Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Transformers 3 is being filmed in Chicago right now. I snapped this photo while driving downtown Saturday.

Part of Wacker Drive is completely torn up for the shoot but cars are still allowed to pass just feet away from the set.

Donating food isn't as easy as you may think

I was at a funeral in Chicago this weekend. Part of the Jewish burial process is that afterwards you sit shiva. It's a time for family and friends to come together, mourn the loss of a loved one, but also celebrate their life.

You can not imagine how much food is at these events. Not only does the family usually have it catered but everyone that comes to pay their respects brings something as well. For example, my mom dropped off three different cakes and a challah.

By Saturday night the majority of guests had come and gone but the majority of food still remained. Dozens of bagels, mounds of turkey, platters of baked goods, and piles of nuts.

My best friend who was hosting the shiva doesn't eat gluten or dairy, which means everything was going to go to waste. So, we needed to come up with an alternate plan. The problem was, it was after 11pm on a Saturday night and most of the homeless shelters we called wouldn't accept a random delivery at that time of night. I suggested that we set up a makeshift buffet on Lower Wacker Drive. For all those of you who aren't familiar with Chicago, it's a homeless hangout hot spot. Lower Wacker is an underground route around downtown, so there's a number of options for someone looking for shelter.

However, that plan wasn't as popular as I had hoped for with the masses. After about 60 more minutes of brainstorming we got in touch with someone at the Night Ministry who agreed to the late night, drive by, bagel drop off. Which meant we would be able to follow through with our mitzvah after all.

Sheriff's Deputy Shot & Killed in Greene County

I was called by my News Director last night at 9pm, a Sheriff’s Deputy had been shot and killed in Greene County while responding to a call; she needed me to head to the scene.

I jumped out of my pajamas and back into my work clothes, grabbed my camera, and rushed out the door.

While on the road, I started to learn more about the story. According to authorities the Deputy was responding to a domestic disturbance call when he was shot and killed by the homeowner, the gunman then shot and killed himself.

We had no idea where the shooting happened, just that it was somewhere near Snow Hill. I was driving down a pitch black highway and knew I was never going to find the scene of the crime without some help. So, I stopped at the local gas station heading into town and asked customers walking in if they had heard anything. Of course, they had. Someone pointed me in the right direction because 5 minutes later I spotted a squad car and quickly sped up to follow where it was going.

By that times it was 10pm, 60 minutes before air time and I needed to come up with some information. Since authorities weren’t providing much, I turned to neighbors for answers and quickly learned they knew exactly what had happened and were willing to talk.

During the 11pm newscast we had team coverage. The normal night side reporter handled the nuts and bolts of the situation and I nabbed a live interview with one of those neighbors who lived across the street from where the shooting happened and was friends with the gunman.

I didn’t get home until 1am, that’s when I actually had a chance to grasp the tragedy that had unfolded. The Deputy, like I had, was simply doing his job. He took a phone call from his superior, like I had and responded to a situation, just like I did. The difference is I got to come home and crawl into bed that night.

That deputy, John Willis, leaves behind a wife and two young children.

Living in Greenville comes with its perks

I'm currently living in a massive two bedroom, two bathroom apartment, with an indoor patio, an outdoor sitting area, and unlimited parking.

I pay a whopping $400 in rent, while my roomie pays $300. This is shocking to my friends shelling out thousands of dollars for closet size spaces in NYC. Their tempers flare even more when they visit and check out my walk in closet and bathroom jacuzzi. 

I smile every time I pay my rent, that's because I thoroughly enjoy these cheap living accommodations.  What made me grin even larger today was my ridiculously reasonable electricity bill. 

For all those of you who don't know, Eastern Carolina has been experiencing a heat wave for the last month. We're talking about temperatures in the high 90's and above. I never turn on the air conditioning but we've been blasting the AC for weeks and I started to get anxious about this month's bill. 

When I broke open the envelope from Greenville Utilities today my fears instantly disappeared, $127.86 was the damage. Yes, payments usually round out around $80 but this month my vents were pumping out freezing cold air around the clock. 

So, I happily slipped a $127.86 check in the mail. 

Laughing out loud at work makes the day go by faster

A co-worker of mine showed me this photo of a child's test answer...I wish I had been that witty at such a young age.

Beware, tasers are everywhere

A girl across from me at the bar last night was having to deal with an aggressive male suitor. She clearly wasn’t interested, I could tell that a couple of seats away, but he didn’t seem to get the hint. 

All of a sudden I watched her reach into her purse and pull out what looked like one of those old school electric razors, I quickly realized it wasn’t.

She coolly clutched the weapon in her hand and sparks flew. I’ve never seen a taser in action, especially not in a dark bar, pointed into the air. I was shocked by its power and so was the guy standing next to her.

I guess she wanted to prove a point and that’s exactly what she did, he walked out of the bar and did not come back.   

Searching for missing graves in the woods...

That’s exactly what I did on Saturday in Enfield, North Carolina.

I was originally contacted by a man from Virginia who had buried his grandparents there back in the 60’s. When he went back to visit the graves, they had disappeared and the cemetery was in shambles. I headed out to investigate and was shocked by what I discovered. While at the cemetery, I watched a man with a chainsaw cut down debris that had grown around his father’s grave. Another coffin had been pushed off the side of a hill and was lodged between a massive rock and tree. Plus, someone was dumping used tires on the property and driving over graves to do it.

The gentleman that originally contacted me was in distress. He had a 100-year-old aunt that was supposed to be buried in the same plot as his grandparents, which was nowhere to be found. For hours we walked around the cemetery overgrown with poison ivy, trying to read the names on tombstones like this one buried in the woods. We finally decided that our efforts might me a lost cause.

So far, I haven’t been able to get in touch with the owner of the cemetery or the town manager but eventually someone always calls me back, even if it takes a dozen messages.