Very early on the morning on May 5, 2007 I got a call from NBC News to hurry from Denver to Greensburg, Kansas. There had been a huge tornado and the town was devastated. Go! Go! When I pulled into the town six hours later I was stunned to see wreckage so complete that even the bark had been pulled off the trees. These skeleton … Continue reading The Greening of Greensburg
K’NAAN is one of my favorite musicians. He inspired people around the globe with his rousing “Wavin’ Flag” during the World Cup in South Africa and now he has written a powerful op-ed piece for the New York Times about a journey he took home to his native Somalia. It’s an urgent call to action in case we are forgetting the famine already. A Son … Continue reading A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia By K’NAAN
There are some things I never forget. The day President Kennedy was assassinated. The day the Challenger exploded. Columbine. What I was doing on 9/11/2001. My husband called me and said turn on the television. I got there in time to see the second plane hit the tower. I watched with my hand over my mouth then turned to my little son and said “Kyle, … Continue reading 9/11 Ten Years Later
JonBenet Ramsey would have been 21 years old today. I covered this story for years for NBC News. For a time the world could not get enough of this murder mystery. Was riding a train in Italy one day and mentioned to my seat mates that I was from Colorado. All they wanted to know is “Who killed JonBenet?” Fifteen years later we still don’t … Continue reading Happy Birthday, JonBenet Ramsey
We’ve all heard you shouldn’t send off an email when you’re angry or drunk, but the new host of NBC’s Today Show, Ann Curry, reminds us it’s not too smart to Google when you’re drunk either. This article was the back of the book from the latest “Newsweek.” All about what Ann has learned about making mistakes and laughing about them later. http://www.newsweek.com/2011/06/05/ann-curry-on-googling-drunk.html Continue reading Don’t Google Drunk
We have just completed BeadforLife’s new party video. If you are not familiar with BeadforLife and the wonderful work this NGO does for women in Uganda go to http://beadforlife.org. BeadforLife is an income generating project which creates a circle of connection and compassion between women around the globe and women in Uganda who are trying to lift their families out of extreme poverty. Women in … Continue reading New BeadforLife Party Video
Want to live to be a thousand years old? It’s not far fetched at all if you ask theoretician and geneticist Aubrey de Grey. He believes within the next 25 years there is a 50/50 chance we’ll have the technologies to extend human life indefinitely. I learned of Aubrey and his ideas in 2005 and immediately pitched the story to NBC’s Today Show. They were … Continue reading How to Live Forever
As a writer I’m impressed by how powerful words can be. As a producer I’m awed by the power of images to tell stories. This little video about how words evoke compassion left me speechless and a bit teary eyed too. For more information on Vicky Collins visit Teletrends Television Production and Development. Continue reading The Power of Words
When I was a senior at St. Andrew’s Priory in Honolulu I was selected by my high school government class to spend a week at the Hawaii state capitol observing the legislature. My assignment was to select one bill under consideration, research it and follow it through the session. I chose the effort to legalize prostitution. At the time, Hawaii had a very active sex … Continue reading Prostitution in Perspective
He told us his name was Ray Casados but on the street they called him Rah-Rah. He was a young tatted up heroin addict who was spending 90 days at the Hoy Recovery Program in Velarde, New Mexico, hoping he could finally kick the habit that had him by the balls, and move forward with a new life as a barber. He hailed from nearby … Continue reading My Week in Detox
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