Chickens in Land Cruisers
10-28
Yesterday we went with a young orphan girl to her village to visit her grandmother. Bob Higgins took us in his Land Cruiser. During the visit in the village, the small kids the village suddenly began running, laughing, through the compound. As quickly as they started, they stopped... And then approached the orphan with a live chicken. It was a gift to be given to give to Dickens, the pastor who helped her get into the orphanage. Into the Land Cruiser the chicken went.
Today the medical clinic in the church across the street was overflowing with patients--word was out that an American doctor was here. The doc removed a growth from a man's ear and the patient appeared later in the day at the orphanage to present him with a live chicken. The chicken was put--where else-- in the back of the Land Cruiser. Another day, another chicken in a Land Cruiser.)
Back at the orphanage, I was waiting for some kids to show up to perform a dance when I was swarmed by a group. I asked if they were the dancers and they said "yes". So I said, let's go! The minute they started dancing, I realized they weren't THE dancers, just a bunch of kids each dancing to his own tune.
Eventually, the real dancers showed up.
Today was also the day we said goodbye to the kids and some of the staff we've grown to love. A little boy named Brian, the son of one of the widowed house moms, tracked me down as we were leaving. This is the same boy who sang and danced "Where do you come from, Baaaaby" when we first met. He gave me the most wonderful, warm hug goodbye. Neither of us wanted to let go.
Fortunately, I taped his song and dance and will watch it any time I need a chuckle.
We had dinner tonight at the home of Dickens, another staff member, where we had an African feast lit by one stick candle. There were about two dozen of us in the livingroom. The food was amazing and Dickens played music on African instruments when we'd finished eating. Proof once again that good company, good food and good music are all ya really need for a great party.
Bruce Cummings - Producer/Writer/Narrator
Bruce has won national and local Emmy Awards over his 30-plus years as a broadcast journalist. The lion's share of his career was spent at NBC Nightly News, where he worked as a senior producer with Tom Brokaw and then Brian Williams.
Bruce spent 18 of those years in NBC's Washington, D.C. bureau, managing the reporting of correspondents and producers covering the White House, the Hill, State, the Pentagon and all federal agencies. He was known for his focus, integrity, vast knowledge of politics and history and his ability to make complex issues easily understood through clear and concise writing.
His strong leadership skills and keen editorial judgment were recognized regularly by NBC News. Bruce was put in charge of managing major ongoing breaking news stories for all NBC News programs, including the Enron meltdown and the D.C. sniper.
Bruce relocated to the West Coast in 1997, where he continued to work for NBC Nightly News from the Los Angeles bureau for nine years. He oversaw coverage ranging from the Columbine massacre to Michael Jackson's molestation trial to California politics to wildfires.
Prior to joining NBC, Bruce was executive producer of the evening news at WRC-TV and prior to that, worked as a producer for ABC's "Good Morning America".
Bruce also has done extensive work as a narrator of a wide variety of television productions and a voice-over artist for a vast range of commercials and on-air promos. He lives in Bend, Oregon, where he continues to write and to narrate a variety of video productions.
Tom Tanquary - Director of Photography
Tom Tanquary is an award-winning journalist who has worked for every American network television network and a number of local stations in his 30-plus years in the industry. He has worn a number of hats over the years, include those of Executive Producer, Director, Director of Photography, Assistant News Director and On-Air Reporter.
Tom was the director and executive producer of the 2008 film Finding Our Ancient Wisdom. He was awarded a grant to produce the film, which is about the origins of western society.
Over the past 14 years, Tom has worked as a director of photography on the following network news programs: 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, Dateline NBC, TODAY, NBC Nightly News, Now, Primetime Live and Front Page.
Prior to that, Tom worked for Fox TV as the lead Director of Photography and Field Director for their newly-formed news division, later to become FOX News Cable. He was in charge of creating the visual style of their groundbreaking news magazine, Front Page. After the successful launch of FOX News Cable, Tom started Picture and Sound Productions in 1995. The company provided broadcast services to news and entertainment programs.
In 1991, Tom worked as the DP and Field Director for the syndicated program Prime Suspect, then earned his Directors Guild of America card while working on ABC's Home Show as a Segment Director.
Tom began working for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles in 1984 as a videographer/editor and Director of Photography. At the same time, he published his first college textbook, Portable Video: ENG and EF with The Focal Press. This was the first textbook of its kind to teach students about using video cameras outside the studio. Over the next 15 years, he wrote four editions of the book.
Tom also worked as Chief Photographer and Assistant News Director at KVOA-TV in Tucson, AZ. He also was on-air reporter and producer of the annual "Year in Review" primetime hour specials for the station.
Tom earned his Bachelor of Fine and Applied Arts Degree from the University of Illinois and worked as business manager and on-air talent for the local radio station WPGU-FM in Champaign, IL.
