I have been waiting for this day for years.
I glanced at myself in the mirror one last time, just to make sure everything was perfect.
This. Was. It.
CNN News has always been my safe place. I have found refuge within the smiling faces on tv screens. They always come through and tell me exactly what's happening in this dark, scary world.
My mother passed away when I was four. My reckless father would leave for days at a time and leave me with nothing except the tv. No one to hold me. No one to feed me. Only CNN news reporters reporting the same things over and over.
I loved them. They loved me.
And then everything changed.
A man, dark haired, weird smile, mediocre eyes, not Caucasian appeared on my screen. God I loved everything about him, everything from his wrinkly forehead to his dry puns.
Carl Azuz. Even his name sends shivers down my spine.
He alone saved me from myself and brought meaning into my actually okay life. I couldn't imagine my life without him. I swore that I would find him one day and profess my love to him. I will not rest until he knows what he means to me.
So, here I am. In Atlanta, Georgia. I've rented a small hotel room not too far from CNN Headquarters. I've been watching the front doors for hours- and now it was time. It was time to head inside and take the CNN tour, find Carl, and win him over.
I finally decided it was time to go to the CNN headquarters. It was their lunch break so I had a feeling that Carl would be in the food court. I knew he would be there eating his favorite food, cheese broccoli soup. I knew he had been recently divorced and that's the main reason I'm in Atlanta. I'm here to console him in this heartbreaking time of need. I'll be irresistible. He'll fall right in love with me.
I stare up at the large CNN logo above the entrance to the building. I take a deep breath and walk right through the doors.
Cold air hits me in the face. I smile at the employees standing behind the desk.
"Hi, what can I help you with?" A woman with dark hair asks.
"I'd like to take the CNN tour, please."
I buy a ticket and she points me in the right direction. I follow the signs until I reach a huge lobby.
I gasp as I take in the huge sight; small gift stores dot the entrance. A roped off cafeteria/sitting area takes up the majority of the room. A huge excalator with a giant globe at the top sits over to the right.
After 49 minutes of waiting, I'm finally packed into a tour group and the experience begins.
It starts off slow; the tour guides drone on about the history of CNN and how they record behind the scenes. It only starts to get interesting once they start talking about the news anchors.
We arrive at a room with a familiar looking desk. My heart skips a beat as I recognize the room that my Carl records in.
"....and if we're lucky, sometimes the anchors make appearances to the tour groups.."
