BehindTheLens

In this corner, Dean Fearing

In the opposite corner, Stephan Pyles

It was a showdown between the big dog Dallas chef’s for American Airline’s Chef’s Conclave. They are cooking airline food. We’re not talking coach cuisine, how about Five Star dining at 30,000 feet.  Tasty chicken entree’s that anyone with grilling skills can cook…..well, maybe not.

Dean’s chicken: sort of a stew…and he’d kill me for calling it that.

Pyle’s take on chicken. Both looked good. Smelled great. Tasted…..well…..I never got to sample! That is the life of a photographer! 

   Every 8 year old boy would love to ride in a police cruiser with sirens and lights blaring at full blast.  Today Kyle Spriggs lived the dream.  He rode between his sister and mom in the back seat while his police officer pal and potential future partner took him around the training track.  There was lots of media coverage….most of the tv stations and the newspapers were there.  We all had the chance to ride a turn with Kyle and his family because after each trip he was ready ”do it again!” 

He was made an honorary police officer by Dallas Police Chief, David Kunkle and has the plaque to prove it.  He even got to see the police helicopter up close and personal…from the pilots seat! 

Kyle told me he wants to be a police officer when he grows up but not in Dallas because it’s too dangerous.  You see, in March Kyle with his family drove from their home in Oklahoma to Dallas.   Kyle is undergoing  chemotherapy at Childrens hospital.   While they were eating breakfast at Denny’s someone broke into the family car and stole is backpack.  It was full of medications, homework and his video games that helped him pass the time during those long hours he spends in treatment.

Dallas Officers raised money to replace the items Kyle lost but they gave him much more than just video games.  They gave him their friendship and their hearts.   His mother Trish is amazed that something so horrible happened and ended up being so positive. 

As Kyle continues his treatments, he and his family are staying strong with the help of their new friends.  When I took my  turn riding around the training track in a police cruise with Kyle and his family,  seeing him laugh as we took those corners on what felt like two wheels was the best part of my whole day.  Kyle’s mom said he really liked me because I was able to hold on better in the car while shooting than the other photographers.   And that was the second best part of my day.

Kyle and his courage are an inspiration to us all.  It was a pleasure to meet him and a priveledge to be able to share an hour with him during his day as an honorary police officer.   I just hope that I was able give Kyle, his family and his new friends a memory that will help get him through the tough times ahead.  That’s the best part of my job.

We are dependant on computers, probably much more so than foreign oil or Starbuck’s coffee. When that vital instrument of our lives acts up, the consequences can be dire. On those occasions when someone on high decides your system needs an upgrade, time to schedule an extended vacation in hopes that your computer somehow resembles a functional device by the time you return.

Our photographers rely on a laptop for editing our daily stories, as well as e-mail, blogging and other vital tasks. Something on this particular model doesn’t work well. Here in Dallas/Ft. Worth, we don’t use that function, but photographers in other NBC stations do. The fix? Replace the motherboard!

This may have been a 20-minute process, but it has taken days to resolve the resulting computer issues. Nobody is to blame for the problems, it’s just that when you do something as major as replacing the very soul of your system unexpected issues arise. Without the vital tools we need to do our job, the result can be stressful, painful and quite frustrating. If you have been wondering why this column has been stale the past week or so, well I hope you now understand!