View Through My Camera

New Post, Yea Me!!!

2009-01-29T09:37:00.003-06:00

Hello, everyone. This means you, John Chumley. I have been told I need to work more on my blog, so being the kind of guy who likes to keep folks happy, here you go. I will admit I've ignored this blog lately, OK for quite a while now. But I will try harder. See, I've posted a pretty picture for you to look at. As soon as something interesting happens, you will hear about it first. Or at least within the next week.

Pictures from Gustav

2008-09-03T12:09:00.006-05:00

Industrial Canal that was all over the news

Sand Mtn. truck in front of our hotel.

Visiting the Lower Ninth Ward

Palm Trees on Canal St. during Gustav

Thought I would post some of the pictures I took during our trip to New Orleans to cover Hurricane Gustav. If you watched any of the coverage you saw the water topping over the levees on the Industrial Canal. We went out there at night and then the next morning, and that one picture is from the drawbridge over the canal. We also went down to the Lower Ninth Ward, which is where the worst flooding took place during Katrina. During Katrina, the same levees on the Industrial Canal failed, but this time they held.

Hurricane Gustav

2008-09-01T20:37:00.003-05:00

Carson and I went out into Hurricane Gustav Monday morning. Winds were about 70-80mph.

Brad and Geraldo

2008-09-01T18:26:00.001-05:00

I'm in New Orleans. Geraldo is in New Orleans. Geraldo had a flat tire. Here is me and Geraldo and his flat tire.

Gustav, Here I Come!!

2008-08-29T17:02:00.002-05:00

Guess where I'm headed this weekend? The Beach, but not for fun and games. I'm headed to the Gulf Coast as part of our stations coverage of Hurricane Gustav. I'll do my best to update with pictures and videos from the coast. Be sure to come back often and check em out.

More Pictures From Talladega

2008-04-30T14:55:00.002-05:00

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!!

2008-04-28T12:46:00.003-05:00

Forrest and Damian

Entering the Tri-Oval

In case you were wondering, yes, I am a redneck. A Nascar-loving, Jeff Gordon-hating, Talladega-bound redneck. And oh, how I love it. My Dad got tickets to the Aaron's 499 and we loaded up Forrest and my nephew Damian and headed out. Supposed to rain, you say? Thunderstorms during the race, you say? Doesn't scare us. (BTW, poured at home, not a drop at the track.) My Lord, how the fans do love them some Dale, Jr. Except for one Matt Kenseth fan one row behind us, I think everyone else in our section was a Junior fan. Unfortunately, we you are rooting for the Bobby Labonte #43 car, you spend your day wondering when he will get caught up in a wreck. But it was a great day, Junior was near the front most of the day so everyone else was happy. Kids had fun, so I guess that is all that really matters. But next time, I want to work the race again so I can be in the pits, close to the action.

Great Smokey Mountains

2008-04-22T13:46:00.003-05:00

General Hood, meet the General Lee

Yeah, I'm bad!

Snow on the mountains

Just got back from a quick trip to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. It had been 10 years since the wife and I had been, and our kids had never been. So, we decided to load up the family, including the cat, and make our way north to the mountains of Tennessee.

One place we visited was the Movie and Television Show Car Museum, as you can see from the first two pictures. Lots of famous cars there, everything from the Beverly Hillbillies truck, to the Trans Am from "Smokey and The Bandit". George Barris created all these cars and he has this museum in Gatlinburg. Pretty cool place, but then I am a car freak.

Stayed in a nice little cabin up in the hills, went to Dixie Stampede, and just had a great ole time.

Beauty Queen, Well Almost

2008-03-21T09:11:00.003-05:00

Saturday night was a new experience for me. My daughter was in the Miss Crossville pageant at the school. Now I grew up in a house full of boys, so my beauty pageant experience was a little thin. But look at her! We came in 2nd place, or, as they like to call it in the pageant world, First Alternate. Isn't she just beautiful! Good thing for us she takes after her Mom.

Thoughts of Spring

2008-03-06T11:07:00.003-06:00

Sunset in Navarre Beach, Florida

I'm fed up with the cold weather. Fed up. Don't want any more. Spring has been teasing us the last couple of weeks, and for one I'm ready for it. I have this picture as the background on my computer at work and it got me to thinking about Florida and warm weather, and I decided that I'm ready. Enough of Winter, bring on Spring and Summer. Spring training is going on right now for baseball, so that must mean it's just around the corner. I need some sunshine in the worst way to get out of these doldrums.

Way to go Lions!!

2008-03-05T11:25:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to the Crossville Lions girls basketball team, class 3-A State Champions!!

I just added some video of their reception back at the school after winning it all in Birmingham. The Lady Lions are the second team from Crossville to win a state title, along with the 1986 football team. By the way, as a great Crossvillian Kevin Harper pointed out to me, Crossville is now unbeaten when playing for a state championship!!

Way to go coach Peppers and all the girls!

Snow, Again

2008-02-27T11:27:00.004-06:00

It's snowing again!! Yes, I know the last post about snow stayed up here for about a year, but I promise to keep up to date this time around. Check out the video I shot of snow falling this morning near Shiloh Farms outside of Albertville. This is the first time I've put video on the blog, so we'll see just how well it works. If this works, I'll try to start putting my video stories on the blog everyday, or at least when it's kind of interesting.

By the way, Go Crossville Lions!! The girls varsity basketball team will be playing for a state championship Thursday in Birmingham. It has been a while(1986) since little ole Crossville won a state championship in anything, so Go Lady Lions!!

Whoo Hooo! A New Update!!

2008-02-25T09:58:00.003-06:00

This is a test. Just checking to see if anybody is still out there checking out this page. So, are you there? I've been trying the MySpace thing, and I think I'm getting out of it. I believe I just might go back to the blog thing. Oh, this is a picture of me at the Iron Bowl. Working hard, as you can see.

Let It Snow!!!!

2007-02-02T16:16:00.000-06:00

This is the Winter Wonderland just outside Henagar

When you live in Alabama, nothing can shut down the world quicker than a little snow. It doesn't take much, just about an inch or two and everything is closed. And that is just about what we got here on Sand Mountain yesterday, an inch or two. The day started early, about 1:30am so we could get to Rainsville and meet up with the Sat truck for morning show coverage of the snow. Our show started 2 hours early at 3am, and we were on until 8am. There are times in this life when you just can't have enough clothes on and yesterday was one of those days. Three and four layers just wasn't enough and I don't think my toes thawed out until about noon today.
And if snow and ice aren't enough for one days work, we finished with the morning show and just as we were working on our "Kids Out of School and Playing In the Snow" story comes word of a church fire in Cherokee County to our east. No snowball fights for us, it's back to the real world of breaking news. Maybe next time....

Shula Gets a Job

2007-01-25T15:29:00.000-06:00

This just in, according to ESPN, Mike Shula has been hired as quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. You can read the whole story here, but seems Mikey-boy was down in Mobile for the Senior Bowl begging for a job when somehow Jacksonville hired him. That will help with the pay-out from Alabama as they can deduct whatever he gets from the buyout. Good luck Mike!!!

From Earth to 22,000 Miles and Back

2007-01-24T15:03:00.000-06:00

Skylink 19

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, the brand new, fully refurbished Skylink 19. Our sat truck was taken out of service the first of December for a brand new chassis and paint job. Doesn't she look pretty? After 11 years of service she was definately due for a makeover. I can't wait for her to come out to Sand Mtn. for some breaking news story.

Sir, May I Take Your Order?

2007-01-08T14:11:00.000-06:00

OK, OK, this is obviously not a real picture but dang if it aint funny. I think he is probably better suited for this job than for his last one. Just don't ask him what he suggests for dinner, you might be waiting a while before he can pick his choice. Shula's

2007-01-05T11:52:00.000-06:00

Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban

A.D. Mal Moore and President Robert Witt

Saban Works the Room

Well, its finally a done deal. Alabama has got 'em a football coach and it's Nick Saban. Once again I get to be in Tuscaloosa for the announcement of a new coach at Bama and finally I think they have got one who might just stay here a while. I know, lot's of people are saying he won't stay, he's stayed nowhere for long, I believe this time it's different. He's tried the NFL thing and didn't like it. He is at a great college with a long tradition of winning and commitment to winning. Great fans, not counting the chick who kissed him at the airport. So why not stay here til you are ready to hang up your whistle? I was very impressed by him at the press conference, he handled every question easily even the one from the Miami reporter. If you have ever been at a Mike Shula presser it was very easy to see the difference between the two men. Now, I'm not the doe-eyed fanatic who believes Coach Nick will have them in a BCS Bowl next year but I do think you will see a much different Alabama team this coming season. Give him a couple of years and they will be competing for the SEC championship. But please, stop with the St. Nick stuff! www.rolltide.com

CMT, Here I Come !!!

