It's no secret, I'm not getting any younger. I know, I know, none of us are. But I've just recently come to the reality that it's not as easy to just get out and exercise these old muscles. Of course, it doesn't help that when you go outside to take a short run you might as well go to the gym and put the treadmill in the sauna! A high of 93 here in the Piedmont of North Carolina with heat indices approaching 110 is enough to make you want to go back in the house and soak up some more of that ice cold air conditioning we've all come so fond of.
But I've made a promise to myself and, more importantly, my family. I'm getting back into shape and I'm going to do a Triathlon. Yes, you read that correctly, I'm going to do a triathlon. For some reason I've always wanted to do it. I've never really talked about it that much, but I needed a goal to get my butt off the sofa and make me get out there and train. As a very competitive individual I felt a race would give me something to shoot for. Now, don't get too excited and ready to call me crazy, I'm only doing a short triathlon. I've found a couple in Florida in April that don't sound too bad. One that touts itself as the beginning of the triathlon season in Saint Pete is less than a mile swim, a 24 mile bike ride and a 6 mile run.
So it's out there. Now all two of you reading my blog know I'm entering a triathlon. I guess that's a little added incentive to make it. I'll keep you posted on my training.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Thursday, July 14, 2005
That First Fatal
(WARNING: Some reading the following may become ill. Graphic accident description to follow)
We all go through it. Photojournalists usually remember their first fatality. For me, it was definitely something I'll not forget. I'd been on the job for less than two weeks. A rookie by anyone's definition, but soon to be dubbed grizzled veteran just because of one person's stupidity. Even ten years later, I've never seen a worse accident scene.
I'd been in TV for over a year, working on the production side at WBKO in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Going from teleprompter, studio camera all the way up to director in less than a year, I thought I was prepared for anything. I BS'd my way in to the news department when they needed a photog. "Oh, yea, I've had experience using an ENG camera in school." In reality, I had just started taking my broadcasting courses, never even picked up an ENG camera.
The phone call came as I was getting ready for work. The voice on the other end saying, "there's a bad wreck on I-65 at Cumberland Parkway. We need you to go out and help Julie Pursley (our Barren County one-person-band) so she can get back to the newsroom for the noon show. Just how bad the wreck was, I had no idea.
Upon arrival I noticed more than a few State Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances. The accident had occurred on the ramp from Cumberland Parkway to I-65 southbound. A long curve of a ramp that shouldn't be taken more than about 45 mph. This fool tried to take it at about a hundred! Troopers told me later that the Pontiac Sunbird convertible had struck the guardrail where it begins the upslope and flew in the air some 100 feet before striking a light pole. The pole sent the car, now upside down, back on to the guardrail, decapitating the two passengers and sending the driver out the roof and almost splitting him in half. EMT's said they didn't even know if he was male or female when they arrived on the scene; somehow, he survived.
After I shot what I thought was enough video of the mangled mess of a car and cutaways of the bystanders and emergency workers, I waited at the bottom of the ramp for one of the troopers to give me some sound. After a short while in the summer sun my wish was granted as one of the troopers strolled down the ramp in my direction. I tried my best at some small talk but all he said was, "you're new ain't ya son?" "Uh, been here 'bout two weeks, sir" was all I could muster. "Well, I need ya to do me a favor if you think you can handle it." Eager to please on my first encounter with Trooper Big Gun, I quickly said, "sure, whatever you need."
What he asked me next I wasn't prepared for. "I need you to put a new tape in that machine and shoot some video for us." No problem, they probably just want some scene footage for their files. "You're gonna see some pretty nasty stuff, can you handle that?" Now, I grew up with a father who was a cop for 25 years; Moose used to tell us stories of the things he would see. People shot, car wrecks, bodies that had been in a house for weeks. You name it, he told us about it. So, "sure, I can handle whatever you got," now feeling quite macho in the setting.
As I go under the yellow police tape past the onlookers I'm really feeling my oats now. Until Trooper Gun tells me to watch where I'm about to step, "that's brains." OK, a little perspective here. We're still a good 200 feet from where the car made contact with the light pole and guard rail yet the car is at rest with a LOOOOONNNNGGG trail of blood coming from it. Little did I know that a little brain matter and skull fragments were nothing compared to what I was to see later.
I was asked to tape everything. The amount of blood, the brain matter, skull, the car, now upside down with no roof. And then, they did it. They lifted the sheet off the guy in the bushes. He'd been ripped from the car upon impact and thrown into the brush about 50 feet away. He had no face, just an open, empty skull. Parts of his body had been ripped off or open and I just kept telling myself to "look through the viewfinder, look through the viewfinder." Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, one of them yelled out, "ya gotta come look at this." There, laying in the grass was what looked like a rubber mask. Just a face. Completely peeled off. Now, I'm not real sure what went through my mind at that particular time, but looking back it now I can't believe I didn't ralph. I think it was just so surreal that it really didn't sink in. I do remember looking at it because I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. And to top it off, we thought it belonged to the guy under the bushes but it actually belonged to the girl still in the car some 200 feet away!
