Band of Brothers

There's a bond so special between soldiers in combat that they call themselves brothers. I wouldn't go so far as to call any television news crew my brother but if I needed a tripod to borrow, St. Louis Chief Photographer Billy McCormick at CBS-4 KMOV would be my brother. Billy came to my rescue out of sheer camaraderie and trust this weekend.

First off, Billy woke up in the middle of the night to a call from an angry Assignment Editor not to keen on helping a Yank out. As mentioned, I was hemorrhaging for a tripod because United lost mine in route from D.C., a common company hazard for a traveling freelancer.

On the weekends, all rental and production houses are closed in St. Louis, but having worked at a CBS affiliate in NY for 12 years, odds were good that the Chief Photographer would sympathize with my plight. And Billy did.

This church-going father of three is deserving of a huge bonus for coming to my rescue, despite not needing his tripod after all. United Airlines came through around 2 am dropping off my beloved Miller sticks just in time for me to catch a few winks before the big assignment. But had they not, I found peace of mind and comfort knowing Billy's tripod would do the trick.

Billy, might you be reading, from one ENG photog to another, you give the business a good name, my friend. Might you ever need the same in New York, I'm there for ya.