We Now Take You Live...

When is a simple water main break more than a simple water main break? When it's a throbbing backdrop for not one, two, but three broadcast outlets. Such was the case today when a trio of live trucks gathered outside a Forsyth County lingerie shop for a glance into the chasm that is a twelve hour old puddle of water and dirt. Hey, everyday can't end in murder and mayhem. Quite regularly, we news crews gotta scrape the bottom of the barrel, and come up with something to bleat about. If that means standing watch over a patch of gravel and announcing that for the next 24 hours Winston-Salemers will have to drive three blocks out of their way to purchase that velcro teddy at truly warehouse prices. Where's Geraldo when you need him?

He ain't here. Instead it was just us locals loitering in the lot, trying to ignore the ninety degree heat while the choking fumes of freshly-laid tar wafted over our every pour. Man, I love show business! What other gig lets you babysit spectacle and farce on a daily basis? What other line of work allows you a front row seat to the kinds of the mmind-numbing news items you'd flip right by were you kicked back on the couch and rounding the horn of your cable line-up? Postal Carriers don't get to do that stuff, only TV news lifers like me or...that guy - Jeff Amernick - seen here showing me a little middle finger respect while still holding his shot steady and true. That's the sign of a true professional!

Speaking of pros, check out these two. Mac and Sonnet never once looked up the entire time we were there, choosing instead to endlessly tweak their shot while Amernick and I played grab-ass (figuratively speaking, that is - I'm a married man!). Maybe it's their esprit de corps. Mayeb their new live truck was givin' em fits. Maybe it's that Channel 2 mandate that no fully daylit frame is complete without an extra keylight or three. Maybe I'll ask them tomorrow - when electronic interlopers from the Piemont and beyond travel to the Queen City, to witness the orchestrated mayhem that will be the new Billy Graham Museum dedication. From the look of the crew call list, I'll be there all day - shooting, editing and jaw-jacking with far flung friends. Expect a late but lengthy update sometime before Midnight Thursday. Meanwhile, I gotta scrub the smell of fresh tar off me. Aging evangelists hate that.