North: A surprising phone call before Thanksgiving
On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I was sending and receiving some holiday texts from close friends and family. I also tweeted out some thank-you messages to several people who have been instrumental in my career.
As the afternoon crawled on I was watching the tube as always, and then a 312 area code and number lit up the display on my cellphone. I was in the middle of something, but a few minutes later I checked the message.
Wow, I have to admit I was surprised at the identity of the caller, and then again I wasn't.
It was Jerry Reinsdorf, so of course I called him back.
We talked for maybe 5-7 minutes and he wished my wife, Be-Be, and me a Happy Thanksgiving.
People might find it odd that throughout my sports-radio career, starting in 1992, that Reinsdorf and I have had a uniquely enduring friendship. Like most friendships, we experienced some ups and downs, but over the 23 years I have known him we have had a mutual respect.
Our problem has been my profession and his. I have been paid to observe and comment on what I see. It has never been personal, and frequently some of the things I have said about the Sox have come true.
As the owner of two teams - the Bulls and the White Sox - Jerry has influence over much of the media, including his own TV station (CSN-Chicago), and for the most part has been unchallenged over the years except by yours truly and a few others.
Even so, he never has really gotten on me or called with a problem unless he thought I crossed the line. And sometimes he was right.
On occasion, he would receive a report from his people of something negative I had said about the organization or the ownership. I don't think they would ever tell him any of the positive things I would say, but Jerry does know I took a few bullets for him over the years and still do despite some people telling him otherwise.
He still lets me have my say, and I do, but that doesn't mean I'm right or wrong.
I was honored he called and he even brought up my new Bears postgame show on 97.1-FM The Drive. We have had our differences over the years, but he's a good guy and he gets it, even though he might not always like it.
In my house, this Thanksgiving will be remembered as the day after Jerry called.
Program notes:
Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com. Listen to my postgame Bears show on The Drive 97.1-FM every Sunday.
• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.