It's Been Said.....

Those who cannot bravely face danger are the slaves of their attackers. -Aristotle

To all of our brave men and women who have served and are currently serving now thank you for all that you have have done. You are the reason that we are able to have the freedom and liberties we have today. You are the ones who make it possible for us to be here today.

To those who have served, those who are serving, and thoes who will serve thank you and God Bless you all.

Time & Tapes

There are some certainties about time. It usually flies when you are having fun. It will often drag while you are in a holding pattern. Time can heal most wounds however it can produce a ton of memories long forgotten.
Therefore, when I opened my locker and saw a bunch of old tapes sitting around I figure why not play a few to help pass the time before the next call to spot news duty. What I saw was some of the weirdest, strangest, intellectually, and entertains pieces of television through the decade. I see puppies being rescued, the debate to take a vacation, a band looking for a home, and golf clubs being stolen. There are volunteers giving up their holiday for strangers and ladies taking the fight to the bad guys. There are some good television stories in this box.
Better, start archiving this stuff to the computer before the tape machines go the way of the dinosaurs. Besides I needed to clean up my locker anyway.

Tricks After Treats

You never know what can happen on Halloween, especially when the moon is full and unforeseen madness can run about on the streets of the Red Stick. It was after a small gathering of the peeps when it happened. A call comes into the newsroom the voice on the other asks what’s going on East Blvd...

As the wheels start to roll in my head I know that at this time of night, along with an extra hour of darkness, this couldn’t be good. Unfortunately, there’s no time to change out of my costume. I just hope I’m taken seriously at the mayhem since the rest of the masked ones are partying the night away. So as I pull up to the scene you would think that CSI had a location shoot.

I’m met with a long stretch of yellow tape, a bunch of markers with the alphabet, and more flashing lights than a Christmas display. Someone decided to fire off some rounds at one of the guys wearing the badge, not a good idea. Thankfully, he’s going to be all right. Too bad, I can’t say the same once the shooter is caught. While being hit with a blast of chilled air I got to thinking about the treats from earlier in the evening.

I was thinking about the Comic, the Cop, and the Champ strolling downtown hanging out with the masses. I was remembering how people would come up to guess who you were, complement the attire, and ask may I take a picture with you. To most Halloween is the second most anticipated holiday on the calendar year. Think about it for a minute. You don’t have to do much traveling. The relatives aren’t dying, no pun intended, to see you. The only requirement is to get a costume. It’s the only holiday where looking strange is completely normal. The time where oddities are accepted by all. The night where complete strangers all share similar views by being something that will catch someone’s eye. There is nothing like letting your imagination come out while having a fun time with the peeps. Halloween is a unique holiday, can’t wait to celebrate next year. Minus the after hour madness, did you know?

Homecoming Issues

It’s mid October and time has come again for Homecoming on the Bluffs at Southern University. The annual time where friends, family, and alumni come back for a large scale reunion centered on the coronation of a Queen and the competitive nature of a football game.
So why is it every year that I can’t enjoy the game? Granted I was there to roam the sidelines with the fuzzy mic but it seems like there is always some issue that overshadows the contest on the gridiron. This year problem du jour was parking, or lack thereof. There were some angry peeps trying to get to the game but got nowhere close. Naturally they voiced their concerns to Ms. Mercedes and the weekend crew. After some more calls into the university’s relations department our email inbox popped out some answers.

Only question now is will followers of the Jaguar Nation like what they were going to hear.

Maybe next year they’ll figure out how to avoid all of the drama, did you know?

Character Welcomed

I knew I was going to make up for lost time after my phone was strangely, yet thankfully, quiet during my last two rotations as the call out guy. Eventually a voice was going to awaken what slumber I could amass with the urgency of someone or something causing a disturbance in the viewing area. Oh well, all good things must come to an end.

Turns out that someone forgot how to drive this morning as they tried to give a church an instant drive thru. I’ve been called out for some major stuff before but this seemed relatively calm. No injuries, no car, and no driver. All that was left was one big mess to clean up and some time to fill in the newscast. No problem. So, C-Line and I headed out to make sense out of all of this. Not only do we find the church but an interesting person taking care of the place.

Not the first time this has happened but things are much easier when you find that one good character to wrap a story around, did you know?

Duel In Death Valley

Any normal rainy Saturday would yield a sense of calmness. It would yield a sense of peace. It would yield some quiet time and stay indoors. This was NOT a normal Saturday. This was game day on the campus of the Purple and Gold. However, this one had a different feeling to it thanks to a sequence of events five weeks in the making. It all started with LSU stringing a bunch of wins together while constantly having to be bombarded with talk of how lucky you have been or how you do not deserve to be ranked in the top ten let alone the top five in the country. Then there are the Florida Gators. The defending National Champions, a team ranked number one in the country, and a group pondering whether their starting quarterback will play. All of this leads to one thing, we have a special to produce.

Therefore, as luck would have it, The Nubian Princess and I were to descend to the cauldron of RV’s, big screen TV’s, tons of raw meat, and a river of adult beverages. Yes we had to spice up, no pun intended, a tailgating story. A friendly get together of complete strangers with a common love of cooking and a symmetrical hatred of their rivals from the Sunshine State. Therefore, as we made our way through the endless line of mobile homes it is no surprise that we find the usual screaming fans dying to be on television wanting to deliver some smack to their upcoming opponents. It’s amazing how much influence a fancy cam & fuzzy mic can have on people. I'm even more amazed that most can speak coherently.

Much as I love a good party, I knew my limits and had to get out there. Besides this story wasn’t going to edit itself. After filling our segment, it was time to kick back & watch the final product then post some pics to the Flickr page. Too bad the home team couldn’t live up to their end of the deal.

Oh well, there is always next time.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Everyone who is a football fan know the exploits of Bobby Hebert. Member of the New Orleans Saints, member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and broadcaster on New Orleans radio. It's no surprise that he is passionate about his football but when your a member of the press you may have to tone it down just a little, did you know?