Spider Attack At Ten!

One of my worst nightmares happened on the news set. First off, you should know that I have this weird trait. Spiders seem to follow me wherever I go. When I was a kid, a spider jumped on my face while I was watching a horror movie about giant spiders that attack people, I swore up and down that it came from the TV. When I was a little older, I went to see a movie at the theater and a spider came all the way from the tall ceiling and decided to slide down its web in front of my face and land right in my popcorn. Just last week, a giant wolf spider was lurking in my bedroom, waiting for me to come home and then pounce. Our reporter Tim Johnston had to come kill it for me. I got a package in the mail the other day. What was underneath? You guessed it… a tiny death machine with 8 legs. So you can imagine how I reacted when I was doing the news, and a spider dropped down attached to a web from the ceiling of the KRBC studio… during the beginning of the show no less. We are reading these serious stories, and an arachnid is preying on me like an insect stuck in its web. I was of course terrified, but what made me lose it was the look on Randy's face. He stared down the spider like a hunter on the prowl. So what does he do? He immediately smacks it with his script, but in my direction! So the whole first part of the newscast, I just KNOW, that the spider is crawling all over me. Luckily, during the commercial break, Randy stepped on the spider, getting rid of my arachnophobia at least for a little while...until I get home and have to leave all the lights on! Anybody have a cure for a spider curse?
View this link to see the spider drop from the ceiling!
http://bigcountryhomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=296235

Abilene High on ESPNU

It's not everyday you get to see one of your home teams play on national television. Randy and I along with the rest of the KRBC crew had a great time broadcasting live before the big game. Thousands of Big Country residents showed up to get in on the action. A High quarterback Ronnell Sims scored four touchdowns. This sent the warbirds into a win of 27 to 17 against the Plant Panthers from Florida. I'm not sure though if I had more fun watching the game or watching all the rowdy fans in the stands. It was a sea of black and gold at Shotwell Stadium. I saw so many people with face paint, noise makers, I even saw a woman in a black and gold wig. What a fun night. Way to go Eagles!

MDA Telethon Success

What a great telethon! We collected over $165,000 for people living with Muscular Dystrophy, ALS, and other neuromuscular diseases this year. I also had the privilege of meeting my new friend Brady Smith between one of the cut-ins we did that day. He reminded me that events like this are the reason I do what I do for a living. It is because of guys like Brady that so many people in the Big Country supported this year’s telethon. He gave me and others hope that we will find a cure for MD. Thanks Brady for our new friendship and thank you to everyone that supports MDA.

West Texas Friday Nights

It's time. Time to dust off the cleats. Time to grab the stadium chairs and cowbells. Time to fill plastic jugs full of pennies. Time to revolve our lives around something besides work, school, television, shopping. Time to believe that camping out all night for something isn't crazy. Time to believe that this could be the year. Time to paint our faces. Time to stock up on bug spray. Time to use words that we haven't used in a while: yellowhammers, pied pipers, blizzards, indians, cougars, eagles, badgers, bulldogs, and even bears. Time to fight for parking. Time to eat frito pies, sausage wraps, and nachos with extra jalapeños. Time to savor the glory of victory, and despise the agony of defeat. Time for our young heroes to run out of giant inflatable objects. Time for shoe polish on windows. Time for pep rallys. Time for kickoff, halftime, and really really loud horns after touchdowns. Time for FNL. Time to dig into the trenches. Time to go over the middle. Time to run the "Dirty Bird". Time for the cross-town showdown. Time to fight for extra yards. Time to believe in the impossible. Time to ride on the yellow dog. Time to turn on the lights that have been dimmed for 8 excruciating months, sit back, do anything but relax, and enjoy the show. It's time, for football.

The Real Housewives of Houston?

We've had Housewives from Orange County, New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, and D.C., but now are The Real Housewives are coming to the lone star state?
I am a reality t.v. junkie (I know it's sad but true) and I have been hearing that there will soon be a new installment of the Bravo show coming to the Houston area. I googled it and several entertainment websites are reporting that it's true.
Oh, I can't wait for the drama to unfold. Check out this link, they believe that these ladies may make the final cut as the newest cast members... I guess we will have to wait and see.

http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/05-25-10-look-out-the-real-housewives-of-houston-are-coming-producers-are-casting-now/

Do You Want Some Wemonade?

At KRBC, we love being involved with the MDA telethon to help Jerry's Kids. It's one of our favorite things to do. It's an absolute passion. So I have been challenged with raising money for MDA. And I have figured out the perfect way to do that. It happens in three easy steps:


1. Buy some lemonade.
2. Set up a table.
3. Use every cute kid you can find to be your employees.

I decided to start a lemonade stand in order to help raise some money for a good cause. So I found some cute kids in my family to help me. First was my 3 year old nephew. We set up our stand outside my parents video store. I think he was more interested in eating candy, but when he put his mind to it, that kid could flat out sell some lemonade. The cute factor was just too much to handle.

Our second stop was outside of shoe carnival. The management there was just wonderful to us. They even made announcements in the store about us being there to help out MDA. For this round, I hired my cousins' two little boys. They, like my nephew, are also cute, so we had no trouble selling lemonade. The youngest one would scream at the top of his lungs to everyone that walked by, "Do you guys want some WEMONADE!" and then he would say, "It's to get money for MBA".

We had a fantastic day, shared some laughs, and made a little money for some people in need. But our efforts really hit home when we met one couple. They saw what we were doing, and shared with us that their son has muscular dystrophy. A devastating case of it as well. They applauded us for our efforts, and donated to the cause.

I thought the lemonade stand would just be an effective way to make a little money. But I had no idea that it would hit so close to home for me. It made me realize that we can all make a difference. We can all help to find a cure for this terrible disease. Your efforts can make big money, or small money, but they will always be large in the difference making department.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

If you ever spent any time around Officer Rodney Holder, you knew that servant was a fitting description. So too was beloved father, fun-loving co-worker, and friend. His death, besides being tragic, hit especially close to home with me. My brother is now a police officer in our city, and he now proudly tries to carry on the legacy Officer Holder left behind.

Thousands of friends and family members attended the funeral today, and thousands more found other ways to pay tribute. All of us tried to make sense out of something senseless, and tried to find strength during a time of great sadness. Ironically enough, the strongest person in the room was not one of Abilene's finest, but rather a 13 year old boy.

You can tell Kyler Holder is a Daddy's boy. He loved what his Dad did, he even used his Dad's call sign "Tom 23", to select scripture for his Father's funeral (Psalm 23, he said they sounded similar). It is abundantly clear that Rodney Holder was his family's foundation. So what would they do without him? Kyler Holder did what his Dad would have done in a tough situation. He picked himself up, dusted himself off, and showed strength that a thousand men couldn't muster. Nobody can replace what Rodney Holder did for his family or his community. But luckily enough, Kyler Holder has what it takes to be the new man of the house, with mom right by his side.