Bliss in the Distance

Whine all you will about this silly gig, it has its moments. Yeah, taxidermists get all the chicks, but what other job's gonna pay you to watch a space shuttle blast off, a landmark implode, or a mayor self-destruct? Best of all, you get to dress like you're on vacation! I'm telling ya, there are worse ways to spend the day. Just ask Andy Atkins, the WFTV photog seen above squinting across the Indian river. He'd tell you it's no walk in the park - but rather a mad dash through broken glass to appease the Local News Gods, a never-ending slog through history and horseshit for an audience made fat, dumb and unimpressed by too many damn Dateline specials. He might speak of crushing deadlines, physical discomfort and numbing repetition. Of course, he might not notice you at all - for the rumble and smoke of the shuttle's ascent may render him positively agog, no matter how many times he's framed it up before. Sure beats stuffin' a woodchuck...