My Tom Snyder Quote

"He was very surprising and very irreverent, and not at all a typical newscaster." Marciarose Shestack

If you're like me, you probably hadn't thought about Tom Snyder in years until you heard the news of his death.

If you're a Boomer or older from Philly, you remember him very well. Tom Snyder started his TV career in our town as a noon news anchor.

If you had a brain in your head you watched The Tomorrow Show no matter where you lived.

If you're actually me, you have one small Tom Snyder story to share. It's just a quote really. But it's literally vintage Tom, circa 1970.

If you're ready, here's My Tom Snyder Story:

As a young, green press aide to a candidate for Governor of PA. I was sent, appropriately, to the Green Room at KYW to give Tom background info and set up an interview.

Tom was known to be a bit, well ...prickly... if you get my drift. He was impatient, a man on the rise, a guy with a future, places to go, people to see.

The Candidate, with a much more low key style, was of a similar mind. I'd learned how to hustle. Get in, get the job done, get out.

But that day, I didn't count on my bladder. Which is to say I was in fact in the Ladies Room, not the Green Room when Tom came in for our drive-by meeting.

He didn't like to be kept waiting. And he wasn't all that crazy about The Candidate. So he was, well, steamed.

I hurried in, apologized profusely. Not good enough. I got "the look." You've seen it. Head cocked, chin out, shoulders hunched, eyebrows raised ... the physical equivalent of Good Lord, Give Me A Break.

His eyes swept over me head to toe in a nanosecond. Then he pulled himself up to full height, looked down at me (he was very tall) and boomed my personal quote:

"Young lady, if you want to succeed in this business, take my advice. Lower your hem, raise your standards and get your watch fixed!" Tom Snyder