Awoke Sunday to news of the untimely death of NBC's David Bloom.
I had said to my wife, Linda, "What will happen when someone as prominent as David Bloom dies in this war?"
Bloom had been covering Iraq for NBC News.
It appears his death was unrelated to the war, although I wonder if the blood clot that entered his heart and killed him would have not been fatal had he been in the United States when it hit. On the other hand, perhaps it hit him so quickly there were no symptoms. Only he knows.
Ernie Pyle would have done an excellent job in the war in in Iraq, just as he did in World War II. According to what little I know about Pyle, he wrote the little guy stories -- telling the war story from the perspective of the individual soldiers.
Our Brazil Times reporter, Linda Messmer, would do a great job of being a war correspondent for the same reason. She tells the stories of the people. As managing editor, my greatest challenge is to balance her stories with -- quote -- hard news -- unquote.
Apparently, David Bloom told his war stories from the perspective of the individual soldier, too.
While I have been accused of being driven (at least I was before I settled down), I'm not sure that is always a good thing. Bloom was driven and, again, I have to wonder if his compulsion to be on top of every big story didn't rush his death.
Thirty-nine is pretty young.
The reporter in me goes out to his family, offering condolensces, with the rest of the TV-watching public. I'm sure he was a great guy.