How I Spent My Summer....(Vacation?)

Welcome back to my blog. It's been a while (5 years) but I decided to bring it back. Summer is usually not as busy for me but this summer I have been very busy. From the A-Rod saga, to SuperMoon, Panthers training camp, golf, and tennis tournaments, I spent more time on the road this summer than if I had actually been traveling on vacation! This first post back is kind of long but it shows what I've been doing all summer. I hope to post semi-regularly now, so check back when you have time.

First up, Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford. Lunsford survived being shot seven times in the shootings at Ft. Hood, Texas. He was scheduled to testify against the man accused of shooting him. He showed me one of the bullets removed from his body. It's a miracle he survived the attack.

 (Retired Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford holds one of the bullets removed from his body after he was wounded in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage)

I was off the night the "SuperMoon" appeared in the sky. I decided to go downtown and try to get it rising above the skyline of Charlotte. Only problem, It started rising too far east of downtown to get what I wanted. So, I drove around until I could frame it up with some of the buildings.

(A full moon rises beside the Bank of America corporate headquarters in downtown Charlotte, N.C.)

Then I met Richard Norris. Norris' face was disfigured in a shooting accident and he spent 15 years as a recluse before having face transplant surgery. After the surgery healed, the difference was remarkable and Norris began to come out of his hermit-like life to enjoy things again. Wonderful story about a very soft-spoken amazing man. We talked for a long time and then I shot photos as he helped a friend learn how to tie fishing flies and go trout fishing.

(Richard Norris ties a fishing fly at his home in Hillsville, Va.)

(Richard Norris fishes in a stream near his home in Hillsville, VA.)

Next was Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod, the NY Yankees star rumored to have taken steroids, was rehabbing in Tampa and his first game back was with the Yankees' farm team the Charleston RiverDogs. It was a media zoo. He met with the media before the game, then took batting practice followed by three innings in the game. My favorite photo (that also ran in Sports Illustrated) is Rodriguez warming up with small ballpark and all the local mascots in the background. I thought it showed how far the man has fallen.

(NY Yankees star Alex Rodriguez listens to a questions from the media in Charleston, SC)

(NY Yankees star Alex Rodriguez warms up before a game with the Charleston RiverDogs)

Next was the Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain. I enjoy covering the games, one of the largest Scottish gatherings in the US. There are the games, of course, but also music, food, and just people watching. My favorite part is usually the opening where the clans gather as a band plays, followed by a torchlight ceremony.

(William Wallace, of Boone, N.C., holds a broadsword in salute as the band marches by during opening ceremonies for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in Linville, N.C.)

(Aaron George competes in the hammer throw during the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games)

The end of July brings the beginning of the Carolina Panthers' training camp in Spartanburg, S.C. Usually the hottest time of the year in one of the hottest cities in the Carolinas, this year's camp was unusually normal. Fans come to watch the players practice and hope to get autographs after each practice.

(Fans hold out items hoping they are hoping to get signed by Carolina Panthers players after a practice in Spartanburg, S.C.)

(Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen catches a ball during practice at the team's training camp)

Golf is not my favorite sport to cover but there was a pretty cool story this year at the Wyndham Championship. Golfer Patrick Reed uses his wife, Justine, as his caddie. I only covered the first two rounds of the tournament, but enjoyed seeing Reed and his wife together and in the end, winning the tournament. Good times.

(Patrick Reed, left, embraces his wife and caddie, Justine Reed, right, after making a birdie putt on the ninth hole during the second round of the Wyndham Championship)

An unusual thing happened in the championship of the Winston-Salem Open this year between Gael Monfils, of France, left, and Jurgen Melzer, of Austria. As the second set was underway, Monfils decided he could not continue. He retired from the match, making Melzer the winner of the tournament. I almost missed the photo because I had left the court to transmit early action photos. I got back just in time to see Monfils get up from his seat and walk toward Melzer to concede the match.

(Gael Monfils, left, of France, left, is embraced by Jurgen Melzer, of Austria, after Monfils retired because of injury in the championship of the Winston-Salem Open)

As summer comes to an end, the Carolina Panthers begin their preseason games. During the first game, I snuck into the tunnel the players exit as they are introduced as captured quarterback Cam Newton coming through the smoke. Football really begins.

(Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is introduced before an NFL preseason game against the Chicago Bears in Charlotte, N.C.)

(Chicago Bears' Matt Blanchard, right, is pulled down by Carolina Panthers' Ryan Rau, left, in the closing seconds of a preseason NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C.)

UNC Charlotte played the first football game in the schools history at the end of August. Students and alumni have been wanting a football team for years and were overjoyed with the 52-7 win over Campbell. Less than two minutes into the game, Charlotte's Mark Hogan intercepted a pass and returned it for the school's first-ever touchdown. In the end the players doused the coach and students rushed the field.

(Charlotte's Mark Hogan, center, celebrates with teammates after his interception return for a touchdown against the Campbell)

(Charlotte head coach Brad Lambert, right, gets doused by Caleb Clayton-Molby (42) and Desmond Cooper (13) after Charlotte's 52-7 win over Campbell)

Tony Stewart was injured in a crash while racing sprint cars instead of his NASCAR car. He had two surgery's and cannot drive again until next year. When he finally was able to meet the media, he had to be wheeled in and out in a wheelchair. He was NOT happy with the photographers all trying to make photos of him in a wheelchair.

(NASCAR driver and team co-owner Tony Stewart, front, leaves a news conference with help from Josh Katz, back, at Stewart-Haas Racing's headquarters in Kannapolis, N.C.)

Finally, on the 12th anniversary of 9/11, I was off and driving through Matthews to grab lunch when I saw a sea of American flags, one for each victim of the terrorist attacks that day, in Stumptown Park. I stepped out to make a photo with my tiny FujiFilm X-20 camera of a woman walking through the flags pushing a toddler.

(An unidentified woman pushes a toddler as she walks through a sea of flags set up to honor the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks in Matthews, N.C.)

Hope you had a great summer!