2006-12-18T17:12:00.000-06:00

Director Jonathan Barbee

Lights, Camera, Action

Finally, something cool not involving death and destruction to report. Nashville came to Guntersville today. A production crew was in Guntersville shooting a music video for the Wayne Mills Band at Rockingham's, a local bar. The song is called "That's What Dancers Do", and the video should be out by late January. Word is that American Idol winner Taylor Hicks will appear in the video, although he wasn't in town today. Over 200 extras dancing and partying are in the video, but sadly I must report Yours Truly will not be seen on CMT anytime soon. Still, kinda fun to see behind the scenes at just what goes on in the making of a music video. By the way, when you see the video and the singer Wayne Mills is shooting Jager shots, it's really just Coke. I guess you can't have the lead singer wasted.

There Isn't a Hell Hot Enough

2006-12-05T18:39:00.000-06:00

The cute kid in the picture is Geontae Glass. G, as his family calls him, was 5 years old. Was, because G is dead, killed by his Mom and her boyfriend. It is actually pretty hard for me to type right now because I am just so angry. G was in kindergarten, a smart kid who loved hugs and going fishing. G is now having an autopsy done on him to determine the manner of his untimely death.

This story started out as a stolen car with a kid asleep in the backseat. An Amber Alert is issued, police all over the state on the lookout for the stolen car, helicopters are brought in to scour the area. But according to police, mom's story started breaking down as the day wore on. Then about 1am this morning, police find the car with G inside, hidden in the trunk, dead. Now, mom and boyfriend are in jail, charged in G's murder. Seems it was all a hoax, a story made up to hide the fact that the people meant to care for a child are actually the ones who killed him. And why did he die? Police say it looks like the boyfriend beat little G for bringing home a bad report card. A bad report card in kindergarten. Just how bad could it have been to merit this kind of punishment? Not coloring in the lines? Staying awake during nap time?

I'm sorry, but I have a 5 year old and this hits very close to home for me. This is the bad part of this job, that you get to see the nasty underbelly of our society. As the title reads, I just don't think there is a Hell hot enough for someone who could do this to a child. Right now I want to be home hugging my kids and thanking the Good Lord for blessing me with such a wonderful, loving family. Unfortunately I am still at work, staying late to put together a story for the 10pm news, my third package of the day. Rest in peace, G. You deserve it.

Shula Sacked

2006-11-28T10:07:00.000-06:00

Alabama Athletic Director Mal Moore

Interim Head Coach Joe Kines

My Monday started around 2:15am. That's when my cell phone went off with an incoming text message. Through eyes still half asleep I read these words: "Shula Fired!!". Not quite sure if I was dreaming, I checked my phone again and again. Those words still jumped out at me, "Shula Fired!!". Thanks again to the person that sent me that message, I'll keep your name a secret but you know who you are. So I call the TV station and tell the overnight producer the news. "Check it out, but my source is pretty darn good.", I say.

Fast forward several hours and lo and behold, I find myself in Tuscaloosa for the press conference officially announcing the firing of Mike Shula. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to be there for the hiring, firing or resigning of Alabama's coaches from Gene Stallings to Mr. Shula. So that's five coaches in my relatively short TV career. And this time, I'm not that upset by the leaving. From my last post I'm sure you were able to figure out I was not that big a Mike Shula fan. As everyone says, a nice guy, but not head coaching material. To those that say it looks bad for the university to run through this many coaches in such a short time: you are correct. But should we stay with a guy as coach just because he is nice? 'Fraid not. So, one short press conference later and I'm working on my 6th coach at Alabama. Can't wait until that presser.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2006-11-22T16:43:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Luckily, I am off work this Thanksgiving, so I will be home eating myself sick and watching football. Oh, and frying a turkey for the family so pray there is no need for the fire department at our festivities this year. Eat lots of turkey and see you Friday.

Iron Bowl 2006; or Man, This Stinks!!

2006-11-21T15:18:00.000-06:00

Gotta love the thumb turkey!!!

Kudos to all you Aubies out there. You once again managed to ruin my Iron Bowl weekend. Although I can't give you all the credit or blame. I have to blame the coaching staff at the University of Alabama. Game after game I've been to this season, and I've been to almost all of them, I have watched the team fall apart. Yes, I know Bama is a young team, but I have to put this debacle of a season squarely on the shoulders of Mike Shula. Someone sent me these pictures and I thought I would share them with you. I especially like the one of Bear wearing a bag on his head, it kinda tells the whole story. Yes, I am an Alabama fan. Yes, I get to go to the games and stand on the sideline while covering the games for my station. Does that make me an expert on football? By no means, but I do think it gives me the ability to talk about this with some experience. Mike Shula may very well be a nice man, a good guy, but he appears to have about as much leadership ability as a rock. And unfortunately about the same amount of play calling talent as the aforementioned stone. Darby up the middle, again? And again? And again? The poor guy has 24 yards on 25 carries all day and you're giving it to him up the middle one the 2 yard line? With the other team in a goal line defense, 8 men on the line? Please. Their offense is way too vanilla, no imagination. None. Unfortunately, it's not just boring it hurts the team. Stalling's offense was boring, but he won a National Championship. Now I'm praying for the Liberty over the Independence Bowl. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Sandmtnphotog Hanging With the Big Dog

2006-10-12T11:18:00.000-05:00

Know it's been a while since the last post, but honestly we just haven't had anything that exciting and blogworthy lately. But thanks to my friend John Chumley, I now have this great picture of Governor Bob Riley with Carson and myself. All political stuff aside, Governor Riley is a very nice man. He even gave me a pin and a coin to give to Forrest, which really tickled the kid. Now everytime a Riley commercial comes on he says "There is my friend Bob Riley". May have a future governor right there in my own house.

All I Want For Christmas.......

2006-09-25T10:42:00.000-05:00

Now it's a fact of nature that we all get older. Every day. And there is nothing you can do about it. But if you really want to get older in a hurry just have children. Nothing is guaranteed to make you feel older than your children growing up. And this past week we took another step down that road when Jemma lost her first tooth. It had been loose for a couple of weeks, and it popped out while she was at school. Now as excited as she was about the prospects of a visit from the Tooth Fairy, ole Dad was kinda sad about the whole thing. Daddy's little girls is growing up. Today it was a tooth, what will tomorrow bring? Boys calling the house? Her first date? I don't think I'm ready for all this. And for the record boys, Jemma won't be available for dates until 2021. She will be 20 then and maybe I can handle it. Until then, I'm changing our phone number.

2006-09-21T16:31:00.000-05:00

(Helmet and shoulder pads in a toilet)

Got a call Tuesday morning, "Why aren't you at Crossville? Did you hear what they did at the field house?". No, I hadn't heard. "Someone trashed it. Ruined all their equipment.".

So off we go to Crossville to see just what the damage was. And it's hard to put into words just what it looked like. Someone broke into the football field house, threw all the equipment out of the lockers, flooded the place with about 6 inches of water mixed with bleach and got knows what else, then sprayed the whole thing down with fire extingushers.

This is my school, I graduated from this school and played football at this school. For someone to do this to MY team and MY school really ticks me off. They have to order new helmets and shoulder pads and cleats and other equipment to have for the game on Friday. And not just any game, but THE game. Geraldine. Our biggest rivals, the Iron Bowl of Sand Mountain. Now in the past, there have been plenty of pranks pulled by each school on the other. Stealing mascots, spray painting buildings and the like. But this is much too big for a prank. Officials tell us they think it's someone from Crossville that did this damage. And I just can't comprehend that, that someone from MY school would do that to MY school.

As of this afternoon, they are expecting the equipment to arrive on Friday around 3pm. Kickoff is at 7pm. But the game will go on. I mean, after all its Geraldine.

