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The strangest thing happened to me today.  I was driving through Shreveport, when an impatient driver shot me the bird.  Yeah that’s right, flipped me off.  Gave me that one finger salute. 

I think I was more shocked than anything.  It’s been so long since I’ve seen this done, I thought it had gone the way of the Ford Pinto. Actually, I don’t think I was doing anything wrong, except holding up this guy from ordering his Coney and Limeade.

 Is the bird still common?Â

I have to admit, it’s unusual for me to go out on a work night.  Since my alarm clock rings at 2A.M., I need my sleep.  But on Thursday night I ventured to  Horseshoe Casino’s first Rooftop Party.   It’s on the roof of the riverboat.

I went for several reasons.  First my friends all went. And secondly, I’m a huge fan of The Molly Ringwalds.  It’s a band, not the red headed actress who starred in such movies as “16 Candles” and “The Breakfast Club.”   I first saw them in Baton Rouge a few years ago.  If you love 80’s music, you’ll love their sound.   They played the opening night of the Rooftop Party.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.  But I had a great time.   There was a ton of people of all ages.

 I will tell you there is a cover and you  have to buy your drinks, even water and Cokes.  But give it a shot, you might just be surprised by who you run into and what you find.

I’m just gonna throw this question out there.  Should reporters be treated differently?  I’m going to narrow it down a little bit now.  Should tv reporters be treated differently.  The reason I said tv reporters is not because we’re any different from our print and radio colleagues, but we tend to be more recognizable. 

 This is why I’m asking this question.  Yesterday, I was working on a story in Bossier City.  It deals with a $10,000 Powerball ticket that was sold at a store there.  The owner of the ticket still hasn’t claimed the money and they’re running out of time.  If they don’t claim it by July 3rd, it goes to the state lottery.  It’s not what we call in the business a “bad” story.  It was sold at a Circle K store at the intersection of Airline Drive and Brownlee Road.  I thought it would be interesting to go to the store and talk to some people and get their reaction, who knows maybe they bought a lottery ticket there.  I walk into the store without a camera. As soon as I explain to the clerk who I was and what I was doing.  She didn’t want to hear it and went to the backroom to get her manager.  A minute or so later, she returned with “we don’t talk to the media, you have to contact our corporate office.”  That’s well and good, and a response I’ve heard many times before.  But here’s the ringer, she said she didn’t have the number to their corporate office.  When I asked if the manager had it she said, “we don’t talk to the media, she didn’t give it to me.”  She didn’t offer to go ask her for it, nothing! Imagine what would happen if I had pulled up in a station truck wanting to fill up the gas tank and the pumps wouldn’t work?  I could ask the clerk, but I’m sure they would have said, “we don’t talk to the media!”

 Then I started thinking, this is not the first time this has happened to me.

 Case in point.  Earlier this year, I was covering the shooting of a Shreveport Police Officer.  I was stationed outside LSU Hospital, where the officer was being treated.  Since I work early in the morning, I drink a lot of coffee.  And with that comes the bathroom breaks.  I had asked one of the PR people at the hospital if it would be okay if I went inside and used the restroom.  He said sure and gave me directions.  Well, if you’ve never been to LSU Hospital, it’s easy to get lost.  Which I did.  I eventually found a restroom did my business and was leaving the building.   That’s when I was confronted by two LSU cops wanting my ID and questioning what I was doing inside the hospital.  Last I checked, this is a public building, that my tax dollars pay for!  Yes even reporters pay taxes.  I guess the fact that some guy dressed in a suit and tie with make up on is out of the norm for the hospital scene. But why go through the bother of asking for an ID when the officer even said he knew who I was.  And yes, once again, I had no camera with me.

I’ve found that even in social situations, some people are very careful what they say to me, especially if they work for a government agency, whether it be local, state or federal.  I guess they don’t want some national security secret to slip out.  I guess they think just because they’re talking to me, it’s news.  Then there are those who jokingly add, “you’re not gonna put this on tv?”  When I’ve tried to strike up a conversation with others, just to make small talk, I’ve been told point blank, they can’t talk to me about this or that.  I’m not stupid.  I know it’s because of my  job.  I wonder if I would get the same response if I did something else?

It’s not always that bad.  Those are just two extreme examples.  Being on television does have its benefits.  For the most part, people are nice and they’ll stop and say hi or ask a question. 

I’m just like any other person, the only difference is I work in tv news.

