Frank McBride
News Photographer

The Greatest Show on Earth is in town again. Soon Reliant stadium will be filled with the spectacle of animals, acrobats, daredevils and of course the clowns. The circus is good clean family fun for "kids of all ages", and kids are the greatest fans.

Sadly, some kids can't go to the circus or anywhere else because they are in the hospital trying to get better. For them, three of the famous clown troupe members, Leo, Lance and Todd, donned white lab coats and performed a show for patients at Texas Children's Hospital.

They had the painted faces, crazy hair, baggy pants and giant shoes, but somehow they still seemed cool. At times they were juggling, telling jokes, balancing chairs on their chins, performing pratfalls and smacking each other around like the three stooges.

Anyone who has ever attempted to capture the attention of a roomful of kids knows this is not easy to do. The ground is littered with the bones of those who have tried and failed. (Great line from the Power Rangers Movie) As a veteran of a nightmare appearance at Career Day, my hat is off to anyone who can pull it off. These guys did.

These kids were captivated and laughing themselves silly. They were juggling scarves, throwing potatoes, clapping their hands, and their eyes never left the performers. One little boy arrived with his head shaved and was walking with the assistance of a wheeled support. He watched for awhile with a blank look on his face, but slowly the corners of his mouth began turning upward and soon a full-blown smile had taken over. You could see his mood lift and maybe his obstacles weren't weighing quite as heavily on him in that instant.

Every child that saw the show has their own story of what brought them to the hospital that day. Whatever their circumstances, Leo, Lance and Todd were more than happy to give that day a moment of silly, lighthearted laughter. That was pretty spectacular.

11 News photographers see the best and worst of Houston through their camera lens as they cover daily news events.

Some assignments are a little more fun than others. A recent baby derby inspired Nathan Kvinge to go above and beyond by creating his own music video for KHOU.com.

Frank McBride
News Photographer

Did I mention this job can be fun sometimes? This was one of those times. That's me putting the camera in the guy's face. A few miles outside of Seymour, TX is a ranch with an archeological dig site that is very rich in bone fossils. So rich that we watched as a new piece of dirt was being cleared out and sure enough there was what used to be an ancient dinosaur-type creature.

This was a shoot for a story airing tonight (5/20) an possible method to bring dinosaurs back to life. Are you thinking Jurassic Park? Well, not quite, but it does involve genetics, and the man in charge of the site was heavily involved in making the movies scientifically correct. His name is Dr. Robert Bakker, and not only is he an encyclopedia of ancient creatures, but he is also one of the funniest people you will meet to boot.

Lucy Noland was the driving force for us doing the story, and when she and I arrived at the Seymour Dairy Queen, Dr. Bakker greeted her by handing her a Dairy Queen straw and told her it was a very important archeological tool. It turned out this one one of the times he was not joking. They use straws extensively in blowing dirt away from what is being excavated.

It's dirty work, and I was glad to only be visiting, but it does fill you with wonder to realize the pieces of tail bones and skulls you are seeing have been buried and unseen for over 200 million years. If you would like a taste of what the dig site was like and how they might walk among us again, watch the story on 11News at 10 tonight, or after that check out the video on this website. Have fun!

FMc

HOUSTON --- The stress of a capital murder trial is easily measured.
You can see it on each face, in each tear, no matter where you stand.

Like similar trials, there are two sides: the prosecution and the defense
There are two families: Rodney Johnson's and Juan Quintero's.

But there is only one verdict.
And now all sides must wait...together.
Sort of.

As of this writing, Quintero's family is sitting near the windows in the hallway of the 20th floor. His mother's expression is stoic, distant, almost painful. Understandable, given her stress load. How do you wait for 12 strangers to decide whether your child lives or dies?

Johnson's family was sitting in those very same seats, before I went to lunch. But now, afterwards, they are all now in the courtroom itself, taking up the first few front rows.

It's been a bitter-sweet family reunion for them. Joslyn Johnson's family, including her mom and sister have been here supporting her. Rodney's mom, his sister, his brother, many of them here everyday, too, supporting each other, listening intently to every part of this trial.

They ask: How do you wait for justice to catch up to a convicted murderer?

"The hardest part for me was the conviction part," said Regina Crawford, Joslyn Johnson's sister.

We spoke briefly in an elevator ride down to the first floor. She was going to change her shoes, preparing for a long day.