Tecmo Bowl, or How I'm Still Living My Childhood

2006-09-20T16:59:00.000-05:00

(Run 1, Run 2, Pass 1 or Pass 2)

(Pretty realistic, huh?)

Anybody remember this? These are screenshots from Tecmo Bowl for the NES, or Nintendo game system. I know there are much more improved games out there now but I love Tecmo Bowl. This little game paved the way for the games of today. I must have spent hundreds of hours playing this game, and in college probably skipped a few classes because of important Tecmo Bowl tournaments going on. You just can't go to class when your playing for the championship you know. So I just found out my brothers both had this game and since I still had a NES lying around somewhere, I stole Dusty's and rushed home to play. I can't tell you how excited I was to get this game going. In case you want to play this game, be sure and pick either Chicago or Los Angeles. Chicago has Walter Payton and Los Angeles has Bo Jackson. Both are great runners, but I chose Chicago because of Kevin Butler as the kicker and Mike Singletary on defense. Sure the game is simple with only 9 players on each team, and only 4 plays to choose from. But man, is it fun!!! Really takes me back to those carefree days of the 80's and 90's.............

Bama Football, or Roll, Tide, Roll!!

2006-09-18T17:09:00.000-05:00

(Huntsville's own Ramzee Robinson)

(John Parker Wilson under center)

(D.J. Hall scoring touchdown)

Lots of people ask me, or tell me I guess, that my job must be nice. Sometimes I think that what they are really saying is that it must be nice not to have a real job. Usually I explain to them that, yes, my job can be fun at times, but it also involves phone calls at 2am and holidays spent away from my family. But this time of year, meaning Saturdays in the Fall, is one of the fun times. I am lucky to be the guy who shoots Alabama football for WHNT. What this means is that I get to stand where 92,000 other people would love to be and watch my favorite team play football. And sometimes when I'm really lucky, I get to be on national TV when Bama scores right in front of me. Anyway, here are some shots from the Bama game this weekend against Louisiana Monroe. As a photographer, you always love it when the player breaks loose and runs right to where you're standing, like D.J. Hall in this shot from his TD catch. And in case you were wondering, I'm very impressed with John Parker Wilson as a quarterback. This guy will be one of the special ones, I think.

So, enjoy the pictures. Bama is on the road for a couple of weeks, so I think I'll catch up with the wife and kids this weekend. And watch the Tide play on TV, just like you.

September 11th

2006-09-12T13:36:00.000-05:00

Like most Americans, I have my own memories of 9-11 and what I was doing. I had stopped to get gas that morning when a lady came in the store and told us that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I got back in my truck and turned the radio on, trying to find news of what happened as I drove in to work. By the time I got there, the other plane had hit and we all knew it wasn't an accident. We decided to go to Guntersville High School and see if students were watching the coverage. A large group of students and teachers were in the library watching. Some students, like the girl in the top picture, were very upset by what they were seeing. Although we were there to do a story, we like everyone else couldn't stop watching the pictures on the TV. We watched the towers collapse. We heard all the stories of people jumping from the buildings, of firemen and police officers killed in the wreckage.
We did a story for the noon news about the kids and about local volunteer fire departments put on call by the President. Then we went to Anniston to the Anniston Army Depot, to check on what security they were putting in place to protect the chemical weapons stored there.
On the way back to Sand Mountain, we passed a gas station that had long lines of cars waiting to get gas, and joked they must be giving gas away today. Only later did we find out that gas prices had gone through the roof for no apparent reason.
We all worked a double shift that day, staying on to do the 10pm news as well. After getting home, I couldn't go to bed. I just couldn't quit watching the news reports.

Heatwave!!!

2006-08-25T15:29:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I'm not referring to the weather outside, but to the temperature in our Bureau. As of right this minute, 3:25 on Friday afternoon, it is 89 degrees in the office. Yes, that's right, our air conditioning is out of commission. We think it has been slowly dying for the last few weeks, but today it decided to give up the ghost. So I sit here sweaty and praying for the H-AC man to please hurry up and fix our blessed air. How did TV people ever survive in the days before AC?

Photos from the Beach

2006-08-07T16:12:00.000-05:00

Got away for a quick 3-day trip to the beach this weekend before school starts for the kids this week. Took a little stroll right around sunset and saw these pelicans chilling and thought to myself, "Wow, that would be a great picture.". Now I don't know if you can call this a great picture or not, but I like it. So I thought I would share it with you. Now it's back to moving pictures and breaking news this week, but I sure did enjoy my last little hurrah at the beach.

Sandmtnphotg On The Job

2006-07-31T10:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of me shooting a live shot with Jerry Hayes during our coverage of the firetruck wreck. Carson took this during the 6pm show.

Firefighter Killed in Wreck

2006-07-28T09:13:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night I was home when I got a call about a firetruck from one of our local volunteer departments going off of a bridge. I called the station and jumped in my truck and headed for the scene. Normally when I get called out on breaking news I'm busy listening to the scanner, making calls trying to figure out what's going on and exactly where it is. This time was different. Being a photographer in a bureau means you get to know the fire departments, police and other emergency workers pretty well. And this was the Asbury Fire Department and I knew a bunch of their guys really well. So not only was I trying to get to the scene as quickly as possible, but I was also worrying about the people in the accident. Once I get to the wreck I find out one of the firefighters in the truck has died and 2 of the others are very seriously hurt. It turns out I didn't know any of the people in the truck, but that really doesn't matter. All of the volunteer firefighters out there put there life on the line everytime they go out to fight a fire, and they do it for little or no money. They do it because they love to do it. The lady who died in the wreck was a 17 year old whose brother and daddy were both in the department, and she would become a full member when she turned 18. Her brother was in the truck with her and he is in UAB fighting for his life. Firefighting was in her blood, and her friends said it was something she loved to do. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family in their time of loss.
Check out www.asburyfire.com for more information.

Alabama Alligator

2006-07-20T17:49:00.000-05:00

Took off to Cherokee County today for a story about an alligator in a swamp there. Now, for those of you who might not know, Cherokee County is in Northeast Alabama which isn't typically gator country. Locals think someone brought him home and then released him in this swampy area. Seems people gather around in the evenings and bring chicken, hot dogs, pretty much anything they think a gator might eat, and then toss food to the gator. Well, now the Authorities are involved and are thinking about removing our celebrity alligator to an area more out of the limelight. Unfortunately today we had no gator sightings, but that log in the one picture fooled me for a little while.

No Tents For You!

2006-07-14T16:30:00.000-05:00

After a morning shoot on a story about avian flu and how Marshall County can prepare for it coming to our area, Carson and I rode out to beautiful DeKalb County Lake in Sylvania. No, not for a morning of fishing but for a story on how tents aren't allowed in the campgrounds. Seems a state law outlaws tents in the campgrounds of state owned lakes. The law has been loosely enforced in the past but now has some people upset because they don't have a RV. According to the state, the issue is that folks in tents don't have the means to dispose of their "gray water", which is water used in washing dishes and cleaning up. Now, I don't know about you, but when I go camping, in a tent, I don't spend a whole lot of time washing dishes. That's what Chinette is for. But that's their reason and now folks are upset and that's why I'm out here at this beautiful lake not fishing but working. Oh the things I do for you the viewers.

Here We Go Again

2006-07-11T16:56:00.000-05:00

Breaking news from DeKalb County this afternoon. Got a call from the Sheriff saying they were digging up a body just outside of Crossville. We got to the scene to find investigators from DeKalb and Marshall county there. Seems an informant told them a body had been buried in a shed behind a house outside Crossville. After digging down a couple of feet, they hit concrete which had been poured on top of the body. So a backhoe was called in to unearth the concrete and get to the body. Right now, authorities aren't saying much about the circumstances surrounding the murder. But sources tell us that the dead man was a drug dealer robbed and killed for his money and drugs, then dismembered and buried here. In the past, DeKalb county has been the dumping site for people killed in other places and brought here to get rid of them. It hasn't happened in a long time. Until today.

Sunset

2006-06-27T17:08:00.000-05:00

Sunset, Lake Guntersville.

The Great, or Not So Great, Escape

2006-06-21T12:05:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Tony Lee Zimmer. Mr Zimmer held a homemade dagger to a Marshall County Correctional Facility jailer last night after playing sick. He then got into the Control Room and took another jailer's uniform before making his way out of the jail. His brief tast of freedom only lasted about 6 hours though. Deputies caught up with him and he is back in the comfortable confines of the jail. By the way, if you look close you can see the tatoos on his neck and head. Those are horns on his head. No surprise there, I guess.