Yesterday after work, I had to run to Bossier City to do a few errands.  I also had stops to  make along Youree Drive in Shreveport.  I was on Airline Drive and I hate merging onto I-20 there because I’m either going to be run over by an 18 wheeler as I try to merge onto the highway, or someone is going to rear end me when I slow or stop to get onto the interstate.

I decided to take Texas Street all the way into downtown Shreveport.  I should have taken my chances on I-20.  I had no problems until I got into downtown Shreveport.  Since it was near 5PM, people were leaving work, so traffic was kind of heavy.  I ended up sitting through three red lights before I could take a left onto Spring Street.  That’s when I realized there are no turn signals at any of the major intersections in the downtown area.  I’ve seen cars wait through several light cycles to turn from Texas Street onto Market.

So, where are the turn signals?Â

What type of monster could shoot and kill a young man who had such high hopes and dreams.  I’m talking about 17 year old Greg Colston.  He  died just a few minutes ago, after he was shot in the head, allegedly by his step-father. 

 I spent this morning at Parkway High School listening to his coach and friends.  I will never truly know Greg Colston, but this is a young man who had a lot of promise.  A 3.7 GPA, plans to attend Northwestern in the fall and the love of a mother.  That’s what kills me the most.  Greg had the love of his mother.  In this day and age when so many parents could care less about their kids, Greg Colston had a mother who was truly concerned about him.  She sent him to stay with his grandparents because she feared for his safety.  If anything happened to her, she felt her son would be safe there.  Obviously a mother, who would do what any mother would do, give their life for their child.  She is alive and has to plan to bury her son, just days before Mother’s Day.  All because of a monster.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, followed by Father’s Day a month later.  And I know find myself in the same annual dilemma.  What do I get my mom and dad?

 What do you get the man and woman who have everything that they want or need?  My parents are at a point in their life where their wants and needs are very little.  What they want or need, they buy. 

But  I guess, this dilemma goes much deeper.  What kind of gift could even come close to telling them just how thankful I am they are my parents.  The sacrifices they made through the years for me and my brother.   I can honestly say we never went without.  It wasn’t until I was living on my own that I came to realize just what my parents did for us.  The sacrifices they made over the years, so we never went without a new pair of shoes, never missed a class field trip, and never drove an old beat up car.  And their goal to make sure I graduated from college without any  student loans.

How do you say thank you and I love you?  Is a card enough?

This morning, Louisiana Senator David Vitter was supposed to be a guest on our morning show.  He wanted to talk about what’s new at Barksdale, like cyber command and CBAT. 

But it won’t happen.  Why?  The Senator’s office called yesterday and cancelled his appearance.  The reason?  We would not guarantee that we would not ask him about the death of the so-called DC Madam Deborah Jean Palfrey.

 What do you think?  Should he have shown up?  Should we have questioned him about Palfrey’s death?  Or should we let the whole thing just fade away?

I have a new ritual at work.  Every morning as soon as I’m done with the news I get on my computer and check out the Caddo Sheriff’s website.  If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it.  In fact, it becomes somewhat of an obsession.

 If you click on the link detention you can check out which inmates are locked up at the Caddo Correctional Center.  You’ll find their mugshot and rap sheet.  Every morning I go through the most recent inmates to find out who was arrested and why.

Here’s a link:  www.caddosheriff.org

I was in downtown Shreveport the other day and I was stopped at a traffic light.  There really wasn’t much to look at other than the sign outside the Deja Vu strip club.  It flashes the drink specials and other items of interest. 

Well one of those items interested me.  Flashing before my eyes was this “Our girls are on fire.”  Okay, no big deal, unless you remember the blazing dancer story.  It was just a couple of weeks ago we reported that a Deja Vu dancer was burned while performing with fire.

Well, I guess that’s one way to get top billing.

Isn’t it funny how just the tiniest thing can mess up  your whole day. 

I had good intentions of getting up extra ealy this morning, 1AM instead of 2AM.  Since we have our big “On Your Lighter Side” weigh in on Friday, I was hoping to add an early morning work-out to my routine.  I thought I had changed my alarm clocks, but I obviously turned them off instead.  This mornning, I woke up at 4:25AM.  I’m usually already at work by that time.

I called the station to let them know of my dilemma.  Then came the mental checklist.  Which part of my morning routine could I bypass?  That early morning cup of coffee and some down time in front of the tv were definately out.  Okay, quick shower, wash my hair, shaving, not gonna happen today, just apply heavier make up. 

I raced to work.  Made it to the make up room just 10 minutes before airtime.  I was there, but that fog, I usually deal with at home didn’t lift until 6:30AM.  And even then I still feel like I’m catching up.