DMN Blog: Best wishes to the Behm family

[WoodysGirl]

9:40 AM Mon, May 04, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Tim MacMahon E-mail News tips

It really hit me when I heard my wife's voice. That's when I realized how fortunate I was to walk away from the collapse of the Cowboys' indoor facility.

It was the third phone call I made since scrambling out of a plie of people and debris where the front door to the facility used to be.

The first was dialing 911 as I sprinted inside. The second was a call to my editor to let him know that a castastrophe had occurred. Then, after running back out to the scene to help search for people pinned under the wreckage and filing a brief blog post, I called my wife to let her know that I was OK but wouldn't be home for dinner.

Suddenly, I could hardly speak. Breathing heavily, I whispered a few words at a time. I was overwhelmed by the thought that my daughters could have lost their daddy.

Fortunately, nobody lost their father in the horrifying incident. It's amazing that all of the approximately 70 people who were inside the building are alive.

But the lives of three children will be forever changed. Rich Behm, the 33-year-old scouting assistant paralyzed from the waist down, has 8- and 6-year-old boys and a 7-month-old daughter.

I can only imagine how difficult this must be for the Behm family. My heart aches for them.


Comments (0) Leave comment | E-mail entry

 

[DallasEast]

I will probably be criticized (and probably rightfully so), but Mr. MacMahon ...

... your wife should have been the second phone call which you should have made and not the third.

 

[irishline]

I will probably be criticized (and probably rightfully so), but Mr. MacMahon ...

... your wife should have been the second phone call which you should have made and not the third.

Don't see how anyone can criticize you, you're absolutely correct. Don't know how your editor can come before your family.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I will probably be criticized (and probably rightfully so), but Mr. MacMahon ...

... your wife should have been the second phone call which you should have made and not the third.

What is it with people on this board thinking that they have the best and only way of doing things.

His wife did not know what happened and his editor and thus the news people were in more of a position to do good concerning the situation than his wife was.

Its not like he was having her sit there wringing her hands and freaking out. He called a newspaper editor and got the information out there of what was a catastrophe. YOU think he should have called his wife first but I think he did the responsible action in the given circumstances.

 

[AdamJT13]

Its not like he was having her sit there wringing her hands and freaking out.

Are you sure? He helped search through the wreckage AND filed a blog post before calling his wife. I'd have thought it would have been breaking news on TV and/or the radio by then.

 

[DallasEast]

What is it with people on this board thinking that they have the best and only way of doing things.

His wife did not know what happened and his editor and thus the news people were in more of a position to do good concerning the situation than his wife was.

Its not like he was having her sit there wringing her hands and freaking out. He called a newspaper editor and got the information out there of what was a catastrophe. YOU think he should have called his wife first but I think he did the responsible action in the given circumstances.

I will probably be criticized (and probably rightfully so)

........

 

[DaBoys4Life]

9:40 AM Mon, May 04, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Tim MacMahon E-mail News tips

It really hit me when I heard my wife's voice. That's when I realized how fortunate I was to walk away from the collapse of the Cowboys' indoor facility.

It was the third phone call I made since scrambling out of a plie of people and debris where the front door to the facility used to be.

The first was dialing 911 as I sprinted inside. The second was a call to my editor to let him know that a castastrophe had occurred. Then, after running back out to the scene to help search for people pinned under the wreckage and filing a brief blog post, I called my wife to let her know that I was OK but wouldn't be home for dinner.

Suddenly, I could hardly speak. Breathing heavily, I whispered a few words at a time. I was overwhelmed by the thought that my daughters could have lost their daddy.

Fortunately, nobody lost their father in the horrifying incident. It's amazing that all of the approximately 70 people who were inside the building are alive.

But the lives of three children will be forever changed. Rich Behm, the 33-year-old scouting assistant paralyzed from the waist down, has 8- and 6-year-old boys and a 7-month-old daughter.

I can only imagine how difficult this must be for the Behm family. My heart aches for them.


Comments (0) Leave comment | E-mail entry

 

[WoodysGirl]

I will probably be criticized (and probably rightfully so), but Mr. MacMahon ...

... your wife should have been the second phone call which you should have made and not the third.

I don't think you should be criticized, but I do think that reporters and journalists have a different mindset when handling disasters.

It's the same way some were criticizing the cameramen for keeping the cameras rolling while everything was crumbling.

While we may not think much of MacMahon's blogging skills, I don't really have a problem with the order of his communication.

 

[silverbear]

What is it with people on this board thinking that they have the best and only way of doing things.

Said the man who is always quick to jump in pass HIS judgement...

Those who say he should have called his wife second are completely correct... there was no "good" that editor and the news people could do in that situation, all they could do was cover it...

And that could have waited until he called his wife and let her know what was going on, that he was safe... essentially, he put getting a "scoop" ahead of letting his family know he was unhurt... and calling his wife first would have involved making his editor wait two freakin' minutes... it could have gone like this:

"Honey, there's been a terrible accident here, but I'm fine, don't worry. I've gotta hang up right now and call the editor, I'll call you back in a few minutes"...

Do you EVER do anything other than jump in and criticize people because they don't think like you??

YOU think he should have called his wife first but I think he did the responsible action in the given circumstances.

And I think your take is completely IDIOTIC, which doesn't surprise me... again, what "good" is it you think the editor could have done in that situation?? He wasn't on-scene, and 9-11 had already been called, so he wouldn't have been able to mobilize any help before they were on the scene... he couldn't do crap to help the injured...

I am now convinced that you look for situations in which you can adopt the contrarian position...

 

[Boyzmamacita]

The reason breaking news is breaking news is because reporters like McMahon immediately get the word out there, i.e., break the news, which is their job. I wouldn't be surprised if after all of that, he was still able to inform his wife before the story officially "broke."