Ain't It Pretty!!!

2006-06-20T15:45:00.000-05:00

Thought I would share a little of my work as a still photographer with you today. I snapped this in Guntersville about a month ago. I thought it came out pretty nice. So, just thought I would share with you how well rounded I am, it's not all about moving pictures with me. Actually, things have been pretty quiet around here lately, nothing too exciting to talk about. So enjoy the pretty flower, may it make your day brighter.

Anybody Remember This Guy??

2006-06-15T10:17:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome back. Anybody out there remember this guy?? That's right, the one and only Slim Goodbody. Carson and I were talking yesterday and Slim(or is it Mr. Goodbody?) came up in conversation. A quick Google search later and there he is. Slim (or Mr. Body) came on the Captain Kangaroo show in the 1970's and taught kids about health and eating good foods. But I always wondered if Slim had no skin or if the organs were painted on his body. Looking back on it now, the Bodman is a little funky looking, maybe even scary. Can you imagine the guts (no pun intended) it took to put on this suit and get on national TV?? Anyway, hope you enjoyed this blast from the past.

My Poor, Poor Car!

2006-05-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

First of all, thanks for checking in. I know it's been a while since I've posted, so if you're reading this I want you to know I appreciate it. Well, lets talk about these pictures. After church on Sunday, my family and I stopped by the bureau and found this waiting for us in the parking lot. It was a 1990 Camaro RS, was being the key word here. After calling the police, we found out that sometime during the night Saturday or early Sunday, firefighters were called to the bureau for a buring car. Right now we are still not sure what happened, we're supposed to talk to the fire marshall Monday morning. But in my experience, cars don't just burst into flames. This was actually my Dad's car, I had borrowed it while off a couple of days and had left it parked at the office when I got back to work. The bureau isn't in a bad part of town so I just don't know what happened. I promise to update you as soon as I get more information.

Hispanic March

2006-04-11T16:34:00.000-05:00

"Sweet Home Alabama!" That seemed to be the theme of yesterday's Hispanic march through Albertville. Estimates put the crowd at close to 5,000 people, possibly more. Believe it or not, not that many people showed up to protest the march. Everything went off without a hitch, and you can see the size of the crowd from the photo taken from the roof of a building in downtown. And believe it or not, the marchers actually stretched about twice what you can see in the picture. The purpose was to show the strength of the Hispanic population here, one by just the sheer number of marchers, and also by their pledge not to spend any money on Monday to show just what an economic impact they have on the community. Where numbers and money go, pretty soon politics will follow.

Yes, That's My Son!!

2006-04-10T15:13:00.000-05:00

Friday night was quite a night, tornadoes everywhere and baseball size hail falling from the sky. But I want to talk about something really important today. Last Saturday was Opening Day(big capital letters) for Little League baseball in Crossville. And suiting up for the Gold team this year, playing centerfield and wearing #10, is none other than Forrest Hood. This is his first year to play baseball and his Dad was quite excited. So what happens when ole #10 comes to the plate for his first at-bat ever?? He hits a homerun! That's right, a homerun!!! Now, I will admit that if the play was scored officially, it would be a single followed by two or three throwing errors which allowed the batter to score. But in the mind of a 7 year old playing ball for the first time, it was a homerun. And in the mind of a VERY proud Dad, it was a moment that I wouldn't trade for a winning lotto ticket!!
By the way, his team went on to win 8-2 over the dreaded and much hated Skins team, with a re-match coming up this Tuesday night. If you need me for anything, just head to the ballpark. That's where I will be living this summer.

Fyffe Bomb Scare

2006-04-06T11:53:00.000-05:00

Headed out to Fyffe around 6pm last night after getting calls about police blocking the highway running through town. Turns out they had a suspicious package left near a gas station. So, after blocking off downtown and calling in the bomb squad from Anniston, what does our package turn out to be? A toolbox full of old electrical parts. So police want to know now if it was a prank or just an accident. But that's kind of the way this news business works. You get on a scene, wait and wait some more, only to find out that the bomb was really a toolbox.

April, What a Month!!

2006-04-05T17:37:00.000-05:00

Carson, the intrepid Sand Mtn. Bureau Chief, informed me that today was his 5th anniversary here in the bureau. Congratulations, Carson!! I can't believe he has survived 5 years putting up with me, ha ha! That being said, April is quite a big month for me. This year I will have been married to my beautiful wife Wende for 10 years, and my son Forrest will turn 8 the end of the month. Throw in my Mom's birthday, my sister-in-law's b'day, a brother-in-law's b'day, and my niece is also celebrating her 9th birthday. I'm sorry now if I forgot anyone in my family who is celebrating a significant event this month. Looks like I need to take out a loan to pay for all the presents.

Rock Climbing, Part 2

2006-03-31T11:01:00.000-06:00

Just a couple more pictures of the kids climbing rocks at Cherokee Rock Village.

Meet The P2

2006-03-28T16:27:00.000-06:00

Ladies and gentlemen, we have entered a new world here in the Sand Mtn Bureau. Say hello to the new camera. Officially, its a Panasonic SPX800P with a P2 drive. But all you need to know is the P2 part. For the first time in my career as a, ahem, videojournalist, I go out each day and don't shoot on tape. Everything is all on the little P2 card like in the top photo. Each card, at $650 a pop none the less, holds about 16 minutes of video. The camera has no moving parts to break down, its all electronic, which I quess means I'm really not shooting video anymore, I'm shooting 0's and 1's. The station bought 3 of these new camera systems, one for me, one for Carter Watkins in the Shoals, and one for Gregg our chief photog. Shot everything for the last couple of days on the P2 and have packed up the old tape camera and got it ready to send to Hunts-Vegas(Huntsville) for another photog there. Anyway, I just wanted to let you meet the new camera, hopefully we will all get to know him better in the coming weeks.

Edge Of The World

2006-03-27T18:08:00.000-06:00

Here they are again, the Dynamic Duo of Forrest and Jemma, this time after a hard day of rock climbing. Friday we took off to Lookout Mountain in Cherokee County to a little place called Cherokee Rock Village. It's a mecca for rock climbers, nothing but big ole rocks as far as the eye can see. They even filmed part of a movie there last year, "Failure To Launch" with Matthew Mac-whatever-ahey and Sara Jessica Parker. Anyway, this rock was the location for one of the scenes in the movie, overlooking scenic Weiss Lake far below. Kids look kind of nervous because it is literally on the edge of the mountain. Anyway, it is kinda in the middle of nowhere and there are no facilities other than rocks and bushes, but if you are into rock climbing there aren't many better places to go.

Has It Really Been Almost a Month??

2006-03-27T09:08:00.000-06:00

My how time flies. I'm sorry it has been so long since I last updated this blog-thing, but you know me. I'm a very busy man. Anyway, been on vacation for the last week and took a quick little trip to Florida to visit the in-laws. The weather didn't want to play along for our earlier than normal trip to the beach, so no beautiful sunset photos or kids playing in the sand. Instead I went to the other extreme, looking for driftwood and that sort of thing to express my artistic side. So here you go, one picture of a tree stump looking weathered and worn with the Sound as a backdrop. Coming up in the next couple of posts, photos from our trip to Cherokee Rock Village for some rock climbing, and a photo of the Sand Mountain Bureau camera. That's right, we have a brand new camera here in the office, and I will brief you on the new technology of the P2 card and the tapeless camera. See you soon!

State Parks Re-Visited

2006-03-03T17:28:00.000-06:00

Seems that the voice of the people is heard sometimes by our state government. After many complaints by people, state legislators complained to the head of Alabama's State Parks about the $3 usage fee about to be implemented. And what happens? A press release late yesterday afternoon announced that the fee idea has been dropped. In defense of those who run the parks, they do not receive any tax money for the day to day operation of the parks, and the money raised by the fee would have given them some much needed funds. But I think the idea of having to pay to take your kids or grandkids out to the park to hike trails or look for deer was just the wrong way to do it. As it is, those who camp, play golf or stay at the lodge(when it finally re-opens) fund the park. And no one wants those costs to rise. No easy answers here, but at least one wrong answer has gone away.

Crime Doesn't Pay?

