trailerhood

wipe out

One of my favorite snow features from the last few days. Of course, it was not published. Reminds me of my Dakotan days.

snow dogs

Found these guys while feature hunting in Illinois. They roam suburban yards with their shock collars and proud looks.

snow day

The snow was falling Sunday morning, and I knew that meant one thing. I would be feature hunting for the newspaper. Remembering an earlier, failed incident in which I waited on top of a parking garage to make an image, I tried the same approach at a different building. I waited and waited and eventually a few characters walked across my stage. Oddly, I like some of the photos without people more.

my video bag gets a seat on the plane

En route home from the inauguration our flight plan was to go from Dulles to Charlotte, Charlotte to St. Louis. The planes we took were smaller planes, with two seats on either side of the aisle. The overhead compartments were small and so was the space under the seat. So what’s a girl to do when she’s got a bulging video bag that doesn’t fit anywhere?

I talked to the flight attendant and explained my “expensive bag” that needed to stay on the plane with me. Stowing it below wasn’t an option. Lucky for me, he thought the bag was so important that it deserved a seat of its own. (I don’t expect this to ever happen again!) So here’s a little shout out to my favorite US Airways flight attendant. Thank you.

[Sorry for the quality of the photo. I shot it as we scrambled to our next flight, which we managed to make with only about 10 minutes between our landing time and our next flight's take off time. Yes, that's the camera strap in the frame. Uggggh!!!]

the metro

D.C. after everyone went home. Red Line. Forest Glen.

From the Washington Post:

It is the deepest station in the Metro system, located 21 stories below street level. Passengers travel between the platform and the street in one of six high-speed elevators. A one-way trip takes less than 20 seconds.

inauguration day

4:55 a.m. - The bus leaves a Baltimore airport hotel. I'm on board with a group of Ritenour High School students. They've worked hard to get here today. All of them are part of an organization called Partners in Achievement. They work to close the achievement gap between White and minority students.


7:17 a.m. - After walking and walking and pushing our way through massive crowds, we reach the mall. My headphone cord gets stuck on a bush in the dark mass. A student is nice enough to untangle me so I don’t rip the cord. Our spot is pretty close for the non-ticketed area, and we can see a jumbotron well.


8:53 a.m - We wait in the cold.


8:54 a.m. - Still waiting. I pull my fingers out of my gloves and make fists to keep my fingers working. I do a lot of jumping up and down, dancing and other strange movements to keep the blood flowing. About half of the group leaves to look for warmth. We don't see them again.


12:42 p.m. - The show is done. The trash remains. I leave the National Mall, headed for the bureau 1.5 miles away.

2:15 p.m. - I make it to the office after walking south all the way to the Washington Channel and west to 24th Street to get north to 1025 Connecticut Avenue. (For those of you who don’t know D.C., this is massively out of the way.) People fill the streets.

9:15 p.m. - Video is posted. See it here.

test time

Just sharing an outtake from today's assignment. Turns out Missouri is doing away with the MAP test and replacing it with a test that counts toward your grade. The students at Brentwood High School were taking their exams today. I remember always dreading those MAP tests.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been crazy busy planning for the inauguration and my first week of classes at Webster. I have 18 students and only 15 computers. Ahhh! :-)

putting the paper to work

A leftover shot from before Christmas. Perhaps this is the future of newspapers!

farewell to the duck

My favorite little St. Louis restaurant, the Shaved Duck, will shutter it's doors around midnight tonight after about eight months of doing business. The owner wants to take the place in a new direction. Chili, smoked meats, beer and takeout will replace the best mixed drinks in town, artfully seasoned foods, wine, cheese and charcuterie. The two chefs I've gotten to know and the bartender will not be back when the place reopens.

It's hard for me to imagine the place without those three. They've been a huge part of what it is today - a place I love. Whether I'm in the mood for a good pasta or wine and cheese, the Shaved Duck has been my quick answer to hunger. More than that, it's been a place of great memories: dinner with my family, dates, catching up with college friends or killing time on a Tuesday night.

But instead of being sad, I'll go to the Duck tonight to celebrate the success they've had. The restaurant rated high with Zagat and was listed as one of the Post-Dispatch's Top 10 New Restaurants. I'll raise my glass to that and wish my new friends luck as they entertain new opportunities. (Hopefully, they'll stick around the St. Louis area, and I'll reap the benefits!)

feliz año nuevo

Thanks to Pat for the good new year's drinks.