John Deere and sand dunes

Greensburg is underway. I'm getting several interviews done and have even completed a couple of stories. Yay!

Larry Hatteburg came out for the morning to give a presentation. It was very interesting to hear how he goes about getting interviews and putting together the pieces he does. He is one of my TV journalism icons. And, nerdy as I am, I had to add to my collection of photographs of semi-famous people.



Later this afternoon I went to the BTI John Deere Dealership where EVERYTHING was John Deere. Even the pop and vending machines!

I was so impressed! One guy said they had a pop corn maker too... However, I did not see it, but I do believe that if one did exist, it could be found in this location.

One of the girls from the class got her car stuck in the sand on one of the roads outside of town so we had to go dig her out. It was quite an adventure as well. I'm going home tomorrow and I can't say that I will be sad to leave.

Out in the 'burg

Well, the crew left Wichita around eight this morning. Two hours later, we arrived in the greenest town in the world, Greensburg, Kan.

Two years ago, a tornado destroyed 97% of the town. While in Greensburg, I am taking a class writing about how the town has come back and rebuilt after the tradedy.

Since we've been in town, we went on a tour of the town and saw a bunch of the different points of interest. (Pictures will follow later in the week.)

One of the projects that the town has been working on is producing LEED Platinum projects. This means that these structures will withstand a certain amount of force and will virtually be indestructable. They are working on designing a home like this and are almost finished with the model. This home design is called a silo-project because a lot of the grain elevators in the area were left untouched. The homes have a similar design to a silo, hence the name.
This is one of the model silo-homes. On top, there is a garden planted with solar panels in the middle. It' s pretty neat what they've done.

Wrapping up the weekend

This weekend has been a busy one, but it only preceeds an even busier week. Friday night I met Ryan out at his brother (Billy) and sister-in-law (Monica)'s house for a barbeque. Mmm, mmm was it delicious! Monica made some potatoes and pasta salad and caesar salad, while Billy grilled burgers, dogs, chicken and steak. It was a feast for all, except for Ryan who took too long to get into the food line.

Then on Saturday I had another day of work and then Ryan and I went to my grandma's house for my cousin Johanna's first birthday party. She was a hoot and a half. Johanna is my aunt and uncle's first baby, so of course EVERYTHING had to be captured on a camera. It was funny watching the two of them "coo" and "aww" over the little things Johanna does. Sometimes it makes me think to myself I hope my kids aren't that wonderful so I don't have to be so impressed by them, but I know it's all part of the first-kid syndrome.

Then today another one of my cousins, Sydney, had her high school graduation party. I went out with my family for lunch and just to hang out. And, of course, there was more "ooh-ing" and "aww-ing" over Johanna while she ate. Yet again, I just have to laugh and shake my head. Ryan was in a father-son golf tournament so he was unable to attend the graduation party, but I really don't think he was too upset about missing the party. After golfing, the guys are all going back to someone's pool house, "The Cabana," to hang out and all of their women and children are invited to join.

I've got work again tomorrow during the day and then it's out to the racetrack before I hit the road. For the next two weeks I will be in Greensburg taking a class and reporting on how the town has been trying to make a comeback after a tornado almost wiped it off the map a couple of years ago. Hopefully I can get some pictures from that uploaded onto here, along with some of the small-town happenings.

Until next time, I'm out!

Just getting started

I used to blog back in the day and decided it would be something that would be fun to start doing again. I had to blog for a class last semester and found out that blogging has become a new trend in the communication field, which is of course my area of study. With only one semester left in school before I graduate, I might as well get ahead of the game (well, I may actually be behind now, but that's besides the point.) Blogging world, I'm back!