Lightning Is Fast…. But A Scared Fat Woman Is Faster

Late afternoon thunderstorms rolling into the area are like a breath of fresh air as they cool the blistering summer heat. They also spawn traffic accidents and the chatter on the scanner sitting to my left really picks up anytime the skies darken and the thunder rolls.  

Tuesday evening the sky turned a peachy color, the wind picked up and a warning was broadcast about the danger of frequent cloud to ground lightning from the approaching storm. Moments later the dispatcher notified a deputy that someone had reported an overturned car.

I grabbed the camera bag and a note pad on the way out the door. After backing halfway down the drive, I thought that my raincoat and hat would be a good idea too. This certainly wasn't the first wreck I've ever rushed to through the years and it seems that somewhere along the way, I’d figure out that flip flops are not ideally suited for running around in the rain… this was not to be the moment that I would come to that realization though.

The accident was only seven or eight minutes away and most sensible drivers had decided to stay off the road during the storm so traffic was much lighter than normal and I was able to park about forty yards from the scene. The intersection was near the crest of a long steep hill that climbed up from the creek.

I made the quick switch to a lens better suited for low light conditions and started shooting as soon as I got out of the truck.

The car was lying on it’s side in the ditch and the tire tracks were still visible showing how it had traveled across the road before taking out the road sign honoring a local politician, then overturning. The darkness wrapped around us much quicker under the threatening sky and my flash was only good for about ten feet. I was getting the best shots possible under the conditions and had taken eight or ten close-ups of the underneath side of the SUV when I decided that I needed one that showed more than mufflers, shocks and wheels.

The embankment on the other side of the ditch would provide the perfect vantage point, all I had to do was get there. Trying to negotiate a ditch with running water still flowing through it and climb up on a slippery Georgia red clay bank is tough enough, throw in a pair of flip flops and it can get down right entertaining.
Both feet were wet by the time I found a better route back to the pavement and it was impossible to get all the sticky red mud off the flops. I had all the shots that I wanted with the camera so one more with the cell phone would wrap things up.

Just as I raised the phone up to eye level, a huge bolt of lightning struck to my right.

I jumped pretty high and before I hit the ground, I heard her coming.

Now I understand the need to be politically correct in today’s world but there are times when it’s impossible to describe what happened and do it justice. This lady was huge and she was moving faster than the sound of thunder. I didn't wait to see what had caused this stampede, I headed downhill and prayed I could stay in front of her.

Within ten steps, I was looking at her backside…..she came by me like I was running in the other direction.
About this time, I heard the thunder and saw her find a gear that I’m sure only she knew she possessed. Adrenalin is a powerful substance and at this moment I was still thinking that maybe I’d  have a shot at catching up when we crossed the creek and started up the opposite hill. My rain coat was flapping in the tailwind and the camera around my neck stretched out behind me.

Halfway to the creek, I was out of air. I’ll probably never know where she turned around, or if she did.
It took several minutes for me to walk back up the hill to where I had parked the truck and as I opened the door, Julie looked up and without cracking a smile asked, “Where did you go?”

I just wasn’t man enough to tell her that the fat lady had scared the living hell out of me and that I couldn’t outrun her in flip flops.

The moment of realization had arrived.

Late For G-Day Game

Traveling to Athens for the annual spring game usually gives me a chance to soak in the fact that winter is over, the dogwoods and azaleas are blooming and I know that I’m about to get my first sunburn of the season watching the game.

This trip started out just like most others, then I caught a glimpse of something blue in a field.

I hit the brakes and backed up just as a big tom went into a full strut, then his opponent up on the hill displayed his fan. These two put on a show for over half an hour as they strutted and drummed before a handful of hens having breakfast between them. They were pretty evenly matched but the tom up on the hill had the advantage and surely appeared larger than he really was to the one down below. Having the high ground is important in any kind of battle.

I didn’t have a call with me but managed to yelp a few times and each of them answered. It was obvious that one was also trying to out gobble the other.

The hens showed no interest in what the boys were up to and seemed to be more concerned about a couple of Canadian geese flying over than the dance they have probably seen many times.

Here’s a few more shots of about the only thing that can make me late to a football game. Click on the picture to see the full size shot.

 

Saturday In The South

There is nothing better in the South than a beautiful fall sunrise, especially when it’s the first Saturday of football season. I tend to see far more sunsets since they don’t occur so early.

