I like to keep this blog lighthearted most of the time.  Like my last post, for example.  Good for a laugh, put a smile on your face, perhaps a chuckle or two.  Or else I will  share a story of one of our travel adventures, for which I am anxiously counting down the days until The Camping Machine can hit the road once again. 

Every now and then, however, I like to mix it up a bit.

And for that I reach into the wayback machine and pull a story from my days as, you guessed it, a TV News Cameraman.  Particularly when I am trying to promote a new video clip on the Multimedia page of this website.

I did the TV News Cameraman gig for over ten years.  Great Falls, Montana.  Reno, Nevada.  And at the end, a large, top-40 market which shall remain nameless.  Most of the stories come from the latter part of my time in TV, for a couple of reasons.  I have more tape from those days, and the farther back in history the stories are, the less well I remember them, or 'mis-remember' them, as the current phrase goes.

So sometime in 1992 or 1993, I was working the night shift.  A call comes into the news desk over the police scanner.  Authorities are searching for a burglary suspect.  I get sent out to cover the story.  I met up with a Sherrif's officer who was assisting in the search.  He was driving his patrol car slowly along the perimeter of a cemetery, and I was walking alongside the car as he drove.  He was shining his window-mounted searchlight across the dark expanse of the graveyard, the headstones catching his searchlight as he made his way down the road.

What happens next - well, suffice it to say I found myself in an place I wasn't ready to be in.  I could describe it, and you'd get it, perhaps think it was funny, perhaps think it was gruesome.  But rather than have me talk about it, you can watch it.

I was rolling tape, filming the officer as he played his spotlight out over the graveyard as he looked for the bad guy, when I had a slight mis-step. 

If you want to see what happens, go to the Multimedia page of this website and click the link that says Click here to Watch A Grave Step.

The best part is what the officer says.  Turn up the volume on your speakers to catch his audio. 

If you don't get it, send me and email and I'll explain it.  campingmachineguy (at) gmail (dot) com. 

As some of you may know, if you've read some of my recent posts, I was a TV News Photographer for many years.  I've even posted some of my work on the Multimedia page of this site (this is a not-so-subtle hint to go to that page and watch some of the clips there).

But in my heart of hearts I was less a Journalist and more of an 'Imageist.'  Meaning that I cared far more about the pictures than I did the news stories I was assigned to cover.

And my passion was going out by myself and looking for interesting things to shoot.

Now I am old, married, and tied to a job.  Mortgage, retirement fund (underfunded), college funds (underfunded) and a trailer we call The Camping Machine (not paid off yet), pulled by a 2001 Chevy Suburban (not paid off yet either).  So my dream of being a roving landscape photographer, criss-crossing the country pulling my trailer, getting up before down to capture that magical moment of sunrise with a composition sure to win awards - well, that's goin to have to wait a few years more.  Many years more, let's say 40 or so.

And yet the passion for the image just will not die.  And I have a few images I like, a couple I am proud of.  I actually have had an image published in a nature calendar, one that was published by a real calendar company and sold nationwide.   So there.

As luck would have it, I also have a website which you are reading at this very moment.  And since it's my site, I can publish my own images and say whatever I want about them.  So I've decided to do just that.

Introducing the Featured Photo page on The Camping Machine website.  If you look at the Nav Bar on the left of the page you'll notice a new nav button for the Featured Photo.  Go ahead, click it.  You will see one of my images in a larger format than I've displayed photos elsewhere on this site, along with a brief description of the image, when and where I took it ans some spefici details about getting the shot, where appropriate.

So click on over and take a look.  I welcome your comments via email at CampingMachineGuy (at) gmail (dot) com.  And as always, thank you for stopping by to read these words, look at the stories on the Travels Page (Spring is here, soon will have actual new camping stories to tell!), watch a video clip or two on the Multimedia page, or browse thumbnail photos on the Image Gallery. It's all free for your reading and viewing pleasure.  And while you're at it, please support our sponsors by clicking on their ads and buying their goods.  Hey, you'll be getting a rebate check from the Government - do the right thing for the economy and spend the darn money right away!

If you spend enough time online and reading blogs you’ll learn some interesting things. For example, February 15th is Blog about your Cat day. News to me, but I obligingly wrote a post about my cat awhile a couple of years ago on another blog, and felt satisfaction in being Part of a Movement.

