Christmas Time In The Asylum

The 25th of December is upon us again. While families are spending quality time with each other trying to figure out how to put together the toys under the tree, the news cycle keeps on rolling. And someone has to keep watch over the asylum.

I’m always asked, “Why do you work on this day”? Just being kind I guess. The family is in town and I get to see them before gracing the padded walls with my presence. However, there are some interesting stories to be told during this time of year. A chance phone call brought our attention to someone who needs more than clothes for the holiday. Then there are a couple of foster parents sacrificing their needs to bring Christmas cheer to some kids with only a 48 hour notice. And was one of own was spending Christmas away from home for the first time.

But the big reason I like doing this…..

….I enjoy putting smiles on the faces of my co workers, after all their my TV family. That feeling never gets old. Yeah we could have asked for the day off but we came in and feed the news beast on a day where there is nothing going on but Peace on Earth and Good Will to All.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays y’all.

The B Block

As Christmas draws near I can’t help but notice that the blog entries for this month have been scarce. Truth be told my time was being occupied with a bit of mayhem sprinkled in with the holiday madness. The 24th is coming and I can sense that I’ll be among the retailers trying to whoo over the last second shoppers looking for the must have gift of the year. However its days like today where I can really appreciate good television.

With the asylum on skeleton crews through the New Year I had to come in during the day to fill the B block of the six. Don’t get me wrong you always strive to be the lead but you can do some things in the second block. You get a little more time to fine tune your story. A chance to add some more sound maybe throw in a couple of more quick edits. Nothing wrong with adding some lagniappe to bridge gap between the news of the day and five day forecast. Therefore, what was the story du jour?

C-Line had an idea about the open access of pictures on the social networks being easy prey for the criminal element doing what ever their mind could come up with. Especially since the kids are now on Christmas break and a majority of them will spend an enorumous amount of time on the internet. Like I mentioned in a previous post you never know who is watching. This makes you think twice about what to put online and who to “friend” in the world of cyberspace.

I think its time to check my privacy settings on the Facebook page, did you know?

Sneaux Watch 2009

I’m not going to lie to you. I am confused about the calendar. I have to check to make sure that it is December. I have to make sure that it is time of year to put up the lights and decorate the Christmas tree. However, lately you would think that it is Groundhog Day and Bill Murray is going to pay you a visit.

It was December of last year. One of the top stories of 2008 was happening, again. Mother Nature was gracing us with a rare white blanket of snow across the Big Raggedy and the rest of the viewing area. I remember waking up to neighbors with smiles from ear to ear of a unique occurrence in South Louisiana. People were saying that this was an event that they may never see again.

Fast forward to this week. The BFR 9000 was busier than usual. A blast of frigid air was making its way across the country bringing some wintery mixtures with a slim chance of ….snow? Snow two years in a row how often does this happen? Granted it has been a year of weather events for us. No hurricanes making landfall in the state, thank God. Then there was the funnel cloud that sent peeps into a flood of chaos, thankfully it never touched ground. But snow in back to back years?

So I loaded up the car, threw on a cap, and went in search of the latest wintery cloth. My initial findings yielded nothing but doubt and frustrations. I’m serious there was nothing to be had. Just a constant bombardment of wind and rain. My gut was telling me that this wasn’t going to happen. Yeah it’s cold but it’s not cold enough for snow. Starting to feel like I was chasing ghosts from every dead lead that was being flooded into the newsroom. People were mistaking the sleet for the white stuff. Can’t be too mad them. Like I said this doesn’t happen often down here.

News time was drawing near and I had to set up a live hit in the parking lot. Thinking to myself that this was a lot of hype for nothing. There are going to be a lot of disappointed peeps out there. No sooner than I plugged in the lights and dialed the IFB it happened. The rain had stopped and the night sky opened up. Snow had started to fall on the streets. Better late than never. It was time to grab the fancy cam and roll off a few pictures. Even though we weren’t going to get the blanket from last year I’m sure peeps all over bundled up, grabbed the cameras, and cherished the moment.

As for me, I was able to play in the snow for a little while however I don't know if we’ll go for the hat trick next year?

Deja Vu Shootings

Scary as it may sound, a part of me was looking forward to a normal week at the asylum. The latter part of last week consisted of some time off, a late night disagreement of some food I ate during the holiday, another year of the school from the school in the Northern part of the boot beating my Jags, and me finding every over the counter medication to get me back on my feet.

