Rodeo Clown

So, I know I haven't blogged in WAY too long. Lots has been going on since then - I moved from KTAB from KRBC, turned 24, the list goes on. Most recently, I had my first rodeo experience. Being from New England where rodeos aren't all that common, I'm pretty sure I stuck out like a sore thumb. But all that aside, I had a great time! One of the rodeo guys I was interviewing told me, "You can't report on something if you don't try it." So...I tried out some basic tricks on one of the horses, and I think it went pretty well...for my first time at least!

 

Okay, so maybe I don't have a future in rodeo. But at least I tried it!

"That's a negative, Ghostrider"

One of my favorite things about reporting is that every day is different. One day I'm interviewing stranded truckers on the interstate in the middle of an ice storm, the next I'm being chased by a herd of cows while trying to get video of search crews near Colorado City. I was particularly excited when a group of people I'd been working with on the search for Hailey Dunn invited me to take part in their aerial search. They planned to fly over Scurry County and scour the area from above while ground searchers drove to areas that caught their attention. Cool, right?

I grabbed my aviators, packed up my work car, and hit the road to the Snyder airport bright and early. When I got there, I met the searcher and pilot I was heading up with. I climbed up into the plane and put on my special headset that blocked out the engine noise but allowed me to communicate with the others through a microphone. (I felt very official). After I made myself comfortable in the backseat, the pilot motioned to a large red coffee canister "in case we get sick." I brushed it off and continued messing with my camera to make sure I didn't miss a thing.

After a few minutes, we were off! I kept my camera glued to the window as we dipped and dove through the air above Scurry County. My eyes were peeled as we flew over lakes, fields, stock tanks, everything. I was getting such great video, I felt like a kid in a candy store!

About 15 minutes later, it was getting hard to look through the viewfinder. The ride was getting bumpier, and my stomach was not happy about it. I started feeling so bad I had to put my camera away and look down for a bit. After a few minutes I took it out and shot some more video, but had to put it down again. This went on a few more times until my stomach was churning so badly I started eyeing the red barf bucket. "No....I can't be the girl who pukes in the plane," I thought. I tried to keep it together for a few more seconds...but there was no fighting it. I finally lost it and surrendered to the big red coffee can.

I looked up, praying neither of my fellow passengers saw me. No luck. When the pilot asked if I was okay, I brushed it off as best I could and pushed the hated coffee can to the side. For the next few minutes, I looked down and prayed it would be over soon. I sat in silence for the rest of the ride, trying to think about anything but the wind battering the plane and infuriating my already-upset stomach.

After what seemed like forever, we touched down back at the Snyder airport. I wanted to kiss the ground as I got out of the plane with a bruised ego and bucket full of barf. Thankfully, the others laughed it off and assured me it was no big deal. I regained my composure after a few minutes and headed to the terminal, prepared to tackle the rest of the day's adventures.

Next time, I'm sticking with the ground crew.

Reprimanded by Facebook

As a reporter, one of the most important parts of my job is communicating with people. I really enjoy being able to meet new faces every day out in the field. But beyond the eight hours I spend at work, I'm always trying to meet new people and get more familiar with Abilene. 

One of the ways I go about that is through Facebook. It's especially useful for finding people who may be affected by certain issues I'm covering. So the other day I was doing just that - reaching out to people who attended a particular school I was doing a story on that day. I found an alumni group from the school and sent messages to several people asking if they'd like to share their junior high memories. Now I know junior high was an awkward time for pretty much everyone...but harmless, right?

As I'm clicking the send button on one of the last ones, this little message comes up: "Block! You are engaging in behavior that may be considered annoying or abusive by other users."

Block??? Don't tell me what to do, Facebook! I clicked again, but no luck. Tried sending a few more times with no success. "Anywhere from a few hours to a few days?" I felt like I was getting grounded! Isn't connecting with people the point of Facebook? 

I didn't know what to do! I started worrying about how I'd write the story and whether sending the messages was a bad idea. Fortunately, some of the people I sent messages to before I got punished responded a few minutes later and I was able to get in touch with them in other ways.

My message-sending privileges have since been restored, (thanks Facebook) but from now on I'll be sure to "proceed with caution."

My First Texas Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

So it's my first Christmas in Abilene, and what an interesting week it has been. Coming from New England, I'm used to snowdrifts and freezing temperatures this time of year, so I was pretty thrown off by the 80 degree temperatures we had this week! I was a little nervous for this time of year as it's my first Christmas away from home and my family, but I've been lucky enough to meet some great people here who have made me feel right at home.

Last weekend, I was able to cover an actual "Christmas miracle" that really brought me back to what Christmas is all about. On Saturday, a woman was at a Christmas party when she abruptly collapsed onto the ground. Other people at the party who saw her fall immediately called 9-1-1 and started yelling for a nurse. Luckily, two nurses were there, and when they came running, they saw it was actually one of their friends who was suffering from a massive heart attack. The two women performed CPR on her until paramedics arrived and got her heart beating regularly again with a defibrillator. If it hadn't been for those two women, she would have been dead by the time the EMT's arrived.

On Sunday, I spoke with her family and the two women who saved her life. It was awesome to speak with these people who had gained this newfound appreciation for life in a matter of seconds. It just goes to show how precious life is and how in the blink of an eye, everything can change. It made me appreciate my life and family that much more - so if you can, go home and hug your mom and dad!

I'm meeting with the woman who survived the heart attack this weekend and I can't wait to hear what she has to say. Until then...Merry Christmas everyone!

Herschel Sims

During my first month in Abilene, I have already learned an incredible amount. Although stressful at times, I have very much enjoyed learning how to report and hearing everyone's stories out in the field thus far.

Today, however, I interviewed one of the most inspiring people I've ever met. Herschel Sims is a running back for the Abilene High School football team and was profiled on the MTV "World of Jenks" finale last night. He is the star player of the Abilene Eagles and one of the top college football recruits in the nation.

But it's not Herschel's football stats that tell his story. He suffered severe physical abuse at the hands of his father as a young child, and was raised by his grandmother as both of his parents were eventually incarcerated. Herschel was able to use these negative experiences and channel them into something he excelled at -- football. Today, Herschel is slated to play football for Oklahoma State next year, and hopes to eventually play for the NFL.

As I drove back to the station after speaking with Herschel and hearing firsthand about the adversity he had overcome,  I felt silly about all of the petty things that stress me out from day to day. Talking to him really put things into perspective for me, and inspired me to work that much harder to reach my goals.