Tammy Moyer
She annoyed me at times… she was often a little too perky.
My clock radio would come on at 5am and there she was. Cheerful and happy and no matter what the weather or circumstance, she would find a bright angle to focus on.
She joked around and made a chatty conversation with everyone that joined her in the morning.
I’ll admit that there were days I hit the “off” button because I was too tired to jump into her positive world. I wanted to close my eyes and fall back. I didn’t want to be pulled into her happy place.
She was part of my every day and now she’s gone.
Tammy Moyer, the morning anchor at radio station News1130, died this past Friday.
When I found out I cried. And that surprised me.
What happened at the radio station in the following days also surprised me.
I’m not a big fan of those overblown public memorials where people bring little candles and teddy bears. It seems rather silly. Yes, people have to grieve, but is that the best way to do it?
There are better ways to let someone know how you feel.
Tammy’s friends and co-workers had to announce on the air what had happened.
And they did it with class and a nod to the professionals that they are.
Tanya Fletcher’s noticeable struggle to get through that first Monday morning broadcast. Jim Bennie’s voice cracking as he introduced the segment on Tammy and saying “Here it goes… I’ll try to get through this…” The few tasteful clips they played included a message from Tammy’s family. Many of her colleagues commented through Twitter. Ben Wilson’s tweets made me cry again.
Then guess what… the world continued on and big news stories had to be covered and reported on. These people put their grief aside and did their jobs.
Tammy would have been proud. And no doubt Tammy already knew how much they loved her.
My policy is to tell people how I feel about them before they die. If I have a favourite singer, store clerk, writer or even politician, I write them a letter or card to let them know how I feel while they are alive.
I never wrote to Tammy. What would I have said?
“I think you are just too happy at 5am.”
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