Christmas News

It's a strange time of year for TV news. Like it is at your house, we are obsessed with all of the last-minute details of Christmas. Many have out of town visitors, or we're planning to be out of town ourselves. As many of the members of our staff as possible are gone. It's hard to concentrate on the job. But, we still have a job to do. We hear of the sadness and despair that seem to be magnified at this time of year. We hear of burglars and thieves who want to take advantage of the hectic pace of our days. We hear of the accidents that can happen when people get too busy to pay attention to the regular events of the day. We still need to know. We still need to be reminded. It would be great to be able to concentrate solely on the charitable giving, Christmas programs, toy and candy-making and the good things going on, but reality doesn't really allow it.

Bossier The Christmas Dog

If you're a pet owner, you know dogs can cost you a lot of money.

While we're forking over big bucks for their food, health care, grooming, boarding and toys, what are they doing to contribute to the family income and pay their part?

Absolutely nothing.

They won't do the dishes, never seem to help with laundry, and refuse to get a paper route.

This weekend, it was fun to see my dog finally contribute -- and to charity, at that!

On Saturday, I decided to head out to the Southwest Drive Walmart and help out with the bell ringing battle. I figured if a handful of employees were going to be there volunteering their time, I probably should too. Last year, we brought our dog for a little while and dressed him in a Santa outfit that he absolutely despises. However, people seemed to like it. And if they liked it, they were more likely to drop money in the red kettle to benefit the Salvation Army.

I couldn't decide whether to bring Bossier this year. As soon as I pulled out the red suit, he cowered and tried to hide. However, my wife talked him out of his fit.

"Bossier, if you refuse to get a job and do any chores around here," she said in a scolding and forceful manner, "The least you could do is help charity!"

So, Bossier reluctantly put on his Santa suit and trotted off to the car.

When we got to Walmart, the KRBC side was pretty well staffed, but Victor Sotelo stood alone on Team KTAB. It was clear Bossier would be Vic's donation wing man.

It didn't take long for the kids (and adults!) to start gathering around him -- and with the attention came donations.

Bossier eventually came out of his comotose state of depression caused by the costume and became a somewhat playful version of himself. You might say this was a job he enjoyed.

In the end, Team KTAB won. Team KRBC's Chris Whited pointed to one reason for the defeat: Bossier the Christmas dog.

Maybe Bossier helped push them over the top, maybe not...

Either way, I'm proud of Bossier the Christmas dog. It's about time he did something to contribute to society!

It's not spoused to be funny!

If we haven't mentioned it yet on this here blog, or if you haven't figured it out by the matching surnames, Austin Kellerman (news director) and I (web manager) are married.

Brownwood, July 2010

That makes for a very interesting dynamic here at work. It can be quite stressful at times, and boundaries can get a little murky, but mostly it's just fun.

Like yesterday when my computer crashed and I couldn't record the Web Watch segment on my web camera, so I had to have Austin come help me record it on my iPhone.

Screen shot of the bloopers :)

I really dislike being on camera (contrary to popular belief) and I get very nervous doing any type of on-air stuff in front of people, including my husband. So yesterday, I could not ignore the huge grin on Austin's face as I was trying to talk. Watch what happens!

The last clip is the one that I finally got through without laughing, so I had to just keep going even when I messed up! Ah, the joys of editing :)