Back in the Saddle

Wednesday found me back in my "home" office of Winston-Salem. Brent and I have a knack for finding a story when there's nothing there. Today we tossed out a few ideas to the voices on the other end of the little white box on our desk in the bureau, the speaker phone. After a little debate around the conference room they decide they want us to do a preview of a lawsuit being filed in Raleigh tomorrow. Exiting stuff!

Changing Gears
So after doing a thrilling phone interview with the attorney filing the lawsuit against Dell on behalf of the "taxpayers," (yea, right) we then find out that the local police department has vests that are now compromised because a material inside is not holding up like it was supposed to. WSPD is not the most media-friendly in our area but after Brent talks to the chief for a while she agrees to let the equipment buyer for the department tell us about their bullet-resistant vests.

What I found amazing while working on this story was the testing that WSPD does on ALL vests they are thinking of buying. They fire some 20 rounds into the vest using a variety of bullets and guns all at point blank range. None of the "legal" bullets even compromised more than the first three layers of the more than 20 the vest has. Only one bullet made it to the last layers, a "special" illegal bullet the manufacturer told the testers with WSPD would make it through the vest. I'm told the manufacturer on scene just dropped his jaw when it didn't make it through.

During the interview I get a call from my boss, Keith Hale. He's in Greensboro talking with Guilford County Sheriff B.J. Barnes about the vests they use. Keith tells me he can get a couple of vests from B.J. for us to use in our live shot. Great news considering the powers-that-be always want us to show something in our live shots. Score one for The Chief!

Home
Coming home is one of the hi-lights of the day. All my girls are just as happy to see me as I am them. On this evening I pull in to the driveway with the smell of a fresh rainfall, the driveway is wet and it's more than a little steamy. This probably keeps Lauren from performing one of her recent rituals upon my arrival at home. I often can hear the smack, smack, smack of her bare feet on the garage floor running to meet me at my logo'd four-wheel drive. As I gather my camera and spent battery(s) she likes to see what else is in the truck.

Caroline is waiting at the top of the basement steps looking through the gate saying, "Hiiieeee." That smile can not be resisted. After some hugs and kisses she wants to show me something, anything... just come with me she begs.

As Lis comes home from work she tells me some good news. It seems the private school we had hoped to send Lauren to for Kindergarten but found it to be too expensive is now reconsidering our request for financial aid. Maybe they didn't fill all the slots this year, maybe they just really want Lauren to come, I don't know. What I do know is that we've got some decisions to make over the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted.