Well, I promised myself, win, lose or draw (draw actually not possible in the playoffs), I would update how my high school football team, the Glidden-Ralston Wildcats, did in the playoffs. Last night, their season came to an end similar to how it started… with a loss to undefeated Remsen-St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s was the ‘Cats only regular season loss this year… first game of the season. Glidden had to travel to Remsen last night and was beaten 40-16. I talked to my brother just a few minutes ago, and he said from what he heard, Glidden jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, but St. Mary’s would not be denied and stormed back for the win. By the way, these two teams are the two past state champions in Iowa’s Eight-Man football… St. Mary’s winning in 2004 and Glidden-Ralston in 2005. In fact, in 2004 the only team to beat Glidden was St. Mary’s… once in the regular season and once in the playoffs. And I believe Glidden was the only team to beat St. Mary’s in 2005, once in the regular season. Glidden finishes the year at a fine 8-2. Hats off to my old friend Kreg Lensch, Glidden’s head coach. Kreg was our starting quarterback back when I played (he was a junior when I was a senior). After several years of struggling, he seems to have the Wildcats back on to their old winning ways. Great job, “Cats!!

Well, another election is just about upon us. Election Eve… Have you put up your election tree yet? Do you open your Election Day presents on the day of or the night before? You know, if it wasn’t for the fact that all the ads on radio and TV keep so many of my brethren in the media from starving to death, it would really be easy to hate the whole process. But then again, there’s no tanks rolling in the streets… no one being ousted from office in a bloody coup. So, like so many (but not enough) of my neighbors and friends, I’ll be headed to the polls to make my voice heard… even if it gets outnumbered… or overcome by a chorus of those who agree in the end. Probably like just a few others, I’ll be glued to news and the Secretary of State’s election web site. I just hope it all wraps up in a timely fashion. But if it doesn’t, I hope they get all the votes counted. Win, lose, or draw, we need to see what the majority wants.

“I’m just saying…”

As promised, here’s one of my favorite video stories. There was a bit of quality loss after it went from BetaCam tape to VHS to DVD and then compressed for YouTube… but you get the idea. This is the story of Tenen Yarae, a mother of seven from the West African nation of Mali. A U.S. Air Force Medical Civic Action Team traveled from Europe to her country and did several medical assistance visits over two weeks, including one near her village. Tenen’s three-year-old daughter, Binta, had a large abcess behind her ear… potentially dangerous. Watch the story to see how things turned out.

So I don’t want to wade too much into politics, but I thought this was kind of amusing.  I asked my youngest son who he liked, Candidate X or Candidate Y (the names have been changed to protect the political).  He said, “I don’t know, neither one is talking about what they will do.”  

 ”I’m just saying…”

I’ve pulled a few more pictures from video of my time in the Air Force.  This one is of an AF pararescueman.  His mission that day was to watch over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Namibia… looking for any signs of life after an Air Force cargo plane collided with a German Air Force plane over the Atlantic.  No luck that day, and I don’t think they ever found any of the people aboard either plane… although I think some wreckage did wash ashore at some point.  This was one of those stories I heard about on my way to work, immediately turned around, and picked up my “AWOL” bag already packed with changes of uniforms and clothes and toiletries.  When I got to the office, I started working logistics on how to get to Windhoek, Namibia with all my camera equipment and luggage.  That afternoon, I was aboard a Lufthansa flight to South Africa and then Windhoek by the next morning.  It was a helluva trip… but nothing near the sacrifice my fellow Airmen (and U.S. Navy and German Air Force) made to find those lost.

This one was from more of a recovery story.  This was closer to home (maybe 40 miles from the office), and I had some time to plan the shoot.  Some German, American, and Canadian volunteers dug up an old B-17 crash site from World War II.  The plane went down in 1944, and one elderly lady, who was just 17 at the time, witnessed the crash.  All but one American made it out of the aircraft.  She saw the guy struggle to get out of the wreckage, but the plane exploded… and he never made it out.  She told us she remembered looking eye-to-eye with the airman, but there was nothing she could do to save him.  What happened to the rest of the crew was a little more hazy.  Apparently, the SS arrived on the scene shortly after the crash, rounded up the remaining Amercians, marched them into the town, and shot them all.  Anyway, on this dig, the volunteers were looking for any artifacts from the crash.  They found lots of bits of metal, some old ammunition, and stuff like that.  After a little while they found what looked like a piece of a human thigh bone… maybe a piece of the missing aviator.  Just when that looked to be exciting enough, they found the dog tag (ID tag) of the missing American.  Pretty cool.  I just happened to be there when it all happened… the guys digging in the dirt were the real story.

 This was another cool story I covered during the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.  In 1948, the Soviets tried to cut off a sore spot for them in the heart of the old East Germany… the British, French, and American occupied West Berlin.  The Soviets figured they could shut off all the land routes for supplies for the city and force the western nations out.  Instead, West Berliners were bailed out by a massive airlift of supplies… from food to fuel.. to keep the city alive.  The guy in this story, Robert Blank, wasn’t even born back then.  But since the Brits, French, and Americans put up such a herculean effort, his parents survived in a free West Berlin.  The West would outlast the Soviet Union, and in 1989, the Berlin Wall finally fell, and Germany was soon reunited as one country.  Fast forward 50 years from the 1948 airlift, and Blank is working on construction for a new building for the unified German government… back in Berlin.  I really liked this story because it was a different way to look at how events from long ago affect modern time.  Plus, the nat sound from him pounding in the paving stones was priceless.

This last picture is from another favorite story of mine.  This is a picture of Master Sergeant Chris Lawson (in the uniform, on the left).  He served at the Defense Attache Office at the U.S. Emabssy in Tel Aviv.  On this day, he was in Jerusalem (on Mount Zion, I believe) attending a memorial ceremony for German soldiers killed in the area during World War One.  Kind of ironic to have a memorial for German soldiers in Israel, but that was a different war and a different time.  Honoring those who served seems to be universal.  Anyway, this guy was really cool, and he took time to show us how he and his family lived, and what made Israel such a special place.  Another great chance to get some really cool nat sound… from German taps played at the cemetery to a band playing in the marketplace.  I promise I’ll soon post some of the video from these stories.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the pictures.

“I’m just saying…”

As you might have seen on my bio page, I’m a big football fan, especially my Glidden-Ralston Wildcats !  The defending Iowa state champions in Eight-Man football are in the playoffs again!  Congratulations to my old teammate, Kreg Lensch, who has led the team from winless seasons to just one loss in the last two years and now into the playoffs for the third year in a row.  He was a junior starting at quarterback when I was a senior.  We lost only one game that year, but at the time, you couldn’t lose any games and still make the playoffs.  In fact, my sophmore year, we were undeafeted, but still didn’t make the playoffs.  Anyway, Glidden is in this year.  They’ll host Aurelia, another one-loss team, in the first round.  Good luck, Wildcats!

 

I had the chance today to digitize some of the video from my days as an Air Force broadcaster. It had been a while, so it was nice to see these stories again. I’m going to try to post one of these on my examples page later. This picture is of Tenen Yarae (spelling?), a woman from the West African nation of Mali. This mother of seven brought her young daughter, Binta, to the American military doctors who had set up Medical Civic Action Program site near her village. Binta had a large abcess behind her ear that the docs were afraid would drain into the fluid around her brain… potentially deadly. In a makeshift operating room, with no anesthesia, they drained the abcess.

Binta was screaming her head off!  Wouldn’t you?  Bunch of strangers in masks around you with knives, a couple of them holding you down, and they’re trying to take a slice from behind your ear.  I have nightmares like that!  But, Mom was unconcerned.  Sat back and just kind of took it all in.  Besides, she knew these were the good guys in the mask.  It was funny, though, how Binta never let loose of the little piece of candy she was given while waiting for the procedure.  Sure, they might cut my ear off, but they ain’t gettin’ my CANDY!  This was a really cool shoot. Great opportunity to see the Air Force in action.  I’ll post some more pictures soon. 

“I’m just saying…”

   

The Front DoorOriginally uploaded by Jenne1989.

Once again, a very cool, historic weekend. This time, we had a chance to visit the Missouri Governor’s mansion for the annual Halloween open house held there. Every other year, for the last six years, we’ve had something else going on the same day. But this year, we had the day free.

   

Storyteller “Frank James”Originally uploaded by Jenne1989.

Once inside the historic mansion (built in 1871), you see the first floor restored to what it was 135 years ago. Beautiful hardwood floors, historic paintings on the wall, and a magnificent grand stairway. Makes you wonder how hard Reconstruction was on Missouri. It’s a pretty grand building for such a tough economic period for the South (although many make the correct argument that Missouri didn’t really join the Confederacy during the Civil War.. but I digress). At the base of the Grand Stairway, stood the storyteller, Terry Ehrsam. He portrayed Frank James, the legendary outlaw. I thought the way he made sure none of us were bankers, railroad owners, or Pinkerton men before he told us his “name” was a nice touch. Made the character really come to life. He had a not too spooky story (I’m sure toned down for the kids) about a girl who died in the mansion and how sometimes people see her ghost in a third floor bedroom window. I sure glanced up that way once we were outside.

   

Red-Tailed HawkOriginally uploaded by Jenne1989.

Once outside the mansion, we met some raptors from The Raptor Rehabilitation Project at the University of Missouri. This one-year-old red-tailed hawk, Emma, cannot be returned to the wild because of her injuries. So, the good folks at the project take her, and on this day, an Eastern Screech Owl, out to educate people. Good educator. Really drew in the folks out on the mansion’s front lawn.

   

The ClydesdalesOriginally uploaded by Jenne1989.

On the more domestic side, the magnificent Budweiser Clydesdales made an appearance on the street just in front of the mansion. They are really cool! The workers hauled one of the horses out of his trailer, pulled out all the harnesses and a quite impressive collar, and proceeded to hitch the horse up. You would think it would take forever to hitch up all this tack, but it seemed to go on quite quickly and easily for the people who probably do this hundreds of times each year. Plus, for being a REALLY big horse, this beast seemed to be quite gentle. A visit to Grant’s Farm, where the Clydesdales live, showed us earlier this year just how much the horses are worked to get to this point. What was really cool was the imprint their huge horseshoes made on the pavement where they walked. The distinctive clop of the metal shoes might make just a scratch on the surface of the road, but I’m sure it made a permanent mark on many of the minds of the people who turned out to take in their majesty. By the way, who is that group next to the driver?

   

Governor Blunt and FamilyOriginally uploaded by Jenne1989.

Yep, that’s our very own Governor Matt Blunt, First Lady Melanie, and their young son, Branch. It’s nice to know that despite being in charge of the entire state government, he can still dress up in a kind of goofy costume and join the folks who have come to his home to enjoy Halloween. All the governors we have known in this state have been very down-to-earth. Carnahan, Holden, Blunt… they’ve all opened up their home to the public. I think it’s part of what makes this town so darn unique. It’s not uncommon to see current and former governors out at the store, the attorney general at the gym, or lawmakers at the ball game. Makes you at least feel more like they are just common folk… just like you and me.

By the way, all the photos are courtesy of my lovely wife, Jennifer.

“I’m just saying…”

You know that commercial where the guy jumps off a bridge with the homemade wings, glides over the river for a little ways, and splashes in?  Well, my youngest son has been fascinated by that whole concept (although he vehemently denies it).  For the last couple of months, he’s been designing wings, and we’ve worked on a fully articulating frame based on bat wings.  Today, we finished the project… just in time for tonight’s scouts meeting.  He can’t fly in them, but it’s really been impressive the way he has engineered the whole project.  We used dowel rods for the “fingers” and an old sheet dyed black as the webbing between the fingers.  We stitched the sticks into the cloth, and now he can open the whole wing by grabbing the top “finger.”  I’ll try to post a picture later that will better explain it.  Anyway, it’s a really cool costume… my son, the bat.

“I’m just saying…”

Well, today was the luncheon I had talked about earlier.  I think it went really well.  I made some face-to-face contact with several people I knew from the phone.  They were all quite kind and supportive of my job search efforts.  In fact, a couple of them were from places where I had already applied for jobs.  There was one person, in particular, from a really good job place who I wanted to talk to, but he left early.   GRRRR!  Oh well, I’ll get my chance later, and the meeting will give me a nice opening for that first face-to-face conversation.