One of a Kind

If you’ve read any of my blogs or have sifted through my Instagram posts or stories, you’ve most likely seen or heard me mention a few people more than a dozen times. That’s because they’re close to me in one way or another. Tara happens to be one of them.

We grew up roughly 10 miles apart, as a crow flies, and our high schools are rivals in virtually every sport. And although not knowing one another in our youth, years later, as adults, we would become good friends.

Common grounds, not fate nor any algorithm, were our catalyst to collide as we were both involved in reporting the news. Her for a television station and me for a newspaper. Thus, it was no oddity that two story tellers became close.

With my story telling abilities in tote, lets

Meet: Tara Edwards

Like I mentioned above, Tara and I grew up pretty close to one another, her in Orchard Lake, Michigan and myself in Clarkston. And as a child, like many others is our surrounding area, would spend most of her time outdoors. She’d go exploring in the woods with her sister and was involved in the Girl Scouts for a while as well.

During her high school years at West Bloomfield, she was on the school’s swim team. Today, the, then, teams Senior Captain still smiles over the friends and fun she had during those early years, as she jubilantly adds, “I really enjoyed high school.”

“I went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor,” Tara reminds me and adds, “I really loved college. And had quite a few friends.” It was as a Wolverine; she goes on to say, where “I got involved in the public access station in Ann Arbor and I also interned at Fox News. After that I went to work at WJRT as a ‘newsroom assistant’. It was not an internship; it was called a newsroom assistant where I was paid. It was my first paying TV news job,” my friend says gleamingly.

“There, I would write a lot of stories for the anchors to read. I would go out with photographers and then I end up doing some field producing before I went onto my first job at WSH. I was a ‘news reporter’, both stations are in Flint. Eventually, I went onto ‘anchor’ the weekend show and report during the week.”

Tara followed that up with a gig at WNEM, which is a station in Saginaw, Michigan just north of Flint where she anchored on weekends.

From WNEM, Tara took the leap of leaving the security of home and headed to Pittsburgh. Where she says fondly, “I really enjoyed that city a lot. I still have a lot of really good friends there Pittsburgh. It is one of the most awesome cities in the country. It’s also one of the most beautiful places, they have mountains and rivers and valleys and it’s just such a great place. Lots of awesome people.”

She’d eventually leave the awesome city of Pittsburgh to return to her native Detroit area and take a position with WXYZ-TV 7, the local ABC affiliate eventually leaving TV News five years later for a life of beer distribution from her homes in Texas and Idaho.

Several months back, I was proud to see my friend travel to our Nation’s Capitol in Washington DC to meet with lawmakers from Idaho, where the family distribution site is located.

Trips to DC are commonplace for tourist and the extreme wealthy but when your average citizen journeys there to speak to their senators and representatives that is special. Not everyone goes to that length. My hats off to you Tara, if more Americans did this our country would be better off!

Tara tells not once, but twice, “I love to travel. I love to travel.” And then added, “Some of my favorite places that I’ve been to would probably be Egypt and seeing the pyramids and Giza also sailing the Nile River. I enjoyed Istanbul, Turkey that was very big surprise to me. How cool that is. Of course, I love Rome and all through Italy, but Rome is very fascinating. And Columbia, Bogotá was really, really cool.”

There was one local place of interest I had to hit on with Tara. The ‘Tree House’ staycation. It looks like the most amazing place to getaway for the weekend! And yes, I’m going to be a tease and NOT show the inside. But trust me, it is awesome!

“I absolutely love the treehouse visit,” Tara began after I asked what it was like. “It was very cool, very different. I know that they’re kind of growing in popularity in recent years. And had really cool amenities like being able to shower under the stars. It was lit up pretty well at night and had an outdoor kitchen and just really cool to look at.”

“I mean as a child didn’t everybody want to stay in a treehouse or live in a treehouse or have one in their backyard?” She asked excitedly. “I know I always did, and I never got a chance to do that. So, this was the next best thing! There were absolutely no amenities like a television or cable. It did have a very clean bathroom downstairs. Near the outdoor kitchen. It was very nice clean accommodations.”

‘Quick Questions’

A) Ohio State:

“Our enemy. I don’t like them boo Ohio State buckeyes, but I admire the rivalry we have with each other. It is a great football program. Just not as great as Michigan.”

B) Halloween:

“One of my favorite times of the year. I get super excited every year because it’s a one day of the year it’s OK to role-play and be something completely different than yourself.”

C) Network News:

“I don’t really watch it. I get my news from apps.”

D) Sharknado:

“I have to say that is my greatest regret so far, I wish I had watched the Sharknado series!!!”

Friendships:

Why do you think our friendship has last so long and what is the biggest single piece of advice you’d give someone on friendships, I asked the former News Anchor.

“I wish I was a little bit wiser and could give you a great answer,” Tara began. “Yeah, there is a saying that if you can count your friends on one hand, then consider yourself lucky. And that’s very true.”

After taking a short breath, she continued, “I have gained friends and lost friends throughout the years. And this doesn’t pertain to you. I would say to somebody like my daughter. You got to know when to hold them and fold them. You will see some people coming into your life for a reason, season, or lifetime. And you will also, be a little hurt, when you’ve discovered that some people truly aren’t your true friends. Some people have ulterior motives, or they are wishing you bad while smiling in your face.”

“And you really got to know when to cut your losses,” Tara added. “It’s not the most uplifting piece of information, but it is definitely worth sharing. When I know somebody truly wasn’t a good friend to me, I let them go! At the same token, I have had some really good friends that I’ve had for a very, very long time and they’re still in my life like yourself. And those friendships I cherish very deeply.”

About Me:

What is it about me and my platform that you like?

 “I think you are a very positive person. I think you have a great sense of humor, and you know how to put a smile on other people’s faces.”

“I like seeing how you are cheerleader for so many people and that you uplift them with nice positive messages on your Facebook pages. You have a funny way of remembering things and placing them as memories on your stories. Sometimes I literally laugh out loud!! And I think that for a lot of people, I can imagine, that you put smiles on their faces too.”

To My Readers:

Part of my healing process has been my return to writing. But even before that occurred, Tara was there for me when I reached out for advice. I knew she’d shoot straight from the hip, reporters do that, and people need to know that real friends, hard as they may be to find, are priceless and never worth the risk in losing.

To Tara:

Thank you for your friendship, love and never-ending support. I used the photo above because I know you miss your Michigan roots from time to time and it literally is a ‘cool’ reminder. I’ll always have a warm spot in my heart for you. Love You Forever My Friend. Enjoy our song.

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