I put this up early this morning on my "Good-Not Good" blog at wgy.com, and thought I'd share it with everyone on the bulletin board....
Read-Cougars

July 31-NOT GOOD
Friday 07-31-2009 7:36am ET
Like most professionals and working people, I strive to keep my private life and my 9-5 on-the-air life at 810 WGY as separate as possible. Yes, I often talk about things I do on the weekend, or the things my deardarling wife gets into, but it's still a bit strange when I have to cross over that line, interview, and write up a genuine news story around a good friend.

Such was the case on Thursday, as we in the newsroom began to grasp the extent of the flooding to the south and east of the immediate Albany-Schenectady-Troy region. Many of the guys who comprise the 45-and-over Cougars of the Capital District Men's Senior Baseball League live in Columbia and/or Greene Counties, and from what I was hearing about the Kinderhook Creek, I knew one guy in particular was probably at ground zero. I put out an e-mail to the team, asking for guys to call me, and pass along info on what was happening in their neighborhoods and communities. One guy sent me a picture from Coxsackie, which we posted elsewhere on our web site, but I was really trying to reach Rob Rugen. He's a chiropractor--with offices along a section of route 9 in Kinderhook which runs right along the creek. He's also an outfielder with a pretty potent bat and a very strong arm, and one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. He's what the CDMSBL is all about. A guy who loves a day in the sun--playing a little boy's game again to the extent of his abilities.

He got the message in between trips thru the water--wading into the basement of his office building, and called us....while I was on the air, as it turned out. Ali Skinner talked to him for a moment, and then I came out and finished the interview. Rob gave us a calm and comprehensive picture of what was happening in northern Columbia County, and his comments turned out to be a major portion of our day-long coverage.

Still, when I got a minute to think about it, I was able to realize that Rob had, like many other people inundated by the water, suffered a big setback. His offices were flooded. He's a friend and a teammate, and had I helped? Tough question. No, I didn't drive to Kinderhook, put on a pair of boots, and wade in there, but I did give him a forum to tell his story.

I'm thinking I need to call him back today...or at the very least, shoot him an e-mail and find out how he's doing.