His awards include a national Emmy for his photography and two Los Angeles Emmys for his field directing and photography. He also has won an Edward R. Murrow Award and an IRIS Award. Tom lives in Costa Mesa, CA.
Kort Waddell - Director of Photography
Kort is an Emmy Award winning director of photography with more than 30 years of broadcast experience. he is known for his visionary work for NBC News, elevating primetime news programming to a higher level with his creative eye. Kort also is a director of entertainment television (DGA). His work has appeared on numerous television networks and cable outlets including NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX, HBO, Discovery and National Geographic, to name a few. Kort's versatility is apparent in the broad spectrum of programs on which he has worked: news, documentary, sports and entertainment.
Whether it's shooting on location or in a studio, in Los Angeles or the other side of the world, Kort is a go-to director of photography. Networks, cable entities and independent production companies have brought their projects to Kort, knowing he will give them a unique style and vision. He has worked on productions ranging from undercover assignments for Dateline NBC to uncovering the beauty of the Miss Universe pageants.
Kort's fine work as a producer/director earned him an Emmy for the MSNBC production "100 Days, 1,000 Voices", a cross-country motor home trip that got up close and personal with voters prior to the 2000 election. Most recently, Kort produced and directed "David Braza at Masada", a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a sunrise concert near the Dead Sea in Israel for PBS.
Kort also directed "The Games Behind the Games", an hour-long documentary for MSNBC on the preparations for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, hosted by NBC News' Keith Morrison. This special program earned a Telly Award, the Communicator Award and an Aegis Award. In 2003, he produced, directed and photographed "The Next Destination, a joint venture with Travel+Leisure Magazine and CNBC, which also won the Communicator and Aegis awards.
In 2006, Kort undertook the demanding challenge of capturing the cross-country automobile event "The Great Race" (synonymous with the motion picture of the same name), a 14-day trek following 130 vintage cars across the nation.
Some of the high-profile NBC primetime specials on which Kort has been primary videographer include "Farrah's Story", "Farewell to Friends", "Will and Grace Finale Special" and "Sigfried and Roy - Miracles". He also had the privilege of working with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show". Kort has worked on every NBC News program, every ABC newsmagazine program, PBS's "NOW with Bill Moyers" and for History Channel.
Al Lopez - Director of Photography
Al Lopez has been a News Video Photographer and Director of Photography for more than 30 years. Al has worked primarily for U.S. television national news programs for more than 20 years, including primetime television network newsmagazine programs such as 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, 20/20, Primetime Live, Nightline and Frontline. He frequently works for network daily news, political news, Today, Good Morning America and has extensive experience shooting for sports programming. Al has worked for ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS as well as HBO, CNN, Discovery Channel and other networks, plus multiple corporate clients. His photography assignments have taken him to many international locations.
In 1999, Al won a national Emmy Award for an ABC News 20/20 special edition on the 20th anniversary of the massacre at Jonestown, Guyana, and, in 2005, was part of NBC NEWS' Peabody Award-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Al also won an Emmy Award for his photography in 1988 while News Photographer at KPIX-TV, the CBS station in San Francisco. In 1984, Al was video photographer for the first AIDS documentary, which received a U.S. presidential Recognition Award from President Ronald Reagan.
Al earned his degree in Broadcasting Arts from San Francisco State University. He was born and raised in Stockton, CA.
Emily Maleki - Associate Producer
Emily most recently co-produced two documentaries for Human Rights Watch regarding their work to eliminate the rape kit backlog in Los Angeles and to end life without parole for youth in California. These projects were narrated by Dennis Haysbert and Alfre Woodard.
Prior to that, she worked for NBC News. She spent three years as an associate producer for NBC's TODAY SHOW, covering high-profile national stories. She covered the 2008 Beijing Olympics, co-produced San Diego wildfire coverage with Matt Lauer and worked on his series "Where in the World is Matt Lauer". Emily also acted as coordinating producer for TODAY's coverage of the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Grammys and Emmy Awards.
Emily worked as a researcher for NBC News prior to her position with TODAY and before that, worked for National Geographic Programming in London/Beverly Hills.
She earned her Master of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California and her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Location "Scout"
She didn't make the cut as a guide dog for the blind, but she has one heck of an eye for spotting nice locations. You can also see her in her role as talent as the "local dog" in Bend Broadband commercials.
Hi Sandy, What a great trip! Your experiences make me think about joining you out there! When you come back, I would love to see you and your husband. Keep enjoying your trip. Your cousin Nancy
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Sandy & Bruce: From your meeting with the orphans to your meal under a lightning-filled sky...what an incredible tour through such a captivating country. (If only you could "beam me" across the world to your camp.) I look forward to your blog posts and can't wait to see your pictures. Safe travels! Emily
ReplyDeleteFor advice on use of the word "Africa", see: http://bloodandmilk.org/
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