2006-03-01T12:24:00.000-06:00

These pictures are from a drug bust Tuesday in the DeKalb County community of Kilpatrick. A half pound of cocaine was seized and four people were arrested. But the thing that got my attention was the $98,500 in cash the drug agents got in the bust. Yes, almost one hundred thousand dollars of cold, hard cash these druggies had in their run-down old trailer. Let me tell you, that much cash laid out to see is quite a sight. "Did you think about grabbing the money and running?", someone asked me. Well, yes, and if not for the presence of about a dozen agents armed with high powered rifles, I might have thought harder about it. Notice the guy above guarding one of the druggies. But that was a really pretty thing to see, $98,000, just lying there. So, Carson posed the question, "Is it wrong to steal drug money?". What do you think?

Goodbye, Barney, You Will Be Missed

2006-02-27T09:14:00.000-06:00

Don Knotts, aka Barney Fife, passed away this past Friday at the age of 81. And with him goes a little piece of my childhood. I, like many others of you I'm sure, grew up watching the Andy Griffith Show and Barney was always the real star of the show. This photo was taken in 2001 in Knoxville at the Mayberry Reunion held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. I was fortunate enough to meet many of the stars of the show over the three days we covered the event, even spending a couple of hours in a pub with Betty Lynn who played Thelma Lou and Maggie Peterson, better known as Charlene Darling. But Barney was, as always, the show stopper. Barney, you will be missed. Check out all things Mayberry at http://www.mayberry.com.

Basketball Time

2006-02-23T17:31:00.000-06:00

It's regional tournament time in basketball, and I've spent the last couple of days at Jacksonville State, site for the Northeast Regionals. My favorite part of the games is the fans, students who are allowed to skip school and roadtrip. And boy, oh boy, do they get fired up for the games. Painted faces and chests, weird clothes and hats, they go all out to cheer on their schools. And sometimes things get out of hand. At Troy State yesterday, 4 female fans were arrested after getting into a fight after the game. "Be True To Your School", sang the Beach Boys. Just don't get locked up in the pokey for it.

100th Post!!

2006-02-20T17:48:00.000-06:00

Well, what a milestone. This is the Sand Mtn. Photog's 100th post, who would have thought it? To all you out there who said it would never last, I guess I've shown you!!
Going through some old tape today and found this clip of my son Forrest back in Kindergarten. He is the cute curly-headed one on the right. We were shooting a story about Crossville's lunch room crowding problems when we were paged out to the shooting death of Grant's police chief Verlon LeMaster. Which only goes to show how a day in the news business can go; one minute you're doing a cutesy story about school lunchrooms and the next minute you have to head out to a story about the death of a man you know and like. Ups and downs. That's what this business is all about.

Church Arson Close to Home

2006-02-19T14:36:00.000-06:00

Well, Sand Mtn. dodged another bullet with the ice and snow this weekend. But today, Sunday, I got called into work to cover a church arson in Etowah County. The church is the Chapman's Chapman Holiness Church in Glencoe, and as you can see from the photos it was only an attempted arson. Someone lit a fire on the side of the church, but it appears to have burned itself out before doing any serious damage to the church. Right now, investigators do not think this case has any thing to do with the others arsons down South. As always, we will keep you updated.

Ice For The Weekend??

2006-02-17T17:37:00.000-06:00

Well, the meteorologists are calling for ice and snow again this weekend. That means your faithful Sand Mtn. Bureau Photographer will be working Saturday morning. Gotta be here to tell everyone about conditions here on the mountain. That makes 2 Saturdays in a row working the ice and snow shift. The only problem is that this Saturday is Jemma's birthday party at the skating rink. Will the weather affect party plans? Let's hope not, birthdays only come once a year you know. Anyway, tune in Saturday morning for the latest in weather and traffic from here on Sand Mtn. And we'll see about the ice and snow.

Our State Parks??

2006-02-15T16:04:00.000-06:00

This is a photo of the new gatehouse being built at Lake Guntersville State Park. It's all part of the new multi-million dollar renovations being done at the park to upgrade the lodge and overall look of the park. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for the renovations, Good Lord knows they needed it. But our story today is about how visitors to the park will soon be charged a $3 fee to enter the park. That's not a camping fee or fee to play golf, that's just to enter the park. I thought the state parks belonged to all of us, land set aside for Alabama residents to enjoy the great outdoors and get back to nature. Now, they are telling us that we will have to pay to get onto our own land and enjoy our nature. That's just wrong. I happen to love Lake Guntersville State Park and truly like all the people who work there and who run the place. But I still think it's wrong to charge people to get onto state land. Am I wrong about this? I would like to hear what you think.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!

2006-02-13T16:46:00.000-06:00

Looking at New York City, this can't be called much of a snowfall, but for North Alabama it was a pretty good snow. And for my kids, it was one of the first snowfalls they had seen. Jemma was born in February of 2001, and it was January of that year since we have had a snowfall of any significance. So when we saw the first snowflakes starting to fall, we all grabbed our coats and mittens and headed outside. I do have to admit that Wende and I were pretty excited about the snow ourselves. So a couple of snowball fights later, but sadly no snowman, we headed inside to warm up. When I was a kid, seems like we had a least a couple of snows a year that were big enough to keep us out of school. But the last few years we haven't had any. Today the kids were out of school, but the snow was all but gone by mid-morning. Let's keep our fingers crossed for some more snow, what do you say??

Hail to The Assistant Chief

2006-02-07T13:24:00.000-06:00

Monday, Carson and I went to Priceville to cover the Vice President coming to town. Randy Owen of Alabama sang the national anthem before everything kicked off. And of course there was a lot of security. The top picture is of the Secret Service agent whose job it was to keep an eye on the media. She stayed right around us the whole time, about 4 hours. The V.P. swept in, made his speech, and was gone in about 30 minutes. Overall, it was nice to be part of a big event, not everyday the V.P. comes to town.

Eagle Pictures

2006-01-30T16:06:00.000-06:00

Here are some video stills from the bald eagle release Saturday at Lake Guntersville State Park.

Bald Eagles and Kids

2006-01-29T21:49:00.000-06:00

Saturday, the kids and I headed out early to Lake Guntersville State Park to see a pair of bald eagles released back into the wild. The eagles had been found injured near Lake Guntersville and taken to the Raptor Center at Auburn where they were nursed back to health. Saturday, they were brought back here and released. They truly are magnificent birds, really huge.
We got to the park early and while riding around the top of the mountain came upon three deer grazing on the side of the road. They let us get close enough to get a couple of good pictures. The picture of the kids is at a waterfall just outside the park.
Since I was shooting the eagles on video for the TV station, I didn't get any good still pictures of them. If you would like to see pictures of the eagles, go to the website of my friend Brandon Pierce, http://www.piercephoto.net. He and John Chumley got some good close-ups.

I Hear A Train A'coming

2006-01-27T08:47:00.000-06:00

Hi, I'm your faithful Sand Mountain Photog blogger, and here is the news from the mountain. For the second time in just about three weeks a train and a tractor trailer collide on highway 75 in Albertville. Luckily, no one was hurt in the wreck. The odd thing about this happening yesterday is that the city council had just met earlier in the week and discussed this crossing. According to the State of Alabama, this is only the 227th most dangerous crossing in the state so nothing will be done about it. Right now, there are no flashing lights, no cross arms that come down to block traffic on this busy highway. Will this latest accident change any minds? Or, as usual, will someone have to die before any changes are made? Let us hope that city leaders will act quickly before something really bad happens here.

Poop-Go-Round

2006-01-20T17:37:00.000-06:00

Today was a day everyone should be glad there is no such thing as "smell-o-vision"! We took a tour of Albertville's sewage treatment plant as part of our coverage of the smell problem in Albertville. So we got to walk over and on top of the different buildings at the plant. The first picture is what they call the "clarifier". It's the big round tub where you see the bridge going around in circles. Well, we got to climb on and ride that thing around and around the huge tub of, well, waste. Yes, human waste. So that was a first for me, to ride around in circles over hundreds of thousands of gallons of poop. I'm just glad that Carson didn't decide to push me in. I'm not sure anyone would have volunteered to jump in and save me.