I’ve recently remembered another blogging thing called Half Nekkid Thursdays. I’d actually come across the term a couple of times before but paid it no mind.

I used to read a blog by a wonam named Marie - her blog is long gone now.  It was a great read for me, partly because she was everything I am not.  She was young and single - I’m old and married. She was attractive, articulate and had lots of interesting friends – I’m old and married. She blogged about her social activities, going out with friends, having the occasional cocktail, living a fun and exciting life – I’m old and married. Reading a few of her posts brought back distand memories of what my life was like 20 years ago.

One of her posts was about something called Half-Nekkid Thursday.  She included a photo of herself that, shall I say, revealing about her life, if you know what I mean. 

In the course of reading her post I learned that Half-Nekkid Thursday was a blogging thing that many bloggers participated in.  Some had photos, others did not - but it was a trend. 

As an old married guy the last thing anyone wants to see is a half nekkid photo of The Camping Machine Guy.  So I always thought I was left out of the fun of Half-Nekkid Thursday.

But after thinking about it a bit more, it occurred to me that despite being old and married, I do have a Half Nekkid Thursday story.  And what do you know, it's Thursday and I need a post.  So here it is.

It was bath night and Tommy was throwing one of his periodic fits. He didn’t want to get out of the tub; he didn’t want to get dried off and into his pajamas. In his maddeningly defiant way, he was being obstinate and ornery. MBW turned to me and said, “You deal with him.”

I went into the bathroom and there he was, sitting in the tub, arms crossed. “I’m not getting out,” he said.

For some reason I have a connection with Tommy that MBW doesn’t. I’m often able to work him out of situations like this with less angst and anguish than she is. But this one was looking pretty grim.

He didn’t respond to my smile. “I’m not getting out,” he repeated.

I smiled more. “Okay, Tommy. Whatever you say.” And before he could respond, I reached in and scooped him out of the tub, wrapping him up in a towel so big he was, in effect, immobilized.

He screamed a muffled protest as I toweled him off. His head popped out from under the thick blue towel and he glowered at me. He took in a deep breath, prepared to let out a string of three-year-old curse words – but before he could get them out, I pulled the towel off him and said loudly, “It’s time for The Naked Flyer!”

With that, I lifted him up over my head, one hand under his chest and the other holding his legs, holding him horizontally up near the ceiling. I left the bathroom and ran around the house, from room to room, holding Tommy over my head shouting, “It’s The Naked Flyer! Here he comes!”

Tommy, having gotten over his initial shock, is by now no longer angry; in fact, he’s laughing and having a great time. “I’m The Naked Flyer! I’m The Naked Flyer! Look at me!” he shouted.

All around the house I ran, flying him from room to room. Finally I set him down in his bedroom. “Time to get your jammies on,” I said. Just then, Chris comes running in, taking his jammies off. “I want to be The Naked Flyer, Dad!” he said. “Do it to me!”

So of course I had to do The Naked Flyer with Chris. He enjoyed it as much as Tommy did. So much so, in fact, that The Naked Flyer has become a once-or-twice weekly pre-bedtime ritual in our house for both boys.

A footnote to this story.

We’re at the grocery store the other evening, Chris, Tommy and me. The boys are both in the shopping cart with the half-dozen things we’re waiting to buy. Standing in the crowded checkout line, Chris asks me, “Dad, is it bath night tonight?”

“It is,” I answer.

He says, loudly, “Can we do The Naked Flyer tonight? Can we?”

Tommy pipes up, “Yeah, Dad, I want to do The Naked Flyer! Let’s go home and do The Naked Flyer!”

Two women looked over at me with strange expressions.

“I love The Naked Flyer!” Tommy says.

The women are horrified.

I’m expecting a visit from Child Protective Services any day now.

So there it is, my Half-Nekkid Thursday story. Nothing like the Half-Nekkid Thursday stories I used to read, and sadly for you, no photos of the lovely Marie.

But I’m just an old married guy.  Half-Nekkid Thursday for me is nothing like it is for the long-lost marie and other young, single exciting people. No doubt Half-Nekkid Thursday leads into Having Fun Friday and Swinging Saturday.

It sounds fun.

For me, Half-Nekkid Thursday just means that it must be Bath Night.

I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I'll admit it - I like to watch.

Especially when the people I am watching don't know that I am.

