The Adventures of a Reporter

All I can think to write about is work lately, because it's been consuming my life. Yesterday I worked 11 hours covering imminent flooding in small towns along the Cascade Mountains. Yes, four hours of driving to watch a river that was about to explode, when other rivers were already bursting at the seams, sending water into roads and homes.

When I first got to Concrete, Washington, I was bummed that "nothing was going on." The city felt dead and lifeless, wispy tendrils of mist hugged the foothills. The air was damp, the river about a mile away raging and swollen, churning bits of wood and debris. As I wandered through the desolate the streets with burned out buildings just a few blocks away, I found a few people standing outside a bar smoking cigarettes. Their teeth were yellow and crooked, hair long, beards unkempt. But these were the FRIENDLIEST people I've interviewed in a long time. They smiled and told me all about their flood preparations, how they were moving things to higher ground, and worried about the Skagit River. I walked into the bar to try to find some more interviews, and was immediately tempted to sit down and drink beer and just talk all day. Luckily I avoided the impulse, it wouldn't be very "cool" to be doing live reports drunk.

I love how the people in this small town all know each other, and help each other. It really felt like a real community. When there was imminent danger, these people stuck together. I heard those words over and over again in my conversations. "People helping people." "We're there for each other." I couldn't help but feel a little bit of sadness, in a big city like Seattle you probably wouldn't hear that. And Dick at one bar wouldn't know Jane a few doors down. I feel a little more of this community on Bainbridge Island, where people say hello on the ferry, and the neighborhood barber gossips about the owner of the restaurant down the street.

I had a great time exploring the outlying communties a few hours away from Seattle. I was also surprised by the sheer number of McCain/Palin and Rossi signs. I felt like I was in a different state, it was definately a different mindset.

One thing I love about being a reporter is meeting new people. There are definately some characters in the world, and I feel blessed to have an excuse to meet them.