Patchogue.
Donna.
A Simple Pitch.
A Good Memory.

I love this job. All of it. Even the rants I go on when — well, you know — I can't hear the audio or the eyeliner is off. Those are few and far between. The most fun, besides a booking, is when I get to reach out to you guys about an actor.

This simple pitch about METer Salma Qarnain to CD Donna McKenna turned into a walk down memory lane.

I saw on LinkedIn that Donna is in Patchogue. Back in the '60s, my grandmother had what we called "La Casita," a little home out there. It was at a theater about an hour from Patchogue that I saw Love Story with my cousin. I remember the ride to the theater more than the movie. Don't get me wrong — to this day I still love Love Story. After I got back home to Brooklyn, off to BuyRight I went to buy the soundtrack.

Love Story — a quick memory, then back to the work.

I think we had our first McDonald's out there too — you know, two burgers, fries, a Coke, and change from a dollar.

Even better, at least for me, Patchogue is where I discovered The National Enquirer. I was always — and still am — interested in ghosts, the supernatural, Uri Geller — and that paper brought it all home.

We were allowed to walk to the country store alone, and that's where it was: in front of the cash register, next to the penny candy. And that's where, believe it or not, my journalism seeds were planted. Si. Eating Jolly Roger Sticks while reading the tabloid.

The country-store find.

Sometimes I'm a little embarrassed to tell people that The National Enquirer got me interested in journalism, but it did, and I admit it. From there, I segued into The Daily News.

Needless to say, in 8th grade at my Catholic school in Brooklyn, I started a newsletter. Would it surprise you that my premiere issue was also my last? The nuns were not too happy. I featured a lay teacher who had previously been a nun. Oh well. It was a good story. Can't say I didn't have a "nose for news."