"As a Christian, I struggle with the death penalty but in this case he has shown no remorse," she said referring to Juan Quintero.

Since his conviction, it has always been a question of life or death for Juan Quintero.
A question now, that only this jury can answer.

Perhaps, the most stressful part of it all.

What's the deal with llamas? My daughter Sarah is about to turn 12 and has been into them for years. She's not alone. She has friends that are llama crazy. She would LOVE it if there were a llama or two at her birthday party (not going to happen!) They seem to turn up all over the place. Napolean Dynamite had one. (Tina, eat your FOOD!) A Disney emperor was turned into one. Jimmy Neutron's friend Carl adores them. It seems llamas are instant comedy gold.

It turns out the llama was not one of the many amazing cloned animals A&M has created in recent years. It wasn't the product of creative breeding or manipulation or a test subject of any kind. It was a pet. The exact details aren't important, but the llama's owner is a big contributor to the university and it worked out that the llama could live there behind the research buildings. I didn't get the llama's name, but I was determined to get my shot.

You could fill several blogs with the things I don't know about llamas. One thing I had heard, though, was that they are closely related to camels and like camels have a tendency to spit. To avoid getting splattered I decided as I got close that I would not look the llama in the eye. The logic was that it would feel less threatened and wouldn't have my face as a clean target.

I was able to get a few nice pictures of the llama standing in it's pen, walking up to the rail and even nice close shot of its face. Then Lucy was kind enough to offer to get a shot of me with the llama. This would prove I really met the llama and that it wasn't some random llama I pulled off the internet. Good thinking, Lucy.

I'm happy to report the llama did not spit on me. It bit me. Lucy, it turns out, is an excellent spot news photographer in that she caught the moment. Okay, it was really just a nibble, but only because I pulled my arm away before those teeth got even busier. She was able to get shots with the llama behaving itself, but I'm pretty sure it wanted to have another go at my arm.

This sealed the deal: No llamas at Sarah's party. Still, comedy gold.

FMc

HOUSTON --- There is more to Marche Taylor than just her now renowned prom dress.

"I just want my voice to be heard," the 17-year-old told me Wednesday afternoon, as we stood in a convenient store parking lot across from Madison High School.

"This is not about my dress," she added. "I just want my money back."

And that's really how this story began.
Taylor called me out of the blue the Wednesday after her incident at the prom. I remember it clearly. I had just walked out of our morning editorial meeting when my cell phone rang.

"Mr. Edwards," said a young voice on the other line. "I need your help."

Our conversation lasted only about 5 minutes. But I distinctly remember the words "prom dress," "police," and "handcuffs." I found the story, at first, almost too true to believe.

And then she said the magic words.

"And there's a picture of me in handcuffs," she said.
"Did you say, 'you have a picture?" I responded.
"Yes, sir, I do. And I want my money back because I didn't get into my prom."

That is all Marche Taylor apparently ever wanted.
Instead, she and her dress are getting way more attention than she ever would have gotten had she actually gone to the prom.

Her grandmother, who she lives with sometimes, warned her to, "let this go." Marche Taylor didn't.

And nearly a week, and she is still fodder for the media, with requests for her story coming from the Dr. Phil Show to Essence Magazine.

Jay Leno even used her in his Tuesday night monologue.
Marche Taylor, though, say most of it hasn't been funny.

"I'm not saying I'm enjoying it because some people are taking it overboard," she said.

She called a local radio station to explain her story further.
I'm told her mom called right after, apparently saying Marche doesn't live with her because her daughter didn't follow her mom's rules.

"I had my history, I made my mistakes," she said. "But this year I've had to mature up and do everything I had to do. I knew I was a senior I knew I had to graduate. I knew what I was supposed to do and I have been doing that."

She is set to graduate in two weeks. She says she's already been accepted to Texas Southern University in the fall and wants to be a pharmacist.

And she readily admits, she's come a long way from the Marche Taylor she used to be.

Her fight now is what for she believes.
Right or not, her feelings are true to her.

"You can't bring somebody's prom back," she said. "I paid my money to get in and I expected to get in."

Even with a dress that revealed more of Marche Taylor than the prom dress code allowed.

By Matt Musil / 11 Sports

We lost a great friend Tuesday. Former Ch-11 & Ch-2 News Anchor Ron Stone lost his battle with cancer at age 72. If you never met Ron ... I'm sure you've heard of him .... he was one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet.

