Quiz #115: The End of an Era
Closing the book on Steve's Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz on December 1, 2022 with an announcement about my next "What did NOT happen?" quiz!
Like a lot of people, when I watched the last episode of “The Sopranos” back in June, 2007, I thought there was something wrong with my TV when the screen went to black for a full 18 seconds with no explanation. One moment, Tony was sitting in a diner with his family; the next moment, he was not—and there was just black on the TV screen. From something to nothing–just like that. The show stopped–it didn’t end.
“Made in America,” the final episode of “The Sopranos.”
My last quiz in this series, Quiz #144: False Advertising, was posted on February 14, 2022. I have felt badly that this quiz just stopped so here are some final thoughts and updates to put it to an end.
On April 28th, 2022, I returned to the office for the first time in more than 2 years. It was surreal. My office had been moved and the first thing I had to do was unpack the boxes of stuff which had been packed up in my absence. Among the things I found in the moving boxes was a box of Girl Scout cookies which had been left on my desk by a co-worker back in March, 2020 before much of New York City was shut down by the pandemic.
Girl Scout Cookies from 2020 for “Mr. Steve”
I met up with colleagues from TODAY who had been part of the team that had come into 30 Rock every day to produce the show during the pandemic.
During COVID, my colleague Pete lost weight–while I gained more than a few pounds.
I also visited with colleagues who I had been working with for several years–without ever meeting “in real life.”
My first time meeting NBC News lawyer Celia Mueller
On May 31st, I moved to a day shift for the first time in my nearly 20 years at NBC News. Looking back, I’ve worked overnights for 13 of my 41 years in what used to be known as TV news. Throw in 7 years of working in local news on the late local newscasts at 11:00 p.m. and I’ve spent half my career working nights and overnights.
Back in April, NBC News encouraged workers to begin coming back to the office for a few days a week with the hope that people would be working from the office three days a week by the start of June. This policy was not strictly enforced and it was surreal to go to empty areas of 30 Rock like the central assignment desk that were usually humming with activity and people.
In June, the Standards team took advantage of the lull in COVID infections to bring the entire team together to New York. Several of my Standards colleagues had been working for NBC News for more than a year–and yet, we’d never met face-to-face.
NBC News icon David McCormick joined the Standards team for a June, 2022 get-together which included an outdoor dinner in the gardens on the roof of the 11th Floor of 30 Rock.
In July, the Omicron variant began to spread across New York City. I stopped coming into the office and returned to working full-time from home. Within a one week period in mid-July, we found out that my daughters Annie, Betsy and Betsy’s boyfriend Jake all tested positive for COVID after going out together in NY. At the same time, in Michigan, my son Ted and his wife Erica both got COVID from their children. They were all vaccinated and no one had a serious case of the virus. Both Annie and Erica work in hospitals. Both had many interactions with COVID patients. Thanks to PPE and vaccines, both had been COVID-free for more than two years–until July, 2022.
After that mid-simmer surge, COVID did begin to fade. In August, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell sent out an email to all workers at NBCU. His directive was quite clear. Staffers were expected to return to the office for 3 days a week–Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday– beginning on September 12th. In his memo, there was no mention of COVID.
Encouraged by Sara who’d been working in her office for 3 days a week since July, 2021, we slowly began to venture out to more activities. On September 10th, we went to a Phillies baseball game–our first sporting event since 2020. At the end of September, we also took our first flight since COVID, flying to Michigan to celebrate the birthdays of granddaughters Turner and Marin.
Ted and Erica had a bowling party for Marin (2nd from left) and Turner (with the 5 shirt) .
The weekend included chalk drawing on the driveway with Grandma Sara and Turner, Marin and Alayne.
At that September 10th Phillies game, Sara and I met with our friend Michael who works for the Phillies. Michael talked about the strange future facing the organization as the season came to an end–with a nearly one-month gap in potential home games. The Phillies closed the regular season on a long road trip which was extended to include several away games that had to be made up because of early season games which were canceled because of baseball’s work stoppage. If the Phillies made the wild card–which was by no means certain on September 10th–they’d do so as one of the last wild card teams, forced to play the first wild card series on the road. So, any more home games would only happen if the Phillies made the wild card and then won the first series on the road. On September 10th, it all felt like a pipe dream–until, of course, it all happened.