I also remember getting the call from the State Police office telling us the driver had been charged about a week later and telling us we could come over to the post and get video of them walking him to a patrol car to be taken to jail. It was the saddest walk I've ever shot. He was using a walker because of his injuries sustained in the crash so it took about 5 minutes for him to walk the short distance to the trooper's car. He was prosecuted for his foolish, drunken act. Although somehow I think killing his two friends is probably more punishment than the time behind bars.
We all go through it. Photojournalists usually remember their first fatality. For me, it was definitely something I'll not forget. I'd been on the job for less than two weeks. A rookie by anyone's definition, but soon to be dubbed grizzled veteran just because of one person's stupidity. Even ten years later, I've never seen a worse accident scene.
I'd been in TV for over a year, working on the production side at WBKO in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Going from teleprompter, studio camera all the way up to director in less than a year, I thought I was prepared for anything. I BS'd my way in to the news department when they needed a photog. "Oh, yea, I've had experience using an ENG camera in school." In reality, I had just started taking my broadcasting courses, never even picked up an ENG camera.
The phone call came as I was getting ready for work. The voice on the other end saying, "there's a bad wreck on I-65 at Cumberland Parkway. We need you to go out and help Julie Pursley (our Barren County one-person-band) so she can get back to the newsroom for the noon show. Just how bad the wreck was, I had no idea.
Upon arrival I noticed more than a few State Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances. The accident had occurred on the ramp from Cumberland Parkway to I-65 southbound. A long curve of a ramp that shouldn't be taken more than about 45 mph. This fool tried to take it at about a hundred! Troopers told me later that the Pontiac Sunbird convertible had struck the guardrail where it begins the upslope and flew in the air some 100 feet before striking a light pole. The pole sent the car, now upside down, back on to the guardrail, decapitating the two passengers and sending the driver out the roof and almost splitting him in half. EMT's said they didn't even know if he was male or female when they arrived on the scene; somehow, he survived.
After I shot what I thought was enough video of the mangled mess of a car and cutaways of the bystanders and emergency workers, I waited at the bottom of the ramp for one of the troopers to give me some sound. After a short while in the summer sun my wish was granted as one of the troopers strolled down the ramp in my direction. I tried my best at some small talk but all he said was, "you're new ain't ya son?" "Uh, been here 'bout two weeks, sir" was all I could muster. "Well, I need ya to do me a favor if you think you can handle it." Eager to please on my first encounter with Trooper Big Gun, I quickly said, "sure, whatever you need."
What he asked me next I wasn't prepared for. "I need you to put a new tape in that machine and shoot some video for us." No problem, they probably just want some scene footage for their files. "You're gonna see some pretty nasty stuff, can you handle that?" Now, I grew up with a father who was a cop for 25 years; Moose used to tell us stories of the things he would see. People shot, car wrecks, bodies that had been in a house for weeks. You name it, he told us about it. So, "sure, I can handle whatever you got," now feeling quite macho in the setting.
As I go under the yellow police tape past the onlookers I'm really feeling my oats now. Until Trooper Gun tells me to watch where I'm about to step, "that's brains." OK, a little perspective here. We're still a good 200 feet from where the car made contact with the light pole and guard rail yet the car is at rest with a LOOOOONNNNGGG trail of blood coming from it. Little did I know that a little brain matter and skull fragments were nothing compared to what I was to see later.
I was asked to tape everything. The amount of blood, the brain matter, skull, the car, now upside down with no roof. And then, they did it. They lifted the sheet off the guy in the bushes. He'd been ripped from the car upon impact and thrown into the brush about 50 feet away. He had no face, just an open, empty skull. Parts of his body had been ripped off or open and I just kept telling myself to "look through the viewfinder, look through the viewfinder." Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, one of them yelled out, "ya gotta come look at this." There, laying in the grass was what looked like a rubber mask. Just a face. Completely peeled off. Now, I'm not real sure what went through my mind at that particular time, but looking back it now I can't believe I didn't ralph. I think it was just so surreal that it really didn't sink in. I do remember looking at it because I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. And to top it off, we thought it belonged to the guy under the bushes but it actually belonged to the girl still in the car some 200 feet away!
I also remember getting the call from the State Police office telling us the driver had been charged about a week later and telling us we could come over to the post and get video of them walking him to a patrol car to be taken to jail. It was the saddest walk I've ever shot. He was using a walker because of his injuries sustained in the crash so it took about 5 minutes for him to walk the short distance to the trooper's car. He was prosecuted for his foolish, drunken act. Although somehow I think killing his two friends is probably more punishment than the time behind bars.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
When severe weather breaks, we fix it
OK, so everyone in the business knows the term "weather woodie." But, for those of you not in this wild world we call broadcast journalism, (you know, TV) I'll tell you what a weather woodie is. OK, for the adults, you know what a woodie is. Well, meteorologists get one when the weather heats up.