August had been exceptionally hot, a number of days with the temp near 100 and the heat index between 110 and 120. The first weekend of September finally offered a reprieve with lows in the upper 60’s.

That annual cooling off is what produces a steady flow of football hormones.

Pent up for the past eight months the sudden release causes insomnia, memory loss and the inability to perform normal daily functions like working, eating or thinking about anything not located “Between The Hedges.”

It’s an amazing feeling to put on your game day uniform for the first time since the bowl game or signing day if  you are really hardcore.

Everything is either red, black or has the “G” logo on it and there are no exceptions to the strict dress code rule or else you will feel the visual wrath of 92, 746 of your closest friends.

The drive to Athens with the mandatory magnetic Uga on the truck door and flags flying in the cool fall air, just prepares you for the stroll across campus with the smell of fried chicken and bar-b-que floating on the breeze.

As you get near the stadium, the sound of the Redcoat Band warming up fills the air and again this sudden rush alerts you to the fact that “It’s Saturday In Athens.”

Timing is everything and making certain that adequate time has been allowed to reach the student center restrooms is critical to enjoying the game day experience.

Porta-johns can obscure the aroma of a charcoal grill quickly. They all should be painted blue and orange, the odor would not catch you off guard then.

Boiled peanuts are next on the menu, they give you a perfect excuse to sit under a big oak tree for a while and watch the crowd come and go from the book store. Someone in the Athens area has made a fortune selling little black dresses to sorority sisters. They really go well with cowboy boots too.

Finally it’s time to enter the stadium and it doesn’t matter how many times you have stepped out of the shadows and into the brilliant sunshine, it is almost a religious experience.

The beautiful field, the band, the cheerleaders, the teams warming up, you dry your eyes and just sit there and soak it in for a few minutes.

For the next four hours, life is good.

Seafood Festival

Great concert with Grand Funk Railroad, they only played for a couple of hours but were fantastic. Would love to see them again.

Ice Road Truckers

After driving the legendary Dalton Highway all summer, I finally got to spend a little time with some of the Ice Road Truckers that I had been waving at through a bus windshield.


George is the old pro and is retiring after spending thirty years on the "Haul Road." Surviving that long on one of the most dangerous roads in the world takes a lot of skill and a little luck, he's lost some good friends along the way that had as much skill but just ran out of luck.


Jack is all business and it shows quickly, he's the one that pulls the really big, difficult and dangerous loads today.




Tim survived his first season on the Dalton without a major incident. I asked him how much the show has changed his life, "I'm amazed that people recognize me now, I'm just a truck driver but it has been all been a great experience and a lot of fun."


Lisa is trying to balance all the attention that the show has thrust upon her as well as a new husband. She gets dozens of request for pictures every day, but politely declines those wanting a kiss on the cheek, even one from a shaved head bus driver that had to settle for a hug and a bruised ego.

Lol..... it won't be the last time Tyler is told no.

The Kenai

A quick trip down to the Kenai Peninsula for the weekend was a much needed respite from the smoke that has plagued the interior for the past two months.

The Homer Spit is a great place to visit, it is a little narrow sliver of land that juts out into Kachemak Bay. The atmosphere in the Salty Dawg Saloon is great and the baked halibut at Captain Patties is without a doubt the best that I have ever had.





Other than the fifty miles or so along the coast the drive down the Kenai is not that picturesque.

The road is good but you better be watchful for moose, especially late in the evening, we saw twelve on the way back and that doesn't inclued the one that was hit by a truck just a minute or two before we met them.



The fires burning north of Healy have really increased in size and are pumping out a tremendous volume of smoke. The wind had been blowing from the north for a couple of days but shifted again and is now from the south, bringing the smoke back into town. The ash is covering everything and the air quality is so low that centers have been opened in Fairbanks to allow residents the opportunity to sit inside a sealed room and breath filtered air. It is not as bad as the summers of 2004 and 2005 were but it brings back a lot of memories.

Smoke In town

Thank goodness I'm off to Prudhoe Bay in the morning, the smoke is getting very thick in Fairbanks tonight. Lightning started a fire twenty five miles south of town yesterday and it has already spread to sixteen thousand acres. Ash is falling this evening and if the wind doesn't change direction in the next couple of days, it will continue to get worse as the fire grows.

Two more tours left this season and it's off to Fayetteville, North Carolina to spend a few days with Bryan before he deploys to Iraq for a year. It's getting here too fast.