Good Luck

Photographer D.C. Buchanan with his

4-year-old daughter, Kelly, at the opening of

Wal-Mart Supercenter in Waynesville, N.C.

Friday was the last day for fellow photographer D.C. Buchanan at The Mountaineer. I guess they just don't think they can afford to have a full time photographer. I'm going to miss seeing him at assignments. He's a super nice guy, and his wife, Ana, seemed like a sweet lady as well.

D.C. said he plans on concentrating on his freelance career and expanding his wedding and event photography. I imagine I'll see him around some, though. I think he said he'll still be doing some shooting for The Mountaineer.

These are some tough economic times, which have put a lot of people out of work. I got a call last night from a former editor of mine who said she recommended me to the publisher of a small weekly paper in Swain County, N.C., that's going to be looking for a senior editor. It's flattering, but the pay wouldn't be as much as I make now. But who knows what might come down the road. I might be the next one looking for work. Tricky.

Anyway, I wish D.C. and Ana (and Kelly) the best of luck. See you around.

D.C. giving me the stink eye for pointing a
camera his direction during the last event
we covered together, the retirement of
Haywood County Sheriff Tom Alexander.

My 007 Villain Personality

From the movie "The Man With The Golden Gun" (1974).

I have a reputation for always getting what I want. I may look as cool as a cucumber but I find it hard to hide my lust for absolute power. Yet there are times when I show human emotions: I like to mix business with pleasure – just like James Bond.

Which 007 villain are you most like?

Is It Sacrilege?

Something inside me screams that it is, but our machine at work doesn't carry the Dr.

Random Photo

These are my sandals, which I saw sitting outside in the bright early morning sunlight today. So I took a photo of them.

When I was a kid, I hated sandals. I hated the idea of sandals. They creeped me out a little. I was a tennis shoe boy. I loved sneakers. Rarely did I go barefoot. I think I still have some reservations about sandals. I prefer my toes not to shoe too much. No one needs to see that. They're not pretty.

I was wearing these sandals this weekend when I crawled under the house to see if we had any type of water damage beneath the bathroom. From what I can tell we don't. We've had this issue of water on the floor between the toilet and the sink. I'm pretty sure it's condensation running off the toilet (we have a pretty sweaty toilet). I think I've assured myself that we don't have a leak somewhere. Our water bill doesn't indicate a problem. It's just that with the house shut up for winter, and we're experiencing some humidity issues that I can't explain. Anyway, the bathroom stays a fairly warm temperature, but the water filling the tank is quite chilly and causes the water in the air to condense on the toilet thus causing the toilet to sweat.

TMI? I thought so. That's a long way from sunny sandals.