Newton’s Notes

OK, so Santa DIDN’T bring me a Dodge Viper… although it is on my list, Mr. Saint Nick!

This lovely car is apparently Santa’s off-season ride… The jolly fat guy from the North Pole rolled up to the Scottish Rite Hospital in this shiny red car on Friday.

Santa was there visiting patients at the hospital for Christmas in July. It’s the 9th year for the event. Padgett Printing sponsors it each year out of appreciation for all the TSRH does for kids.

TSRH was started by the Texas Masonic Lodge, and treats patients free of charge. As the daughter of a Mason, I remember my father talking about all this hospital and others like it do for children. It was nice to visit the hospital as an adult, and see firsthand the smiling faces of all the kids meeting Santa 6 months early!

To check out the story and see all the smiling faces for yourself, here’s the link: http://video.nbc5i.com/player/?id=279827

P.S. — Santa, I am fully expecting one of these in December!!

BUT you can’t take West Texas out of the boy!

For three years, I lived in Abilene, and while it isn’t technically West Texas, it might as well be. Abilene is known as the Friendly Frontier. It’s a great little town, not too much to do, but the people are friendly. It is as Texas as Texas gets!

The other night, a good friend of mine from Abilene came to visit me in Fort Worth. I wanted to take him somewhere “different” than the traditional Abilene restaurant. We went for sushi!

I myself, LOVE sushi! Here’s a picture of the roll I ordered.

Because my friend was a little leary of eating raw fish, I ordered him this pretty tempura shrimp roll. 

He did try both… but unfortunately, he wasn’t a fan. In fact, he wouldn’t even swallow it! He politely excused himself from the table, went to the bathroom, and spit it out… Lovely…

He then ordered this. Yes beef fried rice.

I guess it’s back to meat and potatoes, but at least he tried!

For most of the adrenaline junkies in this business, breaking news is like fuel for a fire. There’s an active scene; information is constantly changing; you have to think on your feet. So being in such an intense situation can be very exciting at times.

Today, I covered this police manhunt in Dallas. Four men held up a convenience store clerk at gunpoint, stole an ATM, and then took off. An off-duty police officer spotted them, and started chasing after their car. These guys were driving about 90 miles an hour, and shooting at the officer. Eventually, after several more on-duty officers got involved, the suspects wreck out near a park and run off into a thick, wooded area.

That’s where all the reporters did live shots this morning, as police searched for these gunmen/robbers.

Right before my 6:30 live shot, the police officers behind us, who were blocking off streets, all draw their guns, and aim toward the woods DIRECTLY BEHIND ME!

Meanwhile, I am about to be on TV in 1 minute, so my back is turned to all the activity… and my heart is racing. At the beginning of my live shot, you can actually see SWAT coming over in their black armored vehicle. I was wishing at that point I had one of those to protect me!

It turns out, they didn’t find anything in that specific patch of trees, but it was enough to put me on edge… In a breaking news situation, you never know WHAT will happen. 

Here’s a link to the story:  http://video.nbc5i.com/player/?id=277143

First I want to say thank you!

As some of you may have noticed I was out sick yesterday. My sincerest apologies to Ken Kalthoff who got that dreaded call to work the morning shift. (Go Team KEN!!) I still feel like I’ve been hit by a semi-truck, BUT I am back at work today.

I am not usually one to call in sick… In fact, Tuesday was the first time I’ve called in since I have worked at NBC5, and they actually had to send me home on Monday.

Anyway, while I was lying on what felt like my death bed, I got some very encouraging emails from NBC5 viewers! Some of you wanted to know if I was OK, others just wrote to say I was missed! That’s enough to get a girl back on her feet!

So to those very nice people (including you mom) I just want to say thanks… you know who you are!

About once a week I cover a story that leaves me feeling helpless… Today, it was a fire at a townhome complex. I cannot count the number of apartment fires/duplex fires/townhome fires I have covered in my career, but today my heart really went out to one of the victims.

I interviewed a mother of four who just moved into the complex yesterday… She came to Lake Dallas from San Antonio to get a fresh start at a better life. She was supposed to start her new job today, but instead, she’ll be looking for a new place to live.

Everything she owned was destroyed in the fire. Moving to a new town, and starting a new job are both very stressful situations… now imagine doing that as a young, single mom to four kids, AND losing everything in a fire!

Since I first got into this business, I have interviewed everyone from celebrities to Presidential candidates… I have sat across from multi-millionaires, and spent the day with top military personnel… But I am not telling you this to brag… I am telling you this, to give more meaning to what I say next.

Today I interviewed one of the most inspiring girls I have ever met.

Nadia Miller is just 5 years old, and she was born without arms. Talking with her, you would barely notice her disability, because her smile captivates your attention.

This little girl not only lives life just like a normal kid, but does things other kids — and even adults — don’t do! I met Nadia at SpiritHorse Therapeutic Equestrian Center. Basically, SpiritHorse offers horseback riding lessons to special needs people FREE of charge. It is such an amazing organization that relies solely on donations.

You can check out the link here: http://spirithorsetherapy.com/

But back to Nadia, she has the sweetest spirit, and the warmest heart. To top it off, this girl doesn’t let her disability keep her from doing ANYTHING. We all have our own challenges in life. Some are minor, and others, like Nadia’s are a lot harder to overcome. I hope this brave little girl inspires us all to face those challenges with a smile, and an “I can” attitude!

I’ve got two words for ya: DAIRY QUEEN!

I only treat myself to the calorie-packed treats on road trips… but it is a long-standing tradition of mine, that I refuse to let go.

Today I am driving to my hometown, Odessa, Texas, to visit my family for the 4th… and I doubt I get any further than Weatherford before the “Texas Stop Sign” calls my name.

Between Fort Worth and Odessa there are probably 20 Dairy Queens along I-20. I’ve probably been to all of them.

I don’t eat the food from Dairy Queen much, but I always have a blizzard… I am very predictable by nature. Usually I have a Heath bar blizzard or a Strawberry Cheesequake blizzard… Today, maybe I’ll live on the wild side, and go for something crazy — like a Chocolate Xtreme!

Hope you guys have a great holiday weekend… We’ll chat again Monday!

Everyone knows, coffee is a necessity on the morning shift. (Unless you’re Brendan Higgins, who claims he never drinks the stuff.)

But for the rest of us whose alarm clocks go off at 2:30 a.m., coffee is essential for energy!

This is our coffee station in the NBC5 newsroom. As you can see, there are two coffee pots. Sometimes, both are filled with “normal” coffee, but most of the time one of them has “Deborah’s coffee.” It’s always a guessing game as to which one is which. Today, I guessed wrong.

So why does Deborah Ferguson get her OWN coffee? It isn’t that she doesn’t want to share her coffee, it’s that NO ONE ELSE wants to share it with her!! I drink my coffee black… with one Splenda packet… the STRONGER the BETTER! Deborah, on the other hand, has a lot in common with her coffee, they are both VERY SWEET! Deborah is so sweet in fact, she let me take a picture of her with her coffee, then blog about how DISGUSTING it is! (thanks Deb!)  

It seems almost weekly Deborah brings goodies for the morning crew, like these scones this morning! They were good. They were sweet. But not as sweet as Deborah’s coffee, which I accidentally poured a big cup of this morning.

 I think the shock of sweetness was actually more of an eyeopener than our typical Starbucks Breakfast Blend.

Hopefully, I’ll guess right tomorrow!