Ron had just been shown the door by Ch-2 and he liked the way I called games on the radio ...and he wanted to be my color man. I was immediately flattered ....and readily welcomed him into the booth. Before the first game we did together ...we were at the Air Force Academy ... Ron was a nervous as an expectant father. We sat down to eat a pre-game meal in the press box .....and I noticed he wasn't eating much ...when he leaned over and said,"I'm so nervous ...I think I may get sick." He wasn't kidding either. He hadn't called a game in a few years ...and he cared so much about being a professional ....he was nervous ....really nervous. I couldn't believe it ...but here was this man who had done countless live broadcasts on TV and radio .....so concerned about "getting it right" that he had butterflies. That impressed me ...and also scared me. I didn't know what was going to happen once we went on the air. A short while later though we did go on the air ...and when the producer pointed to him ....Ron was magnificent .... waxing poetically about "the young men of the Air Force Academy ....the defenders of our great country ....who train here on the edge of the Rocky Mountains ....today will do battle on the football field with the Rice Owls....and so on and so on ....". I looked around at everyone else in the booth ....and just like that ....he had everyone's attention ...and we all knew we had to step up our games to maintain his level of excellence.

Ron and I didn't work that many seaons together ..... but I'll never forget the experience. His sense of humor was great and his knack for timing was always impeccable. We were at Rice Stadium preparing for a broadcast one football Saturday when an assistant coach from the opposing team, Iowa State, leaned over from his coaching booth to our broadcast booth and said,"Is that right they held a Super Bowl here? Those of us in the booth answered,"Yes." To that the coach said,"Why in the Hell did they hold a Super Bowl here??" Stoney ...who was looking down at his notes deadpanned,"Well, I guess y'all's stadium was booked that day." The flustered assitant coach about fell out of the windown ...and those of us in the broadcast fell out laughing. That was Ron Stone ... just one of the guys .... always ready to talk about your family ....or exchange friendly quips. Oh yeh ....he was also a great broadcaster. Rest in peace Ron ... I hope to see you upstairs.

What can I say about Ron Stone? When I arrived in Houston in 1978, he was such a part of the city and had such a captivating delivery that even this high school freshman took notice. He helped cultivate my interest in television news and that familiar voice was truly a source of comfort.

By the time I was working for Houston television, Ron had left the anchor chair and was running his production company. On a couple of occasions I got to visit him there and it was a great treat to hear him tell stories of his time on the air. When Dan Rather left CBS, Ron shared his experiences of the days he worked with him. I felt privileged to hear about it from the source.

I chickened out and didn't tell him my joke about killing two birds with Ron Stone because I was afraid it wouldn't be clear it came from a place of respect, a respect that began thirty years ago.

Like the rest of Houston I will miss that comforting voice calling me his neighbor.

FMc

My news unit is my office. On any work day, I drive no less than 50 miles and spend at least an hour on the road. The average would be something like 100 miles and 2 or 3 hours. For this reason, my thoughts are often about driving, parking, gasoline, traffic or anything having to do with 11News Unit 24.

On a normal week, Unit 24 is a 2007 Ford Explorer with a V8 engine. This is not a normal week. Unit 24 is getting body work for reasons I won't get into except for these three words: Not My Fault! The sad reality this week is that my office is now a rented 2008 Kia Sportage.

The sportage is probably a fine machine for many applications, but I have learned that carrying hundreds of pounds of camera and audio equipment while trying to move around Houston quickly is not among them.

The first thing to go was the back seat. Both sides. Even with everything in the back flat, we're maxed out and failing the "angles and dangles" test. Things are clanking and banging around back there, and I'm starting to lose it.

The reporters look at me funny when I stop at this little red car and tell them to hop in. The look says, "Ha, ha. Now where's the real car?" I return the look with one that says, "Really. This is our ride".

The biggest problem: The accelleration. Merging is the scary part. We have an entrance ramp to the Pierce near the station that requires you to be at freeway speed to merge. It's all or nothing. Sometimes people will chicken out and stop at the end of the ramp. Even with twice as many pistons it was a big challenge to recover after having to stop behind one of these. If I'm stopped by one in the current vehicle, I may have to call SafeClear.

The reunion with Unit 24 will hopefully be soon. Until then, I'll just keep saying, "Not my fault!"

FMc