Celebrating after the Phillies beat the Braves to make it to the NLCS.
Celebrating after a rain-soaked game in which the Phillies beat the Padres to make it to the World Series.
Ted flew in from Michigan for World Series Game 3.
On November 2nd, 2022, Sara celebrated her birthday with John, Will and me at World Series Game 4.
I was lucky enough to be able to buy tickets to every playoff game and it was one of the wildest rides I have ever experienced as a lifetime sports fan. In part, I think there was a party atmosphere because it was a release from not being able to come together for years because of COVID. In part, it was a celebration for Phillies’ manager Rob Thompson, a baseball lifer who’d been named interim manager on June 3rd only to have the team rally behind him. His success–and the Phillies success in getting to the World Series– was a celebration of the unexpected and the underappreciated. There’s a reason “Dancing On My Own” became the Phillies playoff song–played for all to enjoy after every playoff win.
“Dancing on My Own” sing-along after World Series Game 3, November 1, 2022.
I celebrated the Phillies playoff run with red outfits–including a red smoking jacket. I joked that it was the best $50 I’d ever spent on Amazon.
On Friday October 20th, the Hollywood Reporter had a story that NBCUniversal would be offering buyouts to any employee 57 years and older with 10 years of continuous service. That day, I went to the Phillies playoff game against the Padres with friends Tim and Laurie. Tim is a few years older than me and he had gotten a buyout from NBC during COVID. On the car ride to the game, he and Laurie explained the details of how the program worked.
That next Monday, at 9:42am, I received an email with my official buyout offer from NBCUniversal, a so-called “Voluntary Early Retirement Opportunity.” It was exactly what Tim had outlined just days before. I was already considering retiring in 2023 so accepting the offer was a no-brainer.
And so it is that I am writing this final quiz in Steve’s Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz. December 22d will be my last day at work. I’ll be retired and staying at home will be my new way of life.
It should surprise no one to know that during the pandemic, I pre-wrote Steve’s Retirement Quiz: These Things Happen. It’s 20 quizzes of what did not happen questions and answers which I will be sending out over the next few weeks as I go down memory lane to explain how I got here: nearly 66 years old and more than a little bit grumpy after meeting deadlines and covering the news for more than 41 years and nearly 10,000 days at work.
You’re invited to read the first installment of my retirement quiz: Welcome to These Things Happen.
Thanks, as always, for reading this quiz and stay safe. Sadly, COVID is still out there, but the worst seems to be over. The best is yet to come.
Like what you’ve been reading here? Please feel free to share this quiz with others who you think might enjoy it.
What did not happen in 2022?
A. In an important footnote to Quiz #144: False Advertising, during a summer visit for an outdoor meal at Bahr’s, Sara and I found out that the NJ seafood restaurant HAS installed electric charging stations in its parking lot;
B. Sara did not join Tim, Laurie and me for that October 20th game against the Padres because our dog Stella was sick. In her place, we were joined by Philadelphia news icon, Vernon Odom, who had worked with Tim and me at WPVI;
C. As a stark reminder that COVID is not gone, after that Friday night game, Tim and Laurie got COVID. They strongly suspect they got it at the game;
D. Sara and I went to one of the World Series games with John Tindall and his wife, Marisel. John and I had “met” one another playing fantasy football in 2019, but this was our first meeting in real life. They’re both doctors from Texas and John is a huge Astros fan;
E. As part of Steve’s Retirement Quiz, I’ve created a Steve at Work Shutterfly share site with more than 10,000 photos from my life and career in TV news across three local TV stations and 2 broadcast networks.
Want the answer?
Answer #115. The End of an Era.
If you’re a subscriber, the answer will be sent to you as a separate email when the question is published.
Want more?
Here’s the previous quiz in the series: Quiz #144: False Advertising
Here’s the first quiz in the series: Quiz #1. Stella and Social Distancing, March 13, 2020
Here is an archive of all the quizzes.
The quiz is explained here: Steve’s Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz.
Want to let me know how I’m doing with this quiz?
I welcome your ratings, comments and corrections (from typos to gaps in truth).
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