I learned yesterday that a former colleague and friend
passed from a fierce battle with lung cancer. His memorial service is Friday in
Manhattan at the Church of Heavenly Rest on 90th street. I will be
there.
Many of my CBS compatriots will remember Jim Cusick. He went
from writer, to producer, to News Director of channel two in New York, which
was always called by those of us who worked there as, “The Deuce.”
Jim worked for the Peace Corp in Thailand, Laos and
elsewhere before he followed the fullness of his heart into print and broadcast
journalism. He was fluent in the Mandarin Chinese language and a number of
other southeast Asian dialects. I remember many a dinner with Jim at the old Bangkok
54 restaurant. He would speak in perfect Chinese or Thai to the waiter who
would be astonished and immediately respectful.
Like so many of my former colleagues who have gone to that
proverbial beyond, I will think of conversations, situations, confrontations
and splendid communications with a soul who came to into form to participate in
making the world a better place through clear thinking, fine writing and the
desire to tell a great story.
I will miss Jim as I do so many others who have gone before.
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