Reading Buddies

2006-01-16T16:58:00.000-06:00

You know, sometimes it is hard to find time to do this blogging thing, or else there just isn't anything going on that is that interesting. So, this isn't that interesting, but here is a picture of your faithful photog blogger with a future photographer at Guntersville Elementary school. Maybe one day he can have my job and I'll be able to retire to the Old Bureau Photographer's Home.

Busy Weekend!!

2006-01-09T09:29:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a busy weekend on Sand Mountain. It all started Saturday night when I got called out to an attempted robbery and stabbing in Collinsville at the Dollar General Store. The store clerk was stabbed in the stomach several times, but luckily she is doing well. Police caught the suspect in about 30 minutes. So after going to the bureau and feeding the video back to Huntsville, I go home. I'm there about half an hour when the pager goes off again. There has been a shooting in Geraldine. That's the top picture of the trailer where a 17 year old boy was shot at least twice with a shotgun. They airlifted him to Huntsville Hospital, and he is still alive the last time I checked. Neighbors heard the shots and saw someone run from the trailer and get into a green car and leave, but DeKalb County deputies have no idea who did the shooting at this time.
Then on Sunday, I get called because an Albertville police car is on fire. Get to the scene and find out it was a K9 unit. Officer was chasing a runner when he heard his car explode. Went running back to find his car totally engulfed in flames. He then ran up to the car and was able to get his dog, Kilo, out before he was seriously hurt. The car was a total wreck.
So this is what we call the "waves rolling in". It has been pretty quite around here for awhile, but the last month has seen at least 3 murders, 2 or 3 accidental shootings, lots of robberies, and the stabbing. So grab your surfboard and hold on tight. We are going for a ride!

Another Day, Another Meth Story

2006-01-05T17:38:00.000-06:00

Another story about crystal meth today. Seems like we have done quite a few of them lately. Unfortunately, meth is a very serious problem here on Sand Mountain. We were talking to a sheriff's office investigator yesterday, and he said that probably 90% or more of the crimes they work are related to meth in some way or the other. Either robberies or burglaries where the people are trying to get money to buy meth, or fights or shootings where meth is to blame. And there is no easy answer to the meth problem. Laws limiting the amount of pseudofed have cut down on the number of labs, but the use of the drug is still up. What can we do??

Happy New Year!!!

2005-12-30T23:40:00.000-06:00

Here is wishing each and every one of you a Happy New Year! Hope you all have big plans for a great celebration. Here in the Hood household, we have two kids with a stomach virus so looks like our plans involve staying home and doctoring the young-uns. Oh, well, Dick Clark is supposed to be back this year so it won't be a total loss.
See ya again in 2006!!!

White Christmas

2005-12-29T09:11:00.000-06:00

Yes, this picture was taken in Alabama. North Alabama. While the rest of us had our normal brown Christmas, the folks at Cloudmont Ski Resort in Mentone had their usual white Christmas. Thanks to the modern marvel of snow making machines, they are able to produce enough snow to have skiing every year at the resort. Folks come from all over the South to glide down the slopes and risk life and limb for a little fun. The great thing here is that even though the temperatures may be in the 50's the snow stays. So, while the rest of us endure another plain Jane Christmas, some folks high atop Lookout Mountain enjoy their fluffy white stuff, and hope to keep all their bones intact.

Fun At The Falls

2005-12-23T16:22:00.000-06:00

Well, it's the week before Christmas, and it finds your faithful Sand Mtn. Photog on vacation. Just me and the kids, and with the cold weather we find ourselves going stir-crazy. So today, with a little nicer weather, we took off for Noccalulla Falls in Gadsden for a little picnic and some playground time. Here are the kids with the falls behind them. If you have never been to the Falls, or not in a while, you'll find some changes. Like a fence around the place keeping you out unless you pay. And guess what? The park is closed. So this is the best, free, view of the falls you can now get. So we did the park and then went to the mall.
So, please forgive me for staying away for awhile. But let me take this chance to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! Yes, I said Merry Christmas. Hate me if you will, but that is the reason for the season.

Hot Rodders Rejoice!!

2005-12-15T16:27:00.000-06:00

Just look at this thing!! The second picture reminds me of a Hot Wheel toy car, but man is it bad!! OK, I'm sorry, but I am a car nut. I get excited when I see something like this and know that a car company, Dodge, just might actually put it into production. I love hot rods, especially late 60's and early 70's muscle cars like the Chevy Camaro, and the Dodge Chargers and Challengers. Dodge put the new Charger into production already, and now this new Challenger will be a concept car and, hopefully, a real production car in the next couple of years. Although I have never been a Ford fan, I also really like the new Mustang with its retro look. To me, those muscle cars of my youth are still the best looking things on the road. Although if this Challenger makes it, I may have to change my mind.

2005-12-07T11:36:00.000-06:00

I like change. Change is good. Well, not really, but I decided to give the blog a new look. You know, to keep things fresh. Anyway, not much going on today. Carson had a doctor's visit so I'm just kinda chilling, been cleaning up here at the bureau. Oh yeah, there was a wreck in front of my house last night. Wende and I heard this loud noise outside, and she thought it was raccoons on our back porch. I looked outside and saw a car had run off the road and into the trees across the road from us. Called 9-1-1 and got an ambulance on the way and then went out to check on them. Young girl driving a new Mustang had ran off the side of the road, overcorrected, and went across the road and through the ditch and into the woods. Took out my neighbors mailbox for about the fifth time. Driver broke her nose and passenger said her knee was hurting, so off to the hospital for them. I think the total count was 1 Crossville policeman, 3 county deputies, 1 firetruck, 1 ambulance, 1 state trooper, 6 or 7 volunteer firemen, and 1 wrecker. My brother Dusty called wanting to know if we were alright because his girlfriend went by the house and told him there were a bunch of policemen at the house. Finally got wrapped up about 10:15 pm. Lots of excitement in the country last night.

Mug Shot of the Week

2005-12-05T15:39:00.000-06:00

Welcome to a new feature here on the blog. It's called the mug shot of the week, although it may not appear weekly depending on how many mugshots we get.
So, look at this guy and tell me what you see? Greg Brady, right? Yeah, remember when he had that big 'fro going on? Well, this guy is no Greg Brady, arrested for robbing a liquor store in Guntersville. But I thought he looks like Greg Brady, so he is my Mug Shot of the Week.

Late Breaking News

2005-12-02T09:06:00.000-06:00

It's every parent's nightmare. Your kid slips away from you and runs out into the road. It happened Thursday night in Boaz. A 4 year old boy got away from his family and ran out into the road and was hit by a pickup truck. Luckily, it appears the boy will be OK with just a broken leg. An Air Evac helicopter was sent to pick the boy up and fly him to Huntsville Hospital.
Kids will be kids, and Lord knows they dont like to hold hands while walking through a parking lot, but I know I will hold my kids just a little tighter from now on.

Morning Fire

2005-12-01T15:42:00.000-06:00

Went to cover this fire in Horton this morning. A mobile home somehow caught fire and then it spread to the trailer behind the first one. When firefighters arrived, both trailers were fully involved(that's fireman talk for being really on fire). Luckily, no one was home when the fire started. Well, its Christmas time and its cold out. Let the fire season begin.

Wacky Weather

2005-11-28T16:49:00.000-06:00

We were supposed to get some severe weather today across North Alabama, and this is what we got here on Sand Mountain. No, we didn't get tornados, but this has to be one of the weirdest color skies I have ever seen. This photo is unretouched, this is how red it was. I've seen green, yellow, orange and blue, but never red like this. Carson asks what causes this, any answers? Weird, wacky weather.

2005-11-21T17:20:00.000-06:00

Sorry its been awhile since I've posted, but I was gone last weekend. To Auburn for the Iron Bowl, and that is about all I want to say about that. Anyway, here is a picture of the Shoals Bureau sign in Florence. I have this picture because Carson and I went there last Thursday to work covering the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in the Guntersville mayor case. I case you are wondering, its about 3 hours from here in Albertville to Florence. If you ever get over that way, I recommend eating at Riccatoni's. It's an Italian place and it's wonderful. I hope to catch back up on posts this week, I promise.

Did You Hear The One.....?

