A bright light in my workday is going to shine somewhere else soon. My colleague Avery Moore has resigned to move on to a new job and eventually a new city with her new husband.
How do I describe Avery? She’s about half my age and twice as smart as I was when I was her age. She’s uncommonly beautiful, inside and out. Her motto: Kindness matters. She’s people oriented. As Free-FM’s news reporter, she has made police, business people, councillors and other politicians fall in love with her without even trying. She has been the catalyst for or the subject of some of the funniest stories in Free-FM newsroom lore.
An example: A couple of years ago the London Police Service held a ceremony during Black History Month to honour this city’s first black police officer. Lewis Coray joined the force in 1951, retired in 1982, and he was celebrated at an event attended by police, civic leaders and representatives of every type of media imaginable. After the ceremony, reporters were given one-on-one time with Mr. Coray. While interviews were conducted, the room was kept to a soft murmur out of respect for the recordings. So when Avery was finished with her one-on-one she thanked him for his time and got up to leave. The packed room was nearly silent. She took a few steps before returning to him to stage-whisper a forgotten question. “Sir, what is your age?” A slightly indignant Coray shouted to her, “NEGRO!” All eyes turned to Avery who was, by now, a neon shade of red. “I’m sorry Sir”, she peeped. “I asked how old you are.” “Oh”, he said as if nothing had happened. “I’m 86.” Then she had to walk, alone, out of a very long room past everyone’s quizzical stares!
One of the first times we joked around in the newsroom, Avery’s eyes filled up with tears. She was pretty sensitive when she started with us and now we like to say we’ve toughened her up to become cynical and dark-humoured like the rest of us! That’s not really true. We are dark humoured but she has kept her positive outlook and is actually working on a project to bring more good news to the world.
Avery married her guy Jason this summer and they will have to move for his new job. They’re both ready for a change and an adventure as a couple. It’s always hard to say so long but as Dr Seuss once wisely said, “Don’t be sad that it’s over, smile because it happened.”
That is so lovely. Thank you for sharing that – and all the best to Avery and her husband. May this be the right move for them both, on a path to their “happily ever after”.