A tornado ripped through San Angelo the night of the 9th. Around midnight I stood at the window of my pitch-black hotel room staring out at the natural fury. Huge hailstones pelted the window which I expected to shatter at any moment. Soon water was pouring in through leaks in the drywall.
A few hours later it was dawn and I was on a plane flying above the storm, heading home for a two-day break.
I know I’m going to lose some street cred for this, but I put on Coldplay’s X&Y album and stared out the window at the passing storm and rising sun. The music and exhaustion brought me to a feeling of weightlessness.
Feelings from the past week pulsed through me. In this state of consciousness, I wrote down a bunch of words straight from the heart, which are in a steno pad somewhere around here…
…Oh, here it is…
Tuesday was a long one day. And then came the tip that I could go the airspace over the YFZ Ranch had opened up.
After the flight
As I’ve said repeatedly, the flight was amazing. Another photographer (who also went up) texted me: HOW SICK WAS THAT?!
(Sick meaning cool in this case.)
As I drove back to San An It was a 45 minute drive back to the hotel. I powered up the iPod, listening to music for the first time in five days. With the familiar tunes came an initial sense of exhilarating peace calm. My mind stopped thinking and I felt sated in the hard work of the day.
And then, as often a wave of emotion. If I could describe it maybe I would say a severe sense of feeling of humility that comes when it hits you me that what I do has the power to impact so many people. The humility is based in a sense of concern that I’m doing this job of reporting correct and fairly.
It’s a humbling feeling.
Part of it is just the emotion that you suck up watching events that are impacting other human beings. I don’t really allow myself to feel anything when I photograph scenes like when the women were in tears and praying for some sort of peace.
But you have to emotionally process it sooner or later and as I drove, the music brought it all up and I was grateful to have been able to tell the stories show this history through my photographs.
I’m flying home to take a short break from the YFZ story. Back to Salt Lake to hug the kids wife, play with the kids, and turn 40.
The events of the last week happened caught me completely by surprise. But the three years Brooke and I have spent covering polygamy together put us in position to dominate this story. And with a few lucky breaks along the way, I think it’s clear that we did.
But it doesn’t happen
But it was
But it would beBut I’ve got to be honest. So many people contributed to making it all come together. Some thanks are in order.
Thanks first to Brooke for pushing me. Her work ethic is unmatched.
Thanks to all of Brooke’s sources, who I believe make our coverage deeper and more fleshed out that anyone else’s. Your knowledge is invaluable as we seek to tell this story often
Stan of the X-Bar Ranch- thanks for the hospitality
Randy and Kathy Mankin- thanks for the stew. I know you think it’s weird but I fell in love with your (can I say) wonderfully cluttered office. Never throw out the border tape!
Khampha and Bill from Fort Worth
Erich Schlegel – huge thanks.
Mike Terry and Brian West – our honorable competition. Great work.
Aaron at Channel 4, Tony Gutierrez at AP, Patrick Dove.
Jerry and Susan @ The Old Chicken Farm
Kyle the helicopter pilot
J.D. Doyle
Knowing that the crew Having rock-solid support from the Tribune was greatly appreciated, especially from Susan, Michael, Jeremy, Emily. (Hope you read this before you see my timesheet!)
Of course, thanks to Laura and my boys.
You guys put up
Know that when I’m away
