But let’s start before Christmas, when Judy wore one of my favorite jackets. Note the stripes on the cuffs:

She looked swell in hot pink. Sublime sleeve length.

I’m guessing Akris here. Just love the neckline. Almost looks like one of her bolero jackets, but here, the bolero shrug look is incorporated into the top itself.

Darling Diane in LA noted that Judy wore a light-up necklace on Christmas Eve. I too, am HERE FOR IT.

But all too soon, it was Friday, December 30, Judy’s last day on the NewsHour. She shone. But first let’s talk about her guests.
Damien Garde, from Stat (new news outlet to me; am I losing my edge?) charmed with his not-fixed bite. He’s adorbs and so are his chompers.

Maksym, a Kiev resident, recounted his family’s survival of the latest Russian attack on the city.
Among the many things Judy taught me, BTW, is that it’s pronounced “KEE-ve” (rhymes with “peeve”) not, “Key-evv” (rhymes with nothing).
This bit was an example of the humanity Judy and her crew bring to every story. They could have filmed Maksym to another room, or interviewed some other person on the street, but they interviewed this father in his child’s room (who was “not there” but reportedly unharmed). Note the deal llama wallpaper. It was a reminder of how recently life there was like life here.

Brooksy will miss Judy so much. Won’t we all?
But now he’s stuck with Capey, who doesn’t have the history that Judy and Brooks have. Brooksy interrupted his segment to salute Judy. Capey came to us from a villa in Italy, or was it an italianate villa in Phoenix, AZ: https://roselawgroupreporter.com/2022/12/inside-an-italian-villa-on-a-phoenix-mountaintop/ ?
Brooks said, “it’s easy to be better when you’re around you” to Judy. She certainly made this blogger better. Less snarky even (sometimes).

Judy was all class on her final broadcast. Just right in a simple, perfectly-cut red dress.

Note the sleeve length. It was perfect, too.

Judy ended the hour with a touching but not sappy – never sappy – wrap-up. Of course this blogger (and truth be told, Mr. Blogger) was tearing up already.
At the end of the show, the cameras turned on the audience, in which Judy’s son sat, clapping with all of the rest of us. She gave him a kiss on the head and it was lights out here.
Was I crying for more than Judy? Probably, but she got me started.

Thankfully, Judy won’t be gone for long.
“Judy Woodruff Presents: America at a Crossroads” airs in something like three weeks. It won’t be the same, no, but it will be good. She is a heckin’ interviewer. This blogger looks forward to seeing those skills on display on the regular.
In response to the kind readers who asked whether this blog will go on, the answer is a resounding “yes”!
After all, Judy will need a whole new wardrobe for this gig.
SOMEONE has to comment on it.
Happy New Year!