This powerful story by Justin Horner of Portland, Oregon appeared in the Lives section of the New York Times. Hope it makes everyone look at the people around us with more tolerant eyes and think twice about looking away when someone is in need. The Tire Iron and the Tamale By JUSTIN HORNER During this past year I’ve had three instances of car trouble: a … Continue reading The Tire Iron and the Tamale by Justin Horner
Correspondent Ron Allen of NBC News was standing in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt when the news broke that Hosni Mubarak had stepped down. He was in the thick of it and handed the microphone to men standing near him in the crowd for their reactions. They shouted and screamed in triumph. When he retrieved the mic he said “this is what freedom looks like.” … Continue reading “This Is What Freedom Looks Like”
My youngest son, Blair, is 13 years old today. A teenager. Now I have two of them. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. Last night I was in his room, sitting on his bed, leaning against the wall, when I had a powerful deja vu. Just days after his birth I was in the same place, sitting on a futon, holding him … Continue reading Deja Vu
Just returned from San Angelo, Texas where reporter Carol McKinley and our crew worked on a story for HDNet’s World Report about the FLDS and how the polygamous fundamentalist Mormon sect is integrating into the local economy. If you recall, members of the FLDS picked up in 2004 and left their homes in Utah to relocate to Eldorado, Texas. They built a huge compound and … Continue reading Fear and Loathing in West Texas
If all commercials were this much fun I think I might want to produce them. Kudos to editor Brent Herrington at 3008 in Dallas for a very clever way to sell pain reliever. I won’t forget Mission Pharmaceutical’s Thera-Gesic or the crying goat. More fun even than the Aflac duck! For more information on Vicky Collins visit http://teletrendstv.com. Continue reading Goat Tears: Wish I’d Thought of This
My 12 year old son, Blair Ewalt, a budding filmmaker and 7th grade student at Denver School of the Arts, just produced his first professional film. It is a two and a half minute promotional piece for an exhibit called “The 4000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks” at Denver’s Mizel Museum. The exhibit opens on February 2, 2011. It took Blair less than two weeks … Continue reading Blair’s First Filmmaking Job
So inspiring to be among the press last night at the University of Arizona’s McKale Center when President Barack Obama addressed the crowd in the aftermath of the shooting in Tucson that killed six and injured 14 others, including Congressman Gabrielle Giffords. The President really struck a chord with his comments and there were many teary eyes when he announced the miraculous news that Gabby … Continue reading Barack Obama: Unity Amidst Tragedy
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow. Crunchy numbers A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2010. That’s about 26 full 747s. In 2010, there were 85 new posts, growing the total archive … Continue reading 2010 in review
Deb Frazier from my book club sent me this new year’s inspiration about happiness. How apropos that it comes from a book, Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love.” I really have enjoyed receiving these life affirming gifts from friends today. I keep remembering one of my Guru’s teachings about happiness. She says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something … Continue reading 2011: More Words to Live By
A plan by the government of Tanzania to build a road through the pristine Serengeti is so misguided, especially when there are other options for commerce. To put a busy road through one of the last untouched spaces on earth is a crime. Thank you Richard Engel of NBC for exploring the subject and to NBC’s Today Show for giving him the time to tell … Continue reading Serengeti Highway: Going the Wrong Way
Vicky Collins Online 