Christian asks Norman what he wants to be remembered for. Robin Williams clip courtesy of People for the American Way.



A little back story on our visit.

It was 2 AM in DC, the Teen Press kids were asleep after a long and exciting day of journalism. Just after midnight, Sophie, Sophia, and Harrison had come running into the room, tape in hand, trying to quiet their enthusiasm. "Wait til you see our tape from the Declare Yourself Ball!" they whispered loudly. Then, they went to bed and left me to my editing. John Legend spoke about singing with James Taylor, Jessica Alba talked about registering voters, Sarah Silverman spoke of Dorothy's ruby red slippers, and Jamie Foxx sang what Ray Charles would have had he been around earlier that afternoon. Then, this bespectacled and beaming older man came down the red carpet on my editing screen. And as soon as he stepped up to the kids, the sound went dead. I rattled my headphones, rewound the tape, and rechecked my meters. Nothing. I rewound the tape a third time and watched without any sound. Magically, as often happens with the Teen Press kids, I saw body language and eye contact and engagement that told me the kids had done their job again. They had managed to bring out the humanness of the person they were interviewing. Questions on notepads became a visit, and person on the other side of the microphone, whether they be celebrity on red carpet or citizen on sidewalk, became human. As I watched Norman Lear connect with the kids, I got even more frustrated with the words no one would ever hear.

When the kids woke up the next morning, I complimented them on their incredible work. "But what happened with Norman Lear?" I asked.

"John, we were so nervous. We knew all the other people, but we didn't have a clue who he was. So we stupidly asked him who he was and what he was doing at the ball. When he told us he was putting on the ball, we felt so lame. And then he started answering our questions."

"it looked like it was a really, really good interview. I could tell even though there wasn't any sound."

"What do you mean, there wasn't any sound?"

"We must have clicked the microphone off. And when he came so suddenly we didn't turn it back on."

"Well, it sure looked good. He looked like a really nice man."

"Oh, John he was. He would have visited with us longer, if we had more questions for him."

"Hey, maybe we could call him when we get back home. Maybe if we explain, he will give us another interview."

After two more days of Inauguration coverage and two weeks of Santa Barbara International Film Festival coverage, the kids got on the phone and called Norman Lear's office. They set up the appointment, made follow up calls and even called his secretary from the van when we got stuck in Beverly Hills traffic.

David and I so badly wanted to be in the room when the kids did their second interview, but before walking in we looked at each other and said, "If the kids have learned what we think they have, we shouldn't be in that room. Sophia knows how to run the camera and Christian, Sophie, and Harrison are ready." We held ourselves back like parents saying goodbye the first day of college.

What you have seen and heard in our mini-series is what happened right after David and I said, "Don't forget to turn on the microphone!"

We hope you enjoyed it, that our visit made you laugh and think.
And thank you, Norman Lear.

Part 6: Norman Lear, For Ourselves and Our Posterity

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