Briarwood Nature Preserve, located near Saline, Louisiana, is the birthplace and home of Caroline Dormon, a world renowned naturalist, author, artist and the first woman hired by the United States Forest Service. Click the video below for a tour of the wildflowers and serene landscape.
Interesting examples of architecture is the latest subject of my series of blog posts, ‘My Instagram Top 10.’
Click below to see a photo collection featuring cityscapes and skyscrapers from my travels.
My Instagram account features anything and everything that captures my attention.
I’m curating some of my favorites in a series of posts featuring my favorite Instagram shots.
Click below to view another collection featuring foliage and flowers.
My Instagram account features the people and places that capture my attention.
I’ve curated some of my favorites into a series of posts I’m calling ‘My Instagram Top 10.’
Click below to see a photo collection featuring aircraft, automobiles, and trains.
For the last few years, I’ve had the great privilege to be invited to judge the Official Texas Gumbo Cook-off. As a native of south Louisiana, it’s always a real treat to sample some familiar cuisine, take-in live music from an authentic Cajun band, and spend time telling stories with great people.
Click the video below to check out what goes into the competition!
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe shared how she took on the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda. (Photo source: Leah Jackson/ NSU Information Services)
Wednesday, I had the opportunity to spend time with an extraordinary woman who has changed the lives of thousands of young girls, who otherwise would remain on the fringes of society.
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe is gaining worldwide attention for her humanitarian work to rescue children from a notorious rebel army in Africa. She’s helping mend those broken lives by teaching girls to sew hope with a needle and thread.
I moderated a lecture with Sister Rosemary, then interviewed the notable nun for my Power of Prayer series on KLTV.
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Southwest Louisiana is home to wildlife and geography unlike any other place in America. Click the video below for a tour of the scenic prairies of Cameron Parish.
As mobile video app Vine prepares for its planned phase-out in January, I’m reflecting on some of my favorite moments. Vine announced this Fall that the service would disable new uploads, but preserve existing videos indefinitely.
I was an early adopter of Vine, downloading the app when it launched in January 2013, however, my first six-second post came two months later. My 249 Vines over nearly four years racked up 269,000 loops (views) and hopefully a few laughs along the way. Some were serious, others were painfully cheesy. People, places, and funny faces provided inspiration for these short creations.
Click the video below to watch my Vines, starting with the most recent.
Each Christmas until I turned 21, my Godmother gave me a keepsake ornament. I’ve amassed quite the collection of Christmas figures, cartoon characters, and even a Magi lantern. Now, I’ve shared this same ornament tradition with both of my own Godsons. I hope one day they’ll appreciate it as much as I have. Click this video to check out all of these special memories on my tree!
Does your family have any cool Holiday traditions? Post them in the comments below!
History isn’t as bland of a subject as it’s sometimes portrayed. Many people probably think of a stack of dusty books taking up space in a classroom or library, but I envision a vibrant picture of stories preserved by people, places, and culture.
Learning is a lifelong adventure for any committed journalist, a journey shaped by academic studies, real world application, and experiences shared by those working in the field. There’s always an opportunity to grow for those open to it. Looking back on my college years, I was fortunate to have been exposed to constant advice from professors and professionals, even if I didn’t recognize its true value at the time. I vividly remember listening to presentations by network news producers, corporate news directors, Presidential campaign media advisors, pollsters, news anchors, reporters, photographers, and journalism academics. Today, I apply their principles and pointers on a daily basis.
Being asked to speak to a class of journalism students at my alma mater, Northwestern State University, is somewhat of an intimidating experience. You hope to leave behind at least one valuable piece of advice or thought-provoking concept to consider. Typically that process is made easier by the professor proposing a topic or focus for my conversation. Continue reading
Click the video below to explore the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, the first national park to protect a river system, is an exciting adventure. The Current and Jacks Fork Rivers provide stunning backdrops for floating, fishing, kayaking, and cave exploring.
Click the video below to watch a time-lapse of my flights into Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Tyler Pound Regional Airport.
Click the video below to watch my flights between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, Missouri on Cape Air.
The Blue Hole, a privately owned swimming hole in the Angelina National Forest, is located in a former quarry in rural Jasper County.
Nestled in the Angelina National Forest in Deep East Texas, 36 miles southeast of Lufkin, is one of the hidden jewels of Texas. The Blue Hole, as it’s known, is a brilliant blue-green-colored lake surrounded by the craggy white sandstone cliffs of a former rock quarry.
First opened in the late 1800s, rock was removed from the quarry and transported by the Rockland, Jasper & Northeastern Railway Company for use in the Sabine Pass and Galveston jetties extensions, according to an article published by The History Center in Diboll.
Once known as Kyle’s Quarry, the 12 acres were flooded in the 1920s and has been a popular spring-fed swimming hole for decades, the article stated. A 1918 University of Texas publication noted the distinct coloring of the water is from the sandstone, containing quartz and chert, as well as layers of clay.
Click the video below to watch what happens when an unexpected fire alarm interrupts Good Morning East Texas!
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, click the video below for dramatic views of Mount Rushmore and Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota.
Click the video below to watch my latest trek down the Lower Mountain Fork River in beautiful McCurtain County, Oklahoma.
Crowds of people gather every Summer evening around dusk to watch as many as 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from the world’s largest urban bat colony, the Congress Street Bridge over Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas. Click the video below to watch.
Click the video below to watch a peaceful few moments of aquarium fish gliding through the water.
Each year, I dust off this necktie as a tribute to my grandfather, who I give credit for encouraging me to pursue a career in journalism.
I’ve really grown to love this tradition. Every year, I pull this necktie out of the closet and wear it on or around my grandfather’s birthday. He retired it from his collection and “passed it down” to me when I was in high school, a few years before he died.
Sunday would have been “Paw Paw’s” 91st birthday. He deserves a great deal of credit for sparking my interest in journalism. We would watch the news together when I was a kid and he would save newspapers so I could read them at his house each weekend.
“Paw Paw” even encouraged me to try out for KPLC 7 News Teen Reporter program almost 20 years ago and gave me feedback when I wrote for the Lake Charles American Press teen page.
He was an extremely intelligent man, a loving grandfather who never knew a stranger, and could cook like nobody’s business.
Do you have any special ways you honor the memory of family members? Continue reading
Click the video below to watch a quick 360 degree view of the 64-acre spring-fed lake at Tyler State Park.
The romanticism of flying isn’t lost on commercial flights unless you willingly let it become routine. I fly several times a year and still find each opportunity to take to the skies an exciting adventure. Sure, I find myself reading, listening to music, working, and sleeping at times, but I’m intentional about dedicating a few critical moments on each leg of my trip to simply enjoying the view.
Click the video below to watch a time-lapse of a takeoff and landing from my recent flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Dallas, Texas.
Click the video below to learn more about the thousands of model trains and East Texas railroad artifacts housed inside the Cotton Belt Depot Museum.
