LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY

By Dan Miller 

August 1, 2008 

One of my favorite quotes about "a long time ago" came from my daughter more than four years ago. 

She was barely 5 years old at the time. 

It's something I've written about before. 

The two of us were heading home from shopping, and had just turned onto Hillwood Avenue off Charlotte Pike. 

Isn't it remarkable how we can recall the exact spot where something really special entered our consciousness, like a wonderful song or, perhaps, a few words from a child. 

Perched in her booster seat in the back, I heard McKensie's little voice say, "Daddy, this is a long time ago isn't it?" 

I didn't quite understand the question. 

"What do you mean sweetie?" I asked. 

She explained, "I mean, someday when I'm all grown up, today will be a long time ago." 

It was profound in its simplicity. 

All I could say was, "You're right sweetie, I hope someday you'll look back and say, 'Wow, that was a hundred wonderful years ago'!" 

The words 'a long time ago' came to mind this week as I sat in the TV studio waiting for our newscast to begin. 

There was a hint of an aroma in the air of something almost -- but not quite -- burning. 

I suddenly realized it was those big studio lights... and the aroma took me back a half century to something I recall smelling whenever I'd visit the TV station in my Georgia hometown. 

As a kid, I was fascinated with television.... and I'd ride my bike several miles to our local station, and spend hours hanging around the studio. 

That's me in the photo.... pretending to operate that old black and white studio camera at WJBF-TV. 

I was 14 or 15 at the time. 

It was a long time ago.

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