We had a severe case of weather woodies popping up today as the remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy came through our area. I was dispatched with my running mate, Brent Campbell to "DRIVE TO YADKIN COUNTY! THERE'S A TORNADO WARNING!" as soon as I walked in the door shortly after nine in the A-M. After a quick glance at my own favorite weather website, www.wunderground.com, I predicted we'd be WAY behind the storm if we went to Yadkinville in the middle of the county. So up highway 67 to get more "into" the storm around the northern county town of Boonville. No luck, storm gone and nothing to show for it.
So, on up highway 601 towards Dobson and Mount Airy, Andy Griffith's hometown and the model for Mayberry. I digress. Once in Mount Airy we hook up with John Shelton, the nicest, most media friendly EMS Director in the Piedmont. The Surry County Director showed us around their Emergency Dispatch Vehicles and the command post where they track storms and flood potentials. While we're there we spot a storm headed our way from the south. Brent and I both look at each other and say, "see ya later guys, we've got a storm to catch."
On the way down I-77 we see the rain pick up in intensity and recall what we'd just heard from Shelton's assisant Tony, who watches the storms on his computer. He described how you'll face light rain, heavy rain, then small hail. Finally, if you see large hail you'd better get out of that oversized billboard known as a live truck and get in a ditch because a tornado is probably not far behind. We figured we better save the truck and find a good spot to watch and listen to the scanner for info. So while shooting some video of the rain coming in sheets and the winds going from fierce to quite calm we start hearing scanner chatter talking about a possible tornado coming through Dobson. We just happened to be sitting about 3 miles west of Dobson. Then a voice comes through the scanner saying there was rotation over the Citgo. Ummmmm, one thing. WHICH CITGO?!?! We're sitting at a CITGO! And while the sky did do some funky things, we never saw any rotation over our heads.
So, now that the storm looks to have moved of to our north and east, and we confirm this with some in the newsroom watching the radar and listening to the non-stop coverage from our team of meteorologists (well, today it was pretty much Emily Byrd as the rest of the "team" was on vacation) we decide to drive in behind it again to see if there's any damage. We hear some chatter about something on Redbrush Road in Mount Airy and decided to head that way. On the way there we hear Shelton's voice come through stating that he can see roation looking to touchdown. He then states something that I'll never forget, "the rotation is coming down on South Franklin at Bleumont." One problem, we're driving on South Franklin. Where? No lie, we look at the next cross street and you guessed it, Bleumont! I yelled at Brent, "we're in it!" After driving a few more blocks and turning around to see this horrific event take place in front of our eyes, we see nothing. It seems the rotation never made it to the ground.
Something did make it to the ground in our home county of Forsyth. While we don't know if it was straightline winds or a tornado ther was significant damage in northwestern Winston-Salem. Many trees came down on houses and power lines. Unfortunately, there are still close to 10,000 homes without electricity. Fortunately however, no reports of injuries.
So, that's what it was like in the day of a weather woodie. Now we'll just sit back and wait until Dennis comes through this weekend.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Destination... Myrtle Beach
OK, so this post is coming "post-vacation," but I'll go with it as if it's coming day of. Myrtle Beach, as many of you know, is a different kind of vacation destination. While it's perfect for some families, it's not for everyone. Redneck heaven as some call it has a spot in our family's hearts because there's something for everyone. We stay in a villa in Kingston Plantation just a stones throw away from the ocean and, more importantly, Splash Park, an overgrown jungle gym for all ages. I'll post pictures when developed.
Oh yea, we were just on our way out. It brings back memories of childhood vacations. Of packing up the car and heading south during spring break. My parents always made sure we went somewhere, from the days when I was 5 and spending time in a cabin on a lake in Sanford, FL to the time our car broke down my senior year in high school and my dad told my brother and I to take the other car and go by ourselves! I'll never figure that one out... sorry dad. What I'll never figure out is how we did all that with five children. We've got two and it seems our full size Yukon XL is bursting at the seams with suitcases, stroller, beach toys, chairs, umbrellas and food. We even carry some on top! How my parents ever did it is beyond me. You're to be praised highly for your puzzle-like packing skills.
Oh yea, we were just on our way out. It brings back memories of childhood vacations. Of packing up the car and heading south during spring break. My parents always made sure we went somewhere, from the days when I was 5 and spending time in a cabin on a lake in Sanford, FL to the time our car broke down my senior year in high school and my dad told my brother and I to take the other car and go by ourselves! I'll never figure that one out... sorry dad. What I'll never figure out is how we did all that with five children. We've got two and it seems our full size Yukon XL is bursting at the seams with suitcases, stroller, beach toys, chairs, umbrellas and food. We even carry some on top! How my parents ever did it is beyond me. You're to be praised highly for your puzzle-like packing skills.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
