The Daly Show

I knew he was going to catch some heat for it.  On his radio show, Carson Daly was addressing the recent news item about a JetBlue co-pilot reportedly having a mid-air meltdown.  Carson, who television viewers remember from MTV and now see as the host of NBC's The Voice, said something to the effect that gay male passengers probably would not have been able to restrain the out-of-control pilot.  Carson was joking but his voice is national.   I knew listeners would take it seriously.  He's apologized.

This blog isn't about Carson's boo-boo.  We all now that there are tough, macho gay men in the America.  I've met many in my broadcast career.  When I worked for a WNBC weekend morning news program in New York City, I had dinner with a couple of Army officers.  Those two men had been going together for some time.  One had flown missions in Vietnam.  Very cool, down-to-earth gents there were.  Over dinner, I asked, "Where did you two meet?" and they answered, "In the Pentagon."  The Carson Daly story also reminded me of an awards dinner I was asked to host in the mid '90s.  It was for G.O.A.L. New York -- that's the Gay Officers Action League of New York City.  That league of cops marches annually in New York City's Gay Pride Parade.  One of its members helped me get soundbites from Madonna when I covered one of her media events and aired the piece on WNBC.  Of course, I accepted the invitation to have dinner with them and host their awards event.  These NYPD men and women were, like the Army couple, very cool and down-to-earth.  On TV, we see a lot of gay men like Carson Kressley or Ross Mathews, the regular on E! and the Chelsea Lately weeknight talk show.  The G.O.A.L. men didn't resemble them.  Do you ever watch American Chopper?

Most of the G.O.A.L. guys looked either like Pauly or his dad.  This was one of those great "only in New York" kind of events.  The only thing straight about these dudes was the Scotch many of them were drinking.  After the awards were all presented and we bellied up to the bar, it was amazing to see several of these beefy, brawny cops knock back cocktails...and match each other doing quotes from Mommie Dearest.  I kid you not.

These guys could've been cast to take down thugs in a Scorcese gangster movie.  But this wasn't a film production.  It was real night life in Manhattan.  Knowing that the big, butch men a few feet away from me shouting "Tina! Bring me the ax!" were armed while they shouted it...well, I'd never felt safer in New York City in all my time there.  Heaven bless the entire NYPD.  Especially the members of G.O.A.L.

Carson Daly should've been with me that night.