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gordontalk

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After what happened this morning with the chopper, I think this will be an interesting question. Have any of you came close to meeting your maker as a result of a radio assignment? Hubcap had some interesting stories to tell about things that he faced as a news reporter that I found to be interesting to read. So what are your stories?
 
Gordon said:
After what happened this morning with the chopper, I think this will be an interesting question. Have any of you came close to meeting your maker as a result of a radio assignment? Hubcap had some interesting stories to tell about things that he faced as a news reporter that I found to be interesting to read. So what are your stories?
Click to expand...

My worst one was covering the University of Puerto Rico riots in 1970... we were broadcasting from the Burger King across from the entrance to the university when the students decided that the BK was a symbol of imperialism and decided to throw molotov's at it and burnt it to the ground. We hid behind the trash containers until the fire engines arrived and then beat it out of there.

Prior to that, covering the strike at the Central University of Ecuador a year prior, we found ourselves in the middle of the students and a bunch of tanks and water cannons.

Amusing in a strange sort of way was my third story. In 1967, we did a treasure hunt on HCFV and the last clues put the S/ 1,000 certificate under a bench in the main plaza of Quito, Ecuador. Just as someone was about to find the money, students (see a common element developing?) swarmed into the plaza to demonstrate, followed by hundreds of cops, soldiers and the ubiquitous water cannons.
 
Driving across the Port Lavaca Causeway during hurricane Claudette. Photographer Epi Vasquez was in the passenger seat, I was at the wheel...which was turned almost completely to the right right to stay on the bridge. It was only a Cat 2 storm, but the eye crossed precisely over the bridge just after we did - which we didn't know at the time. 110mph sustained winds, with gusts to 130. We could look down and see the water churning fifty feet below.

Caught under an F-5 thunderstorm near McLean, Texas in the Panhandle. We were sent storm chasing, and our photographer followed my advice and drove down a narrow county road. It was paved for about 100 yards, then turned to Caliche clay...which is slicker than spit when wet. When we tried to turn around we got stuck crossways, as it became apparent the "road" was a ditch...rapidly filling with water. We sat there for two hours with lightning bolts hitting on all sides of us...until the only guy in McLean with a tow truck could get us out. Got some incredible video, though. Never realized that lightning appears in various colors till then.

Ft. Worth tornado. I drove into downtown for KRLD on Belknap while the funnel came up 7th. Heard it, but never saw it...and didn't really realize what had happened until a piece of the Bank One building landed on my truck.
 
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