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Tetanus shot
June 4, 2008Reason I need a tetanus shot, Part 7
I won't go into the details of how I got my latest wound, courtesy of my country existence. It simply involved a baby kitten, a crowbar, a stormy night, a scared dog and a roll of barbed wire.
One of my little sisters, who's in med school, told me once and for all that I needed to get a tetanus shot.
Still haven't. Still alive and able to chew gum.
What can I say. I'm a country girl. I don't need no stinkin' shot.
That's just how I roll.
Posted by Lara Richards at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The rest of the story
June 3, 2008Photographer Torin Halsey and I enjoy exploring old buildings and interesting sights when we're out roaming the countryside.
Our adventuring has led to many interesting stories, such as a couple we published in January about the crumbling old schools throughout our region.
Torin's photos truly told the story of the old schools better than my words could. In one, an old piano sat expanded and exposed to the elements. Roofs were caved in. Gym floors buckled.
Torin got one shot of the old stove in what, we assume, was once the kitchen at the old school in Elbert, which is located in Throckmorton County.
It's a photo neither of us will ever forget.
As Torin readied his shot of the stove, we both heard wood crack.
And down Torin sank as the floor caved in.
Luckily, the ground was only about a foot below, or else we would have had a much more interesting story to tell.
Of course, I made Torin take an "after" shot of the stove . . . and the personal mark in the floor that he made on the old building.
It's a photo that still makes me chuckle.
Posted by Lara Richards at 7:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Are we safe?
June 2, 2008It's been so long since I blogged. What's worse is that I even wrote a few blogs -- which I swear I had posted -- which I apparently didn't.
So, here's some catch-up posts. This first one I wrote after photographer Torin Halsey and I traveled to the region to cover a major wildlife sometime back in the spring.
Here goes:
I try not to let my womanly tendencies come out when I'm out in the region with our photographers.
(Wait a minute, that sounded a little dirty. Let me try that again.)
When I'm riding out in the region with our photographers, who are all male, and two are married and the other is in a serious relationship . . .
(Let me try one more time.)
So Torin the photographer and I are literally driving through clouds of smoke. We're out in what is either very northern Jack County or very southern Clay County getting photos/interviews for a story about a massive 3,000-acre grass fire that is blasting across the countryside.
We're driving through clouds of smoke. We've been doing this for 30 minutes or so. Several times, the local firefighters tell him to back up, get away, etc..
I swear that his truck STILL smells like smoke.
That's how close we were.
And so we are driving down FM 1288, flames shooting up on both sides of the road, when we hit a thick wall of darkness. I could barely see the windshield, much less the end of his white truck.
And his truck is still moving forward. He's STILL DRIVING THROUGH IT!!
A million-and-forty cuss words are zooming through my head and all I want to yell is, "Stop the F&*$%&! truck!!!!"
But I don't. Cuz I don't want to be the typical woman passenger, telling the man what to do. I don't want to be a backseat driver.
And so very calmly, and nicely, I simply say,
"Torin, are we safe?"
He looked at me with total confidence, mixed with total doubt, and goes, as only a guy can go when he doesn't really know what's going on,
"Uh, yeah."
Within 20 seconds or so, the cloud of smoke clears and I can actually see the road.
We made it through safely, yes, but not because we were actually safe but because we were damn lucky, or at least that's my womanly opinion.
Torin and I stopped off in Bellevue to reward our bravery with fried pies and pretzels after we were done with the story. He made a few "are we safe?" cracks to me.
And even now, several months later, he still kids me every once in a while.
Are we safe?
Posted by Lara Richards at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
