Fresh faces

The photographer working the night desk came into the back room and asked if anyone wanted a fun assignment. I seized the moment, since the other option was chasing the green sky to possible tornadoes (which never materialized). So, off it was to a local center for Hispanic families, where the children were painting, most for the first time. It made for a happy ending to the week.

Flower man

Sandy Bell is a Chattanooga icon. He can be found in every downtown bar on a Friday or Saturday night peddling flowers. I found him washing windows on Broad Street, balancing towels on his one-of-a-kind gold bike. This is his day job, though I'm not sure he asks before he starts washing them. With his straw cowboy hat, safety glasses, pink towel and extension cord coiled around the handlebars, it's hard not to find him charming.

Just another cute kid

But the dog has this look in her eyes...

Take me out

What a great day for baseball.  The rains gave way to dramatic clouds, which cleared in time to let the screaming light through for the end of the game.  The home team was down by 3 in the 6th, and this play, just above, at the bottom of the 7th, tied the game.

Inner vision

The last two days I have had a lot of success following an inner sense of where I was supposed to be driving.  Yesterday, it was a fire.  Today, I got off the interstate via an exit I never take and found this at the bottom of the ramp.  

It had just happened, and the three UTC football players, who had been on their way to practice, were just starting to climb out of the vehicle.  It took me a minute to make sure everyone was alright and that EMS had been called.  There was still one person trying to get out of the car when I started shooting.  

Puny

This has to be the smallest fire to ever require five Chattanooga engines. Only the wooden window frame burned. And this may be the smallest hose ever used to fight a fire. I felt a little bad after posting it on our wesite this afternoon. Hope I didn't injure anyone's pride.

Sunny Rossville

A park full of children and the Yard of the Month up on the ridge. Not too shabby for a Tuesday. This 86-year-old woman still gardens, mows her own lawn and, get this, she climbs up on the roof and cleans her own gutters. Her friends and family love that last one. She has a green thumb you wouldn't believe. Last year a pine tree fell onto two dogwoods. She put the trees back together with duct tape. They both bloomed this spring. Talk about a magic touch.