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.

I'm back

...sort of.

I haven't had the time to blog like I used to, and I miss it a little. Not enough to make me sit down and dedicate time to it every day or even every other day. But I was read this on my sister's blog and felt compelled to add my version here. It's a list of 100 things apparently going around from blog to blog. I have highlighted the things on the list that I have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (Do they really mean DisneyLAND specifically? I've been to DisneyWORLD).
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48.Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Walked in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published in a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

There's so much more left to do, most of which is not covered by this list.

Black and Blue Tuesday

Today has not been a good day.

It feels like I've been in a fire fight all morning and can now stick my head up out of a fox hole to call out, "I'm still here? Is everyone all right? Who got hit?"

Today was layoff day at my newspaper and my two colleagues, Suzanne and Karen, were hit. They're no longer with us.

A total of 16 people were layed off at the Citizen-Times today. That doesn't even take into account the 60 employees at the printing press who will not have a job about a month from now.

I don't know what else to say. I'm terribly sad for them but relieved to still have a job.

Scary times.

Hell Is Life Without Spellchecker