because my wife always felt like part of her job was keeping my ego in check, but then she revealed her real motivation.
"George could play you, and he could stay here at the house," she said with a mischievous grin. "I could cook for him, do his laundry, watch him swim in the pool..."
Ok, I'm sure you get the idea that this had nothing to do with me.
When it was announced last year that Clooney was coming to Broadway to do the stage version of Good Night, And Good Luck, we joked this was perfect timing, because Clooney could do his little New York play, then head up to Glens Falls to play me at the Wood Theater for a few nights.
We thought about pitching it to Miriam Weisfeld at the Adirondack Theater Festival to see if her people could reach out to George's people and strike a deal. I believed that Clooney would not only appreciate the message in my book about the erosion of journalism in small community newspapers, but be passionate about getting it a larger audience.
My recent reading of my play in Albany competed with with Clooney's opening night on Broadway, but we still lured over a 100 people to The Capital Repertory Theater. Since I was in the neighborhood - just a train ride away - I ventured to New York City to see Clooney in the matinee.
When I awoke early Sunday, I packed my latest reading material and the tickets for the play in a small satchel.
When David Brooks - one of my favorite columnists - spoke at Skidmore College a couple years ago, I was surprised to see him show up afterwards at a reception in the lobby and mingle with the public. He signed books for several people and It occurred to me I should have brought my own book - not for Brooks to sign - but as a gift for him to read. As a journalist, I was sure he would appreciate the message as well.
So as I headed out the door Sunday, I thought about how Gillian and her obsession with Clooney. I paused by the door, went back inside and put a copy of my book in the satchel, thinking if Gillian was ever going to implement some metaphysical power from the great beyond, this was it.
I know, it was a silly thing to think.
So there I was 15 deep in the crowd on Broadway like some groupie.
There was a dark SUV parked on the curb, a couple of security guards by the stage door and it was clear to me Clooney would come out, sign a couple of autographs while making the sprint for the car.
That's not what happened.
After 15 or 20 minutes, Clooney came out and starting on his left began going down the line signing autographs, talking with people. When he got to the SUV door - instead of jumping inside- he crossed to the other side - where I was standing - and began signing autographs.
I was taking photos like everyone else. Hey, the guy is a movie star with that rare quality of being liked by both men and women.
But when Clooney got to the end of the horseshoe by theatre, he started heading down the sidewalk toward 52nd Street.
I moved closer as the crowd thinned.
I was only three or four people deep now as he passed.
He was taking selfies with kids and signing authorgraphs and talking to the people.
When he came back my way, there was just one person in front of me.
As she took a photo, I reached inside my satchel, puled out my copy of The Last American Newspaper and reached between the two women in front of me, looked at Clooney and said, "George, this is for you!"
I wanted to tell him the story about my wife and the open invitation to stay at our house.
And how she wanted him to play me in my play.
Maybe even how we watched his movie The Descendents whenever we visited Hawaii.
But there wasn't time.
Clooney took the book and I stepped back.
It's a fairly good-sized book so the security guard asked him if he wanted to take it, but Clooney waved him off. As this star of stage and screen walked off, he continued to sign autographs with one hand while holding my book in the other hand.
I'm not naive.
The chances are high my book will end up in a pile with other gifts from well-meaning fans never to attract Clooney's gaze.
And I don't really expect hium to drop everything and come to Glens Falls this summer.
But maybe he will look at the cover, think about his father and his own journalism roots and be curious.
Maybe he will read about my little newspaper and the journalists who gave their all every day in my community and about now that effort has been diminished.
That's the real story that needs to be told.
My wife was right, Clooney is absolutely the right guy to tell that story. My reasons are just different than hers.
Downtown update
The Downtown Revitalization Initiative on South Street in Glens Falls has made enormous strides this spring.
Multiple buildings are being renovated on both sides of South Street including the old Hot Shots bar building and Sandy's. It was kind of stunning to see how good the Sandy's building booked without boarded-up windows on the upper floors.
One friend remarked the new farmer's market building looks like Noah's Ark. It's a good looking building, inviting and far more expansive than original descriptions.
Family returned
NCPR reported last week that three children, one in elementary school and two in high school who have been enrolled at Sackets Harbor's K-12 school, had been detained by immigration authorities. They and their mother were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, alongside three others, during an investigation on March 27, at North Harbor Dairy. They were then sent to an ICE detention center in Texas.
That sparked community outrage with officials and teachers in the Sackets Harbor community
Over the weekend, over 1,000 people showed up to protest at the home of Border Czar Tom Homan in Sacket's Harbor, just west of Watertown.
Since there are only 1,300 people living in the town of Sacket's Harbor, as MSNBC host Rachel Maddow pointed out during her Monday broadcast, that was quite remarkable.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reported "that this family - a third grader, two teenagers and their mother - are currently on their way back to Jefferson County. I cannot imagine the trauma these kids and their mom are feeling, and I pray they will be able to heal when they return home."
Jennifer Gaffney, superintendent of Sackets Harbor Central School, wrote in an emailed statement to NCPR on Monday afternoon, "My colleagues and I are relieved and grateful to share that, after 11 days of uncertainty, our students and their mother are returning home. In the midst of this difficult time, the strength, compassion, and resilience of our community have shone through."
Assemblyman Scott Gray of Watertown told NCPR the investigations is complete and the children will be able to remain in the community.
There was no other word on what happened to the three other workers.
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
...congratulations on getting your book into George's hands; he has always struck me as "down-to-earth," and as a person of integrity / Your wife's "mischievous" comments about housing, etc., the actor at your home: hilarious...
Thanks Ken for this little gem. Sets a nice tone for the day. The Canton Democratic Committee will host its third rally this afternoon at 4 at the water fountain across from the post office on Main Street. We plan on doing this every Wednesday into the near future.