After writing about plastic surgery and honesty, I wake up to find a huge article on MSNBC about: plastic surgery and honesty. Maybe I stlll have a fingertip on the pulse of the news. Which brings me to a little incident involving blogging and integrity and Lara Logan's breasts. You would only get that connection if you happened to read my blog between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. PST yesterday--when I posted a few paragraphs on those very things.
As a former TV reporter for CBS, I feel a connection with Lara Logan--the CBS news correspondent in Iraq, who seems very intelligent and talented and brave and whose personal life is now all over the news. I made a choice by doing a blog to expose my personal life-- but I felt borderline tacky commenting on hers. (Ironic since that's what most bloggers are doing: commentary and opinion)
Within minutes of posting my comments, I had second thoughts. Then third thoughts. And I learned 2 lessons from this experience:
A--Blogging means never having to say it's over. I can go back and change something I already posted. Or eliminate it altogether. So if I wanted to do nothing else all day, what you are reading right now could be entirely different from what someone else read an hour ago.
B--My integrity issues are not over---or resolved. Lara Logan is safe for now but that doesn't mean I won't comment on someone else I don't know. Or someone else I do know (see post on Full Disclosure--which could change by the time you get this due to lesson #A).
And of course I didn't forget the Integrity vs. Vanity debate, begun after my visit to the plastic surgeon 3 weeks ago.
Brow lift or not? I imagine proponents of each side addressing me and my dilemma:
Joan Rivers: "Can we talk? Trust me---you're not looking so great these days. I could go bungee jumping in the lines between your eyebrows. This is such a no-brainer. Surgery's a piece of cake, and your nose is already going under the knife. Even without the brow lift you're gonna be stuck at home looking like something the cat dragged in, so it's no big deal hiding the evidence. Just do it. And while you're at it, why don't you also consider liposuction?"
Mother Nature: "You are a goddess just the way you are. I was counting on you to be my poster girl for aging naturally. I believed in your commitment to embrace your imperfections. Do you want to cast your beliefs to the winds in favor of eyeliner? You've always been so honest and open--doesn't this contradict who you are? And honey, isn't 2 days a little hasty to make a decision like this? "
In this moment of paralysis, lacking perspective to see beyond the nose on my face, I do what many people do: I reach out and touch someone. I don't always call the same number. I have options--husband, children, relatives, friends. Right now I have no idea what I am looking for---support, encouragement, advice, a wakeup call?
And this is where the brilliance of my gut comes in--and why I always trust it. My gut reaches out and automatically dials the best person for the job: my sister. Not only has she known me and my face longer than anyone else; she won't hesitate to be honest and direct.
Carla lives 3 thousand miles and 3 time zones away, but within 30 seconds I am convinced that a last-minute brow lift is one of the worst ideas I've ever had.
So it's settled. Dr. D will operate on my nose for skin cancer. I will not get a brow lift or any other cosmetic surgery. Not now. Not ever. My lapse into vanity is over.
Well... it WAS over, 3 weeks ago when I made the decision and had the skin cancer surgery. You know how they say "man makes plans and God laughs"? Well, someone is having a great laugh at my expense. Because this story does not end here. I might pick it up tomorrow, and then again, I might not.
So you were a reporter for CBS? I was a reporter for an NBC Affiliate in NC and worked the assignment desk for ABC.
Posted by: Beverly Mahone | July 11, 2008 at 06:57 PM