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The Coolest Job At CBS2 News

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Sky 2 pilot/reporter Mike Case let me join him in the helicopter, the day after Thanksgiving. I'd always thought my job was the best in TV news, but apparently it's second best. There is nothing like hovering 1,500 feet above the L.A. basin, and being able to see from the ocean, to Palm Springs, as the sun comes up.

I'm proud to call Mike and his colleague, pilot/reporter Derek Bell, friends of mine. And if either of them has an ounce of the swagger that is usually associated with fly-boys, I've never seen it. Both seem acutely aware that they have enviable gigs, and accept their situation with modesty.

Not that they haven't worked hard to get here: Mike showed me the sort of maneuvering Derek had to do recently, to safely bring down a seriously malfunctioning chopper in a hard landing. My respect for what these guys have to train for grew even more.

Mike used to be an aerial  spotter for the LAPD. It amazes me, how he can find an accident scene, and count the number of emergency vehicles on site, while I'm still trying to find the freeway where it happened. He and cameraman Stu (whose name is alternately spelled Stu, Stew, and probably even Stoo) made it a genuinely exciting experience, and a great way to spend a morning off.

And it just kills me how we can be over the San Fernando Valley, when a call comes in, to go to Long Beach, and Mike says "OK-- we'll be there in 4 minutes." I can't imagine a better commercial for flying cars.

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