2005-11-15T09:58:00.000-06:00

Did you hear about the 2 Auburn students who died in an accident at the campus cafeteria this week? They went to get some milk and the cow fell on them.
Funny? Well, that's up to you. But this is Iron Bowl week, and that means it's time for Auburn jokes. Have any good ones, let me know.
Did you hear about the 2 Auburn students who decided to go to Disneyworld? Seems they got to Orlando and saw a sign that said, "Disneyworld, Left". So, they turned around and went home.
Corny? Yes, but the dumber and the cornyer the better. Just remember, you may post Alabama jokes here, but I reserve the right to change them to Auburn jokes.
Roll Tide!! And lets hear those jokes.

Look At Me, I'm Famous!!

2005-11-11T21:59:00.000-06:00

Thanks to eagle-eyed Jerry Hayes for spotting this picture of me in the Shelbyville Times-Gazette. This picture was taken at the Bama-Tennessee game. If you look just in the background you can see me, in the red shirt, with the Sand Mtn. camera on my shoulder. By the way, blurry and in the background is my best side, dont you think?

Oh, How Sweet!

2005-11-11T16:06:00.000-06:00

Captured this picture last night and just had to share it. Forrest and Jemma being sweet to each other. This had been one of those weeks when they had been at each other's throats all week, just couldn't get along. Then last night I caught them like this, sitting in the same chair with Forrest reading to his little sister. And she has her little head on his shoulder. It is just too sweet, and doesn't happen very much lately. Sorry about the picture quality, but our camera phones suck. Anyway, I now have photographic proof that my kids like each other.

Would You Call This Art???

2005-11-10T11:54:00.000-06:00

We set up for our live shot in Starkville on the campus of Mississippi State on Friday beside this thing. It was next to the art department, so we assumed it was some sort of work of art. What is was is school chairs and desks, tied together with wire and wrapped in plastic. Is it supposed to be a tornado? Some statement about the state of our schools today? A visual analogy about the information you learn in schools being blown away like a storm? Personally, it looked like a pile of crap. But maybe I'm missing something. What do you think?

Hunka, Hunka Burning Love

2005-11-08T11:43:00.000-06:00

On our trip to Starkville this weekend, we stayed in Tupelo on Friday night. Our hotel was only about three miles from Elvis' birthplace, so we got up early, had breakfast, and went to see where The King was born before heading off to the game. As you can see, it ain't much to look at. Just a little two room shack. But they have managed to turn it into a park and quite the attraction. There's a museum, a gift shop, even a chapel on the grounds where you can go and meditate. Oh, it costs $2.50 to tour the house, and $7 to go through the house and the museum. We skipped the tour and instead just took Brian and Tom's picture in front of the house. Didn't cost a dime, and now we can say we've been there and done that. Next stop, Graceland.

9-0!! Thank God for Mississippi!

2005-11-07T14:16:00.000-06:00

Sorry I've been away for a couple of days, but we left on Friday to go to Starkville to cover the Alabama-Mississippi State ballgame. If you watched the game, you'll know that it wasn't that exciting a ballgame. Alabama's offense was once again anemic, and once again the defense saved their butts. But, hey, they are still unbeaten and ranked in the top 5 in the country. After the last couple of years for this team, it shouldn't matter how this team wins as long as it wins. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from warmups before the game. Huntsville's own Kenneth Darby playing catch, and Brodie playing toss.
We stayed in Tupelo on Friday night, and tomorrow's post will have pictures from our visit to Elvis' birthplace right there in Tupelo.

Last Titans Post, I Promise

2005-11-02T15:45:00.000-06:00

Well, I've managed to get three days worth of posts out of my visit to the Titans game on Sunday. I'm sure everyone has seen enough pictures by now, so this will be my last post on the Titans. First picture is of game action with Steve McNair about to air it out. Now, you will recall just how high our seats where. This is why I bought my Fugi digital camera a couple of years ago because it had a 10x optical lens. And notice how it even caught the ball in mid-air with no shake to the picture.
The other is the feel good picture of me with some of the Titans cheerleaders and Heather from the station. Heather is the one without the Go-Go boots in case you were wondering.

Ole' Crazy Eyes

2005-11-01T08:12:00.000-06:00

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Crazy Eyes. He is the guy in the blue shirt pointing. And being watched by the deputy to his left. Crazy Eyes was, as we like to say here on Sand Mountain, about three sheets into the wind. And this is still in the first quarter. Crazy Eyes, we think he was a Raiders fan but we're not sure, was hollering at this one Titans fan, staring at him and pointing. Well, finally the deputy had seen enough and Crazy Eyes was escorted out of the game. He did return late in the fourth quarter but he was much calmer. So here's to you, Crazy Eyes, our Sand Mtn. Photog Blog fan of the game!

Remember the Titans

2005-10-31T15:23:00.000-06:00

Hello from Nashville! Well, not really, I'm back now but you know what I mean. Yes, our seats were kinda high but you sure could see a lot of stuff from up there. Stuff like this guy. Now, if you saw this guy walking down the street you would probably run for cover and call the police. But somehow seeing him at a football game is OK. Yes, he is a Raiders fan and they do like to dress up for the games. I was surprised by how many Raiders fans there were at the game. This guy was actually from West Virginia and it was first time to see the Raiders play. But my absolute favorite guy was "Crazy Eyes", and him you will meet in my next post. Let's just say, unlike college games, beer is served at Pro games.

Family Weekend, Or Go Gamecocks!!

2005-10-31T11:30:00.000-06:00

Couple of pictures to put up of the kids. First is my little Jemma, dressed up as a witch for her preschool Halloween party. Isn't she just the cutest thing? Next picture was taken this Saturday when the family loaded up and headed out to the Homecoming festivities at Jacksonville State University. Both Wende and myself went to school there and we haven't been back in quite a while. Weather was great and the Gamecocks won, so a great time was had by all. On Sunday, your favorite Sand Mtn. Bureau blogger(Since Carson pulled the plug on his) took in a Tennessee Titans game. Pictures and commentary from that game will be on the next post. So stated tuned Loyal Readers, I promise it will be worth the wait.

It's A Tradition

2005-10-26T08:17:00.001-05:00

Last night was one of my favorite nights of the year. Why, you might ask? Well, I will tell you. "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" came on last night, and in my mind it's not Halloween until you see that show. Most of you may not know this but I am a HUGE Snoopy fan. HUGE. And I must see this show every year. Of course, I tell my kids that it's for them but it's really for me. Snoopy as the World War 1 flying ace is my favorite Snoopy character. In fact, I'll tell you a little Sand Mtn. Photog Blog secret. I have a Snoopy tattoo on my shoulder. There in all his glory is the WW1 Flying Ace flying in his Sopwith Camel, bravely taking on the Red Baron in air to air combat. Yes, I love Snoopy. And this show is a classic, as is the Peanuts Christmas special. So don't bother calling me if Snoopy is on TV cause I won't answer the phone. Who knows, this may be the year that Snoopy shoots down the Red Baron. Or maybe, just maybe, the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch and Linus won't ruin Sally's tricks or treats after all. When you are a kid, or a kid at heart, anything can happen.

Boring, But....

2005-10-24T16:59:00.000-05:00

A win over Tennessee is still a win. Yes, the first half may have been a little boring, but that fourth quarter sure made up for it. Thanks to being busy I didn't get to snap any pictures of the game but I snagged this picture of Roman Harper's hit causing the fumble that gave Bama the ball back and saved a touchdown. What more can you say about that game than it was good ole smashmouth football. A note about the sidelines before the game is that thanks to Sec of State Conde Rice being there, there were about 100 more media passes handed out than normal. All those lookie-lou's were crowding out those of us there who were actually interested in the ballgame. By the way, many of those "media" with passes were busy taking pictures with camera phones. And wearing Bama hats and clothes. If you aren't there to work, please get out of my way. Sorry, but had to get that off my chest. It was good to see Brock again. Brock, I'm beginning to think you are bringing us some good luck, so hope to see you back for the LSU game and down on the plains. Alright, enough for now.

Man, I Hate Orange!!

2005-10-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no pictures just yet. I'm off to Tuscaloosa today for the Alabama-Tennessee game so look back here tomorrow for some pictures from that. Hopefully, there will be a lot of fans wearing Crimson celebrating, while there are a lot of pictures of sad, beaten-down Orange wearing folks. As the header says, I do hate Orange. It's just an ugly color. Even pumpkins cant wear that shade of orange and get away with it. So, Roll Tide!! Beat the Vols!! And Rammer Jammer, Yellow Hammer!!!

