I need to make a call, someplace quiet...

It was a luncheon in the conference room. Sandwiches, beef, turkey, ham. You know the kind. Shrimp on ice, big cheese tray. Typical catered lunch to kick off a promotional event for the fall television season. A welcoming talk, responses by the guests.

I was seated across from a guy, one of the guests, he was wearing muted plaid sport coat, looked like silk. His shirt was a tattersall button down, he wore a knit tie. The tie picked up the color of his jacket and the shirt. He was telling stories and asking questions while we ate.

When the luncheon finished, the talks given. He said to me, "I have to make a phone call, someplace quiet." There was another conference room, a small one. He motioned to one of his co-workers and I led them both to the small room. He said this won't take long."  The three of us went in to the room. He took a folded piece of paper out of his inside coat pocket. "How do I get an outside line?" I told him the 3 digit code. He dialed and spent 4 minutes on the phone. I know how long the call lasted. I was facing a wall clock. He finished his call and the other man took the phone and read off his sheet of paper to whoever was on the other end.

The three of us talked about many things for the next 20 minutes, then it was time to go. We shook hands and they left.

The men were betting football, the call was to a bookie in New York. The tall, dark man was Ed Bradley. The man who sat across from me at lunch was Morely Safer.

Now they are both in the cosmos.