The Grandfather Clause

“I don’t remember growing older.
When did they?”

Sheldon Harnick‘s words from “Sunrise Sunset” came to mind when I heard that two of my former WCIX colleagues became grandpas in the past couple of months. It’s such great news, and definitely something to celebrate. But at the same time, it made me realize just how frozen in time people and places can become in our minds, when we have not seen them in a long time.

I don’t remember when Rick Lasch left Channel 6, but I think we might have still been in the round building on Brickell. I still see Rick as a 20-something guy, wearing blue tennis shoes, ready to party at a moment’s notice. That could have described any number of us, I guess. Time marches on and people grow up. More than 25 years later, Rick now lives in Virginia, operates his own video production company, and is celebrating a new milestone – the birth of his first grandson, Bryce Kaiden Busic, who came into this world on New Years Day 2010.




Rick Lasch, 2010, with Baby Bryce




Another happy grandpappy is former Channel 6 graphics guru Ron Laffin. If you still think of his daughter Meredith as a little girl, you’re in for quite a surprise. Meredith, her fiancée Nick, and of course Ron and Nancy welcomed 7-pound, 13-ounce Lacie Marie into their lives in the early morning hours of January 28th. The Laffins are loving the grandparent stuff, and hey, why not? As Ron likes to say… “she IS cute!”




Meredith and Nick, with Lacie



When I think of my grandparents, I think of elderly, frail people who came from the Old Country, with old ways, old thoughts, and old bodies. Appropriately enough, that’s old thinking that needs to be tossed out in the trash. Or in Lake Willard, for you Brickell folks. “It’s a new day,” as James Brown once sang, and Brother James was always right.


“I don’t remember growing older.
When did they?”

All too often, our reminders that we’re not kids anymore hit us like a ton of bricks. When life wants to get our attention, it will, and it doesn’t care that we’re just not ready for its setbacks, its slowdowns, and its roadblocks. But other times, we’re reminded that things don’t always get worse as we grow older. Other times, we’re reminded that in many ways, our lives are just beginning.

Thanks, Rick and Ron, for that reminder. And thanks for allowing me to share your joy.