Twinkle, Twinkle

gravedigger

Three feet wide, eight feet long and six feet deep -- that's how big the hole is that gravedigger Alfred Brown of Tampa is making for a Saturday funeral at Rest Haven Memorial Park. After four hours of digging, the pile of roots removed grows larger behind him, as does the mound of dirt shoveled out of the ground next to him. "Sometimes we use a backhoe," said Brown. "But sometimes, the ground is too soft, the graves are too close together, and there's no way to get a big machine over here. This is the second hand-dug one today. And I'll sleep well tonight." Rest Haven owner Jim McKeehan said that the 30-acre cemetery is third-generation family-owned and operated and has changed names over the years, but has been in existence since 1927. It is the final resting place of educator's showmen, doctors and lawyers, including some of Tampa's more prominent citizens like A. Leon Lowry and Leon Claxton, he said.

5 Things Meme

So there's this thing going around, a meme if you will, which obligates me to share with you 5 things you didn’t know about me (but were afraid to ask). And *BAM* Tag. Mindy McAdams got me. So, I guess I'm it. Well, world, this is the unknown me:

GIRLS: My first crush was on Melissa Lee. I was in fourth grade, she was in fifth. She was a school safety patrol who's post was at the pencil machine at the end of my hall. She had these dark brown curls that fell over her forehead framing these big brown, puppy dog eyes and a huge smile. I'm convinced this is why I only have eyes for brunettes now.

THE FLAUTIST: In sixth grade I desperately wanted to play the drums like my dad, so I joined my school's band. My parents were divorced, and mom told me there's no way I was bringing a drum set into her house. I chose the next loudest instrument, the trombone, which she also vetoed. Trumpet, no mam. I refused to play clarinet because all the geek clarinet kids used to walk around school slobbering on their reeds and I didn't want to be associated with them. I was crushed, the only instrument left to play was the flute, and I got stuck with it for a whole year. My dad, seized the opportunity and told me if I was going to play the flute I was going to play like fuckin' Jethro Tull. I was the only sixth grader I know of who liked Ian Anderson better than Jordan Knight. And I'm still a huge Tull fan.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: I got kicked out of my house when I was 16 for bringing home a C on my report card. I've been fiercely independent and on my own ever since.

FUTBOL: I played soccer for about 13 years. My senior year of high school, I was playing on my school's team, a traveling team, and as a ringer for a local university's team. I was invited to train with the US U-21 team, and their Olympic Development Program. I could have had a walk-on scholarship to play at Auburn University, which I turned down to go to UF for their Journalism School. I stopped playing after photojournalism consumed me.

PICTURING YOU ALL IN YOUR UNDERWEAR DOESN'T HELP: I love roller coasters, driving fast, watching lightning storms, and venturing into the unknown, but I have a huge fear of public speaking. We're talking the sweaty palms, heart-racing, knees-knocking kinda fear, that doesn't subside until the torture is over with.

Because I can, I'LL TAG: Lisa Krantz, Nicole Fruge, Chris Detrick, Pete Kiehart and Ross Taylor.

Which Way Do I Go?

The Devolution of Gasparilla

Arrrrrr.... Tampa loves a parade. After Ye Mystic Krewe storms the city aboard the Jose Gaspar, thousands of pirates tear through the city on floats. It starts out harmless enough, but as the day progresses, and more alcohol is consumed, it's amazing to see what people will do for beads. My job for the day was to stay off the main parade route, and comb the edges for those unexpected moments. It was people-watching at its finest. And I had a blast.

Battle of the Bands

Danny Thompson, 15, tunes his guitar before taking the stage with Mourning Waits during the Battle of the Bands at Chamberlain High School. About 250 people came out to watch four bands compete for top honors. Both the audience and the judges loved the hard hitting guitar licks and testosterone-fueled sounds of screamo band Mourning Waits, who walked away with a first place trophy, custom guitar cables and a band logo to be designed by Chamberlain High School's graphic design class.



The Velvetones bassist Harry Ong, 14, right, runs through his band's set list in his head while waiting backstage before playing in the Battle of the Bands at Chamberlain High School. Their self-described indie reggae sound won over the crowd, but not the judges, who gave the win to Mourning Waits.

digging a rut

Predictable. Lazy. Mediocre. Frustrated. Angry.

I hate the photographer person I've become lately.

National Lampoon's

I was there to photograph the Airstream for a Homes assignment, and was distracted by a cute, but goofy little one. Towards the end of the shoot, Chandler's mom asked me if the squishy face picture was going to make the paper. I told her with a smile, I can't make any guarantees that it won't.

Quad Rugby

Tampa General's Ryan Lindstrom (13) powers himself past Deuces Wild's Jonathan Kim (9) advancing the ball up field while on the offense during their match Saturday in the 2007 Coloplast International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament. Deuces Wild's good hands and quick speed won 52-38.

Jungle Dog

She may look cute and harmless, but she's really a vicious lizard killer.

Bayshore Patriots

"We invite the protesters because what we support is the exact thing that protects their rights and freedom to protest," said Julie Whitney of Tampa, co-founder of the Bayshore Patriots, the American flag-waving group of about 10 members that stands on the corner of Bayshore and Bay-to-Bay boulevards every Friday evening. "We're out here to support all those who defend and support us. It's not just the soldiers, it's the fireman, police, our coast guard, airline pilots and stewardesses."

the infamous, 5 o'clock find a weather feature

With dropping temperatures and a projected low of around 41 degrees tonight, Emily Cruz of Tampa bundles up to watch her step-son Steven Negron, 13, practice at USF's baseball field with his baseball team the Tampa Cannons. Their family just moved to the Tampa Bay area around Thansgiving from Puerto Rico so Steven could play baseball in the United States. "If I would have known it got this cold in Florida I might not have come," joked Cruz.

Shane 2

Shane Sheil, 16, only wanted three things for Christmas, an Xbox 360, a skateboard and a family. After a story about Shane ran in the St. Petersburg times, the community responded, and two of his three wishes have already been fulfilled. Someone donated an Xbox 360 to him, and a local skateboard shop offered to let him come in and pick out anything he wanted. Shane takes a break from the steady stream of video game playing, to get some fresh air and dance with his friend Thomas Blake, 18, while blaring music on the radio of Blake's Saturn.

This was a follow-up to the earlier portrait of Shane.