It is very interesting to have a ‘one-way' point of view, where you can look at someone or something without anyone else knowing you are watching.  Watching what they do.  Watching how they act.  Seeing them without being seen.

In a way it is like being invisible, as if you are floating about without anyone knowing you are there.  Just watching, observing,...knowing.

Now you might think this is kind of creepy, but it's not.  In fact it is perfectly legal and is actually wholesome entertainment.  I'd even take that a step further and call it educational.

I'm talking webcams.

Now some of you may get all bent out of shape, thinking I'm talking about those dirty webcams that charge fees by the minute to watch people take off their clothes and do things that should not be watched - but that is not what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about the webcams listed on the links page of this website. 

I think it is fascinating to be able to click a link and watch Old Faithful erupt in Yellowstone National Park from the comfort (or discomfort, if you will) from the desk in my office.  It is fun, on a cold winter day, to take a peek at what is going on in Acapulco or Miami.  It's humbling to view the site of the former World Trade Center Towers, and exciting to watch the chaos of Times Square. 

Want to go abroad?  Visit Moscow, Prague, Rome or even Antarctica, courtesy of webcams you can view from The Camping Machine Links page.  What time is it in London right now?  Click on the link to the Big Ben webcam.  Are you a closet thrill-seeker?  Click on the link to Niagara Falls and imagine yourself going over in a barrel.  (Note - between 1901 and 1985, ten people went over the Falls in a ball, barrel or rig. Seven were successful while three died in the attempt.  Since 1985, five more persons have gone over the Falls, including one in a kayak (died in the attempt) and one on jet ski (also died). To date 15 people have challenged the Falls. Five have died.)

You can view Seattle from the Space Needle and you can view the Quad at Syracuse University.  You can see the show at Venice Beach and you can watch politicians spend our tax dollars in Washington DC.  See what's happening in Shanghai, enjoy the aura of Sedona or admire the view of the tremendous Tetons.  It's all available, right there on your screen, courtesy of The Camping Machine Links page.

So for those of you with wanderlust, who stare forlornly at your RV covered in it's winter blanket, take a virtual journey while you await spring and your first camping trip.  Check out the webcam links on the Links page of The Camping Machine website.

Have a great trip!

I've written a few times on this blog about my experiences as a TV News Cameraman, and I will probably write a few more from time to time.  I had a nice ten-year run as a Photog and had several unique and interesting experiences.  From time to time I find myself reliving some of those experiences as I am now much older, chained to a desk and far less likely to have the work-related adventures that are the day-to-day diet of the TV News Camera-person fraternity.

Occasionally the stories I was sent to cover were simply fun.  No pressure, no stress, and exceptionally enjoyable.  A true pleasure to shoot.  And when I could take some time to edit them together my own way, it was even better. 

Do you remember the original Roller Derby?  Those strangely sexy women and bad-ass men on roller skates going around and around the raised, banked skating rink?  I remember watching it as a kid, not really sure what the rules were, but pretty sure the requirements were to knock down as many people wearing the other color jersey as possible.  It may not have been sport, but it sure was entertaining.

About 20 years ago, no longer a kid and at the zenith of my TV News Cameraman days, I was given full access inside the rink to experience Roller Derby up close and personal.  As great as it was as a kid watching on TV, it's even better as an adult with a camera and an assignment - show our viewers what Roller Derby is all about.  "Go beyond the typical," the Assignment Editor said, "take our viewers inside the rink.  Help them feel like they were there.  I want them to feel like they have skates on their feet."

Umm, okay.

So I went to the arena.  Met the PR guy.  He gave me great access.  It was a blast.

I shot a ton of tape and raced back to the station to cut it together.  Editing under pressure, feeling like it had come together pretty well.  It was the show closer on a Saturday night.  I watched it from the control room, where I could see not only the live broadcast but also the studio cameras showing each of the anchors.  Usually when a taped show closer is running, the anchors are not watching the spot - their getting ready to bolt off the set and go out for the night.

Not this time.

They were watching the story run.  Smiling.  Enjoying it.

When they came back for their goodnight they still had their smiles on their faces. 

When the piece ran that night on the news it was titled "Roller Derby comes to town."  Here, for its Internet debut on TheCampingMachine.com, it carries the title is should have had all along - Hell on Wheels.

Go to the Multimedia page on this site and watch the clip Hell on Wheels.

And yes, for the record - up close, those women really are sexy!