Close Call

 

After a fairly steady diet of death and destruction, it was a breath of fresh air when I had the chance to do a positive and fun story, and it almost didn't happen.

We learned the bus carrying the East Stroudsburg University Warriors softball team was leaving campus for the Newark airport, then Nashville, then Chattanooga, for the division two World Series.

Editor Jason and I worked on a totally different story for our morning broadcast.  Photographer Tim and I then high tailed it to ESU to get the bus leaving.  Time was not our friend and we knew we would be cutting it close.

We drove around campus at 4:15 am, and couldn't find the bus!  I stopped a police officer and asked him if he saw a bus on campus.  He didn't.  Panic was setting in.  I really wanted this story.  We we late?  Did we get bad information?

I was ready to search all 57 buildings on all 258 acres of the ESU campus.  As we were making another loop, photographer Tim spotted the bus lights in a parking area behind the field house.  Relief!

There was barely time to jump out of the car, do some interviews, and get some video before the bus had to leave for the Newark airport.  I was in such a hurry, I didn't even bother to tuck my shirt in to my pants.  ESU coach Jaime Wolbach took the photo you see above.  Katie "Donnie" Donaghue is the player in front of my microphone, a really nice young lady.

This was a true "crash and burn" effort-- a flurrie of activity for ten minutes, ending when the ESU bus pulled out of the parking lot, filled with a great bunch of kids.

Tim sent some video back to the station for the morning newscasts.  We then packed up and headed back to the office to work on a story for Newswatch 16 at noon.

Good luck, and thank you for the story, Warriors!