The best reporters usually are Texans

Have you had one of those “count your blessings” days lately? No, me neither. Until one recent Tuesday.

The house was clean, or at least cleaner than usual.

The grass had just been mowed, and all those weeds, which are making up the majority of the lawn, were spreading a nice green carpet.

The dog had just had a new haircut and looked show ring beautiful. He also had managed to be a good dog and not bite his groomer.

The weather was dry and not too cold.

And the recorder was working on the TV, so I could skip through all the commercials.

Also, since I had recorded the Super Bowl, I could also watch all those commercials and skip through the football game.

Heresy? Not so much. I know for a fact I’m not the only one who watches for the commercials. The whole world is not composed of football fans, believe it or not.

I used to be one of those people who said everything about ‘the good old days” is better than things today.

I no longer believe that. Especially in the world of TV, a world I live in a lot of the time.

I know nobody really likes to watch the news, because everything is so bad — a lot of it so scary.

Before I ever studied any journalism, I wanted to be a “foreign correspondent.” My mother would cringe every time I suggested that as a career.

Now I know why.

When I watch the TV news, so many of the correspondents working in the middle of all that rioting and bombing are women. I think that’s a fairly new trend.

When CBS Evening News Anchor Scott Pelly calls on one of those ladies to report on what is going on in Egypt or Syria, you can hear the gunfire while she is telling us the bad news.

And I am saying, “Get her out of there before she gets shot.”

Scott Pelly can’t hear me.

I am proud he is yet another Texan in the CBS catbird seat.

I loved Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in America.

I loved Dan Rather, who got me through Hurricane Carla by aiming a camera at the radar screen in Galveston — a first.

But I absolutely adore Scott Pelly, who says please and thank you to all the correspondents while they make their reports.

And at the end of his broadcast he says, and I enjoy, from everyone at CBS News, “all around the world,” good night.

And do you know why they were, and are, so wonderful?

They are from Texas.

Cathy Gillentine is a columnist for The Daily News and can be reached at cgillentine1(at)sbcglobal.net.