As soon as walk through the padded walls I run into the Turdpolisher fresh off an urban safari. His latest discovery entailed the usual flashing lights, screaming relatives, and white van with a one size fit all stretcher in the back. Needless to say the city has just chalked up another homicide on her streets. Another young kid with no regard for human life had his taken from him. You know what they say, you play with matches and eventually you’re going to get burned. However there were some other details that started to surface.

The whole been there, done that phase comes to mind. A drive to the victims last known address yields a sudden burst of total recall. Naomi Campbell and I were in this area nearly one year ago. Another kid’s final resting place was literary steps away from where our latest statistic lived. Such a cold reality we now live in.

I hope these kids wake up from whatever delusional dream they are having. Or else it’s going to be déjà vu all over again.

Many Thanks To Give

As I sit and listen to the scanners that echo through the walls of the empty newsroom, I ponder over the number of blessings that graced my life. I remember the good things that bring a special feeling to my station logoed heart.

I’m thankful for the brave men & women of the United States Armed forces. You protect us while leaving your families behind for extended periods of time. Thank you. I always look forward to telling stories when you are reunited with with the ones you love. God Bless you all.

I’m thankful for my career in television. It’s a roller coaster of emotion but I enjoy going out to places and telling unique stories people don’t know about. Yeah I have to deal with the chaos and madness but when you get those memorable stories it’s worth it.

I’m thankful for my family, mostly for them understanding what I do. They know that I have to work long strange hours. Lord knows how many times I had to cancel family events because Pookie & Ray Ray decided they wanted to make the evening news.

Then there is my television family. The group that has to work said strange hours with me through the years. The group that works tirelessly to bring quality work to the masses of eyeballs watching the tube. It those that are at the asylum now and those that have dealt with its padded walls in the past.

Simply put, I am blessed and I have so much to be thankful for. Even you XRAY TED.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Be safe and God Bless.

Death Valley Drop Zone

My mom once told me that you have to be open to doing new things in life.
Whether it’s going to some place new for vacation. Or ordering something different off the menu from your favorite restaurant. However, scaling down the wall of the ninth largest college stadium in the country? That’s a new one. First things first….

Using some creative techniques the local chapter of the Special Olympics decided to have a unique fundraising event this month. For $1000, you had the opportunity to rappel down the East Side of Tiger Stadium. I had to see this. People came from as far as Florida to take advantage of this once in a lifetime event. All we had to do was be patient. Wait for the right person to descend down the wall of Death Valley. As luck would have it we found a very good person who not only wanted to help the athletes but conquer her own fear as well. So after checking out the skyline I started thinking…
How often will I get a chance to do something like this. Granted I’m not going to swinging around like Spider Man but still a chance to scale down the wall, I had to take advantage of this.
After inking the standard waiver and a quick training session it was time for the big one. I get the final instructions and it was time tame the wall. I slowly climb over the edge absorbing the initial feeling of my feet dangling 150 feet in the air and I think to myself, how crazy yet cool is this. Then I look to my left to see a great view of the football field. Yeah it was worth it.

As my feet make their way back to Earth I realize that I have something else I can cross of my list of things to do.

Special thanks to the Nubian Princess for a great story and snapping the photos for the blog.

The Day After Contest Day

Wednesday was a day I needed to clear my head. Man I wish it could have last longer. It was right before the Sportscenter Top 10, I was just putting on a freshly ironed shirt when, the Bat Phone started ringing. The desk was in need of some big time help. Turns out the cornucopia of chaos was about to ensue.

A fire was rearing its ugly head a historical church over in Scotlandville. The desk needed me to head over there. After throwing the big fuzzy in the car I made my way to the blaze. After capturing some of the action the Nubian Princess was dispatched my way to go live from the scene. Little did I know the breaking news gods were about to open the floodgates, the church fire was only the beginning.

The Turdpolisher was hanging out at Federal Court getting some plea deals on the air. Then there was Mad Dog Mercedes over in Tangi breaking the news of another ponzi scheme in play. Don’t think Bernie was involved with this one. C-Line & the Meeks were dealing with the folks over at the House that Huey built. Another team was sent to the Big Easy for a highly anticipated movie premier while the rest of the night crew was looking for an attorney emerged in controversy and a couple of peeps who got a nice wire transaction.

This is one of those days when it’s all said and done you sit down on the couch with your drink of choice and ask, “How in the world did we pull this day off”? If it was breaking news we were all over it. If it was advancing the story we handled it with style. Simply put, it was a great job by everyone today.

Time to leave all of the chaos behind and unwind from a long day. I got some sweet tea and a comfy couch waiting on me, did you know?