Well I've taken a lot of my parents’ advice, and am not ashamed to admit have ignored some of it too. But I have to say to do truly love working as a news reporter.
I have friends who sit at a desk all day and work on papers, reports, and documents. I spend time doing that too, but at the drop of the hat find myself anywhere and everywhere. I've had mornings where I've been within a stone throw of the Vice-President and afternoons that same day where I'm on the beach shaking the sand out of my shoes talking to lifeguards.
I have the unique advantage of being able to spend time in someone else's shoes each and every day. I see their issues, troubles, pain, and passion. Then, I try to convey that to you. It's a pretty cool perk.
This week I spent a significant amount of time in SKY 13, flying around the area working on a special assignment. It was a huge joy for me. You see my other love in life is flying.
When I was a boy my mom put a map of the U.S. up in my playroom and every summer I got to choose 2 places I wanted to go for summer vacation. But, I had to use my encyclopedia to do research on the places I wanted to go. My mom would make me give her a "pitch" on why I wanted to travel there.
She was well intentioned, and it worked somewhat. I'd give my mom great pitches about the fishing in Maine, or the San Diego Zoo. What she never quite realized is I always picked places as far away from our home in New Orleans as I could. I did that simply because I love flying and secretly always wanted to become a pilot.
When I worked the night team here at 13 News, my photographer Jonathan Harris, called me the "Rainmain" of commercial jets. I can look up in the air and generally tell which type of plane is flying. I can also spot the colors and know the airline, and generally guess where said flight is headed.
So this week flying in SKY 13 for an extended period of time, was a marriage of both of my loves. Usually I go up for a quick live shot, and land again. So flying around the area this week really made me grin like a 5 year old. Yes, I love my job.