Sandmtnphotog Hanging With the Big Dog

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.......

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.

(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

(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!!

(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

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!!!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

Sunset, Lake Guntersville.

The Great, or Not So Great, Escape

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!!!

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??

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!

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

"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!!

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.