.I told my students to watch Amy Grizzaffi on Channel 7 News. Loving your job is a big plus in today's world; if anyone fits that bill, it has to be Amy.

I wrote Amy requesting an interview. She said she was flattered on my answering machine. I sent a fax, "With eyebrows dancing like wild brown seagulls across the bay and eyes that sparkle diamonds through the pines, you're definitely one of a kind with your delivery."

Grizzaffi visited my fourth grade classroom last Wednesday. It was a toss-up who was more excited, my students, Amy, or me. As if she did a back flip out of the silver screen, Amy bounced in and lit up the room like a neon TV angel. We could only feel lucky, pinch ourselves and stare. The kids had some great questions for Grizzaffi's first interview.

Amy Grizzaffi made her debut in 1972, the first of two children for Mike (electrical engineer) and Shirley in Corsicana, Texas. "They play a huge role in my life," Grizzaffi said. Her brother Phillip is 15.

Amy enjoyed Math, English and Political Science in school. Her biggest challenge as a child was being quiet and juggling a hectic schedule. She stayed busy with soccer, dance and theater. The thought of Acting tugged her slightly before Television Reporting captured her heart at age 18.

While attending Texas Tech in 1994, she worked in Lubbock as a weekend reporter, then in Montana before coming to Channel 7 in September of 1996. Austin won Grizzaffi's nod as the ultimate place to live and report the news. Amy's true love is reporting, but enjoys anchoring too. Grizzaffi wants to have a family one day. Right now she couldn't be happier; she's living her dream.

Amy loves to read, play games, water-ski, baby-sit, talk at coffee shops and hang out with girlfriends. She relishes the great outdoors; camping, hiking and fly fishing turn her into a wild waterbug. However, her knees jerk and wobble at the thought of snow skiing. "I had to have reconstructive knee surgery after a bad spill."

Amy enjoys participating in a singles bible study group. "Church is very important in my life." Italian food beats Mexican by a hair and music, especially classic rock n roll, keeps her full life on the swivel.

Tragedy knocks often in the life of a reporter. It was pounding especially hard once in Montana when Amy covered a story where the baby-sitter killed the baby. "It was so tragic. I couldn't imagine what in the world would make her do that. I felt really sorry for her parents because they didn't know what to do. It was very, very sad."

But Amy knows laughter--sometimes, a little too well. "One time I was anchoring the news in Montana. They said something funny in the control room. They were practically rolling, cracking up, which I could hear clearly in my earpiece. I kind of started laughing; I couldn't help it. And right then I had to read a very serious story. I was thinking how terrible it was for me to be smiling. That was a very disappointing, embarrassing moment in my career. I felt really bad about that."

Also, "One time it was about ten below in Montana. My lips were so frozen I could not form my words. I was trying so hard to warm them up; it just wasn't happening. We went back to the station to watch the tape. We were laughing so hard because my lips were so frozen you couldn't even understand what I was saying."

"I also did a funny story about what tourists ask the park rangers at Glacier National Park in Montana. Hearing the wardens tell their stories was hilarious. Some tourists wondered what time the rangers put the bears up at night."

On the Channel 7 team, "We have a great team. We laugh, joke and give each other a lot of support." In the joking category: "I was anchoring on my 24th birthday when Weatherman Scott Fossie said, 'Oh, Happy Birthday Amy! What are you, like thirty now?' It was so embarrassing because he made it sound like I was really thirty! I was like, No! That's not even close!"

"The toughest thing about our business is you have to depend on technical things. That's frustrating sometimes; it holds you back a lot. When a camera doesn't work, you don't have a story." Do you have to watch what you eat before filming to keep from burping? "No! That's one thing I'm good at. I love to eat; I eat everything. I just eat it all. I'm Italian, so we're good at eating."

Advantages of her job: "I learn so much. I once heard that a reporter's knowledge is a mile long but a foot deep. We know a little bit about a lot."

Disadvantages: "The hours are tough, really tough. Monday I worked from 4am to 7pm. And you have to be tough. Yesterday I had to ask a superintendent some tough questions, and I put a story on the air that I'm not so sure he was crazy about. You have to ask the questions sometimes they don't want to answer. You have to be able to draw the line between the relationship off camera and on camera. He's a really nice man and I like him; we're friendly to each other but once you turn the camera on, I have to ask the tough questions. You have to have tough skin."

Amy has met John Lithgow, Jim Neighbors and Patty Lovelace. "One of my greatest thrills was getting to see President Clinton visit Longview. That was exciting; that was history right there in the making."

Grizzaffi would love to interview the Pope, Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer. "I'd really like to meet Mother Teresa; she would be fascinating."

As the interview wound down, Amy signed autographs and posed for photos with the kids. They were all in love--some like a sister, some much more than that. The love notes poured in. One regret: I forgot to have Amy model her deep, intriguing serious story voice. With hard news, Amy shifts into "Moses" and everyone reaches for their glass of water.

Sadly, some things burn down. Gladly, some people burn up. They burn up, down and around their job like a big "honkin" sparkler. With eyebrows and animation, Amy Grizzaffi does news like John Daly off the tee. You're not sure where it's going, but it's hit hard and really out there.