Real, Live Mascots

2005-10-17T17:12:00.000-05:00

This is Ramsy. Ramsy is the mascot for the Sylvania Rams football team. Most schools have a person dressed up in a costume for their mascot, but Sylvania has both. And you know what? I like it. Wouldn't it be great if high schools had real mascots to cheer their teams on? How about Crossville, wouldn't it be great to see a real lion prowling the sidelines? Or for Pisgah to have an eagle peering down from the press box? Now, I will allow that it would not be that inspiring for Ider to have a little caged hornet on the sideline, or for Gordo down in Tuscaloosa County to have a bowl of water as their mascot (they are the Green Wave). And Lord knows we would never want to show up to a Fyffe Red Devils game and see that guy leading cheers. But cheers to you Sylvania, and here's to soon seeing a buffalo leading the North Sand Mountain Thundering Herd onto the field.

Amy George Looking Cool!

2005-10-13T15:19:00.000-05:00

Amy, Amy, Amy? Guess what Brad found? Looking through some old tapes and found this that Carson had found while doing some Christmas history stories. Glad you like to read my blog and for that, and for looking so cool in the Santa hat, you are the Sand Mountain Photog Blog's Person of the Day!! Congratulations, Amy.

Build My Church On This Rock

2005-10-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

We'll get to the pictures in a moment, but first I would like to tell you about our day. The station called us with this story in Mentone. Seems a kid from Mississippi had died from rabies after being bitten by a bat while at camp in Mentone. Head up there, they say, and plan on being live at 5 and 6pm. So off we go on the hour's drive up to Lookout Mountain. We get to the camp and they release a statement saying the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta had determined that the boy had not been bitten by a bat while at their camp. Seems a bat had flown in kid's room and he took it out, and that's where he contracted rabies. So the story is a bust and back to Albertville. But near the camp is Howard's Chapel. The church was built in 1937 by Colonel Milford Howard and was built around this huge rock. As you can see, the rock comes into the pulpit area and takes up a good bit of space. The good Colonel is even buried in the rock, as his ashes were put there after his death. The church is always open to visitors and is just one of those off the wall kind of places that I love to search out and find.
Oh, if you would like call Mrs. Mary Shirey at 256-638-4441 to book your wedding at the Chapel.

Hood Family at the Harvest Festival

2005-10-12T10:59:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday was the annual Harvest Festival in Boaz, and the Hood family loaded up into the family car and headed out for the festivities. In my mind, Fall just isn't the same without a trip to the Harvest Festival. We checked out the arts and crafts, listened to some good music and just generally had a good time. After spending roughly $30 dollars on polish sausages, corn dogs, curly fries and drinks, it was time for the kids to hit the inflatables. Oh, nothing says fun to a kid like a big inflatable slide or a swing. So here are pictures of the Hood kids getting their dollars worth of fun. Jemma is swinging away while young Mr. Forrest is thrilling himself with a life threatening 10 foot slide!! After a trip to Wal Mart and then Pizza Hut, it was time to call it day. Much fun was had by all, now just looking forward to the big Homecoming parade this week at Crossville. What a life, huh?

Doctor Visit

2005-10-07T15:05:00.000-05:00

Today I'll take a cue from Carson's blog and tell you about my doctor visit. I went to the eye doctor this morning. Being a photog and all, I figure I need to take care of my eyes. Everything is good, 20/20 vision and no glaucoma. But those darn eye drops they put in your eyes. Luckily it is very cloudy here today or it would be horrible. Leaving the doctor's office, my phone rang and I tried and tried but couldn't read who was calling my vision was so blurry. So, if watching highlights of high school football tonight you see that poor old Brad missed a play, or if some of the shots are out of focus please be understanding. It's not fault, it's those darn eyedrops.

Look What We Found

2005-10-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

Look what we found today in Albertville. Carson and I were doing a story about how Albertville has starting towing cars when people are stopped and don't have a drivers license. We went by A & B Wrecker to get video of some of the 22 cars that were taken in Monday. And we found this in their garage. For those of you not in this market, this is Live Star, the satellite truck for the ABC affiliate in Huntsville. Seems they were in Guntersville and had the clutch go out on the truck. They were towed to A & B where it was going to be repaired. Of course, with the story we were doing we had to make jokes about their driver not having a license, which he did. Just thought I would share this picture because it made me laugh.

Give Gadsden the Finger

2005-10-03T20:43:00.000-05:00

We went to Gadsden today to cover former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's press conference to announce he was running for governor. We won't get into Roy Moore in this blog, but we will discuss this statue and her finger. This lady is Emma Sansom. The reason there is a statue of her is that during the Civil War, she helped General Forrest cross the Black River while chasing Yankees. Notice the picture of her hand. The index finger is missing. Years ago, someone stole the finger off the statue. City puts another one on, finger comes up missing again. Years go by without a finger until just recently the city gets the finger replaced. Guess what happens next? You got it, the finger is gone again. So will she get yet another finger? Or is it pointless, like poor Emma herself.

Roll Tide!!!!!

2005-10-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

What a game!! Can I say it again? Roll Tide!!! One of the perks of this job is that I get to go to cover Alabama football games. Those of you who are not Alabama fans might not think this is much of a perk, but the rest of you will understand. And this is one of the best ones I have been able to cover. Alabama played as good a game as I have ever seen them play. The fans were huge in this game, they started out loud and kept getting louder. I really think that they played a big part in this win as they kept Florida's offense confused. These are video stills from the game, the one being the first touchdown to Tyrone Prothro and the other is Don Shula, Coach Mike Shula's dad and a pretty good coach himself.
I also want to say a big hello to Brock Parker, a fellow news blogger who works at WTVM out of Columbus, Georgia. I shot a big part of the game standing next to him on the sideline. The great thing for me was the he recognized me from my blog photo. Wow, I must be getting famous now for sure. Brock was a really nice guy and it was great to meet him. Besides, he may be good luck for the Tide, so get back to T'town for the Tennesse game, Brock. You can check out Brock's blog here http://bpontheair.blogspot.com/.
One more time please. Roll, Tide, Roll!!!!!!!!

More Iron Bowl History

2005-09-30T15:26:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't notice, I have been on a history kick lately. We have been doing stories in advance for the Iron Bowl this year and one of our stories is about the history of the annual Alabama-Auburn game. This is a picture taken of that first game played in Birmingham. Thanks to the Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa for the photos and all their help. This picture has written on it "Dorsey makes first touchdown (four points)". I don't know if Dorsey played for Alabama or Auburn, but notice that a touchdown counted only 4 points back then. Also notice the people sitting on the top of the fence watching the game. And I don't know if you can see it or not, but the guy at the left of the picture in the hat is a referee. I also think he has a cane, maybe instead of a flag he would bopp you in the head with his cane. Anyway, thought this was an interesting photo. And yes, Auburn won the game 32-22.

Yeah, But Did They Tailgate?

2005-09-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

Trivia question, where was the very first Alabama-Auburn game played? If you said Birmingham, give yourself a pat on the back. Carson and I went in search of this historical marker today. It marks the spot for the very first Iron Bowl, played way back in 1893.
Sadly, Auburn, known then as A&M College, won the first meeting by a score of 32 to 22. If you ever want to find the marker for yourself it's near St. Vincents Hospital, on the corner of 8th Street South and University.
What was then known as Base Ball Park is now home to office buildings.

Visit To Bear Bryant's Gravesite

2005-09-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

Today, Carson and I went to a place I had always wanted to visit but just never got around to. We visited Bear Bryant's gravesite at Elmwood Cemetary in Birmingham. We are doing some stories in advance for the Iron Bowl and we went to the cemetary for one of the stories. First of all, there is a crimson line painted on the drive that takes you to his gravesite. The most surprising thing I quess was just how simple the site was. Just a simple headstone marking this as the family plot and a plaque marking his grave. Nothing at all about his being a coach, nothing about Alabama. Just simple. I'm sure those of you out there who are Alabama fans and who were alive at the time remember where you were when you heard that the Bear had passed away. I know I do. And I remember the pictures of hundreds of thousands of people lining the road to say goodbye as his funeral procession passed down the road. So to see his gravesite today brought back all those memories. Those of you who are not Alabama fans probably dont understand our fascination with Bear Bryant. All I know is that growing up all I wanted to do was play football for the Bear at Alabama. And he remains a big part of Alabama football, and hopefully always will.