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.