tokita@hawaiinewsnow.com
I felt like I was in a scene from a Godzilla movie.
People running, screaming, trying to escape the city as I was desperately trying to make my way in. I remember a frantic call from my producer that Tuesday morning in September. "Teri, get to the Pentagon as fast as you can! There's been another attack!"
Life changed for all of us that day, but as a correspondent for CBS News, there wasn't time to reflect. For two solid months, we reported every detailed development from Washington ... smoke rising from the building. Firefighters unfurling the American flag. Fellow Americans in utter shock. For weeks, I kept it all in check ... until finally, I could no longer control my emotions. I sat on the front steps of my home and sobbed.
After 9/11, there was no question I would volunteer to go to the Middle East. After all, I grew up in a military family. Our base of operations was Kuwait City, and our team arrived just before the "Shock and Awe" campaign. When we finally got to the heart of Baghdad weeks later, Saddam Hussein had gone into hiding and Iraqis were excited to see us. But, by my fourth assignment there, tension on the streets was palpable. We couldn't go out of our bureau without private security, bulletproof gear, and armored cars.
My "pinch me" moment came, literally, just days after returning home to Los Angeles from one of those trips to Baghdad. My producer and I were assigned to the Grammy Awards, and boy, did we get a good laugh after realizing we'd traded in flak jackets for red carpet attire. What a trip! After being in a war zone, the celebrity scene was so surreal.
People often ask me about highlights in my career, so here are a few:
Most "chicken-skin" moment: having a front row seat in Chicago the night fellow Punahou alumnus, Barack Obama, was elected President of the United States. No matter the political leaning, everyone there knew we were watching history unfold.
Most gut-wrenching assignment: watching the widespread suffering in New Orleans, one of my favorite American cities, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Most joyful story: playing with abandoned baby elephants at an elephant orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya.
Favorite celebrities I've interviewed: Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, George Clooney, and oh yeah, that dude Brad Pitt.
Biggest media circus: The Michael Jackson trial.
Strangest sense of loss: Michael Jackson's death. As I was reporting from LA, it felt like part of my childhood was gone, too. Weird.
Second biggest media circus: Any of the seven Super Bowls I covered.
Despite reporting from the White House and war zones, from Iraq to Italy, and the scores of people I've interviewed in-between, one of my greatest life lessons actually came from a seven-year-old named Jamal. It was during a tough time in my life when I felt like I was in limbo. I'd been mentoring Jamal at the Boys and Girls Club in LA. He was facing down a formidable nine-year-old girl in a game of chess. Jamal would study the board and a few minutes would pass. He'd start to make a move, but then, back off. More minutes passed.
Finally, the girl rolled her eyes, and I said, "Look, Jamal, if you don't make a move, you'll never go forward!" Lightbulb moment! I realized as the words came out, that I was doing the exact same thing ... making no choices but in reality, that was a choice. Not long after that, Dale and I made the decision to return home to beautiful Hawaii nei… near my awesome family and lifelong friends… and to Hawaii News Now.
So, thanks, Jamal for inspiring me to go forward and be a better person. I hope to do the same for others. Checkmate, little friend.
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