Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! My yiayia sends her love. 

Grandpa William

I never met my grandfather. He passed away on December 21, 1985, soon after my parent's wedding. A long battle with colon cancer left him in a wheelchair, unable to walk. My mom says she'll never forget the moment when time seemed to stop- when her father got up from his wheelchair, and walked her down the aisle. 
 Love is powerful. 

Weekend Weather!

Here are some of my hits from the weekend morning show!

My best friend's heart transplant...

"Drs have accepted a heart. Goin in for surgery around noon."

The text message came from Stavroula's mom at 6:54 AM.

I raced to the hospital and was able to see my best friend before she went in.

I watched her sign the consent form, as she gave the surgeon instructions of where to put her icon of Saint Savva. 

Stavroula took a leap of faith yesterday.

The 12 hours we spent waiting- counting each time the door opened- hoping it was one of the surgeons with an update- that was the part that tested our faith.  

A priest, another friend, that sweet lady from church who passes the money tray around- each visitor another voice begging God for a miracle. 

5:46 PM:  Stavroula's surgeon, Dr. Alfred Asante-Korang walked in.

"Everything is going nice in there," he said, "you guys keep your prayers. The heart will be here soon."

This was Stavroula's third heart transplant since she was born - a risky surgery according to several top hospitals across the nation that denied her requests for treatment. 

I left the waiting room to walk around, and heard Stavroula's yiayia (grandmother), reading a prayer in Greek. 

"Yperaghia Theotoke soson imas," she said with reverence, standing next to the window by the elevators.

"Yperaghia Theotoke soson imas," translates to "Most Holy Theotokos, save us."

I walked over and stood beside her as she read from her little red prayer book. 

When she was done she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said she wasn't just praying for Stavroula, but all the kids in the hospital.

Stavroula made it through the surgery.

She slept through the night with no complications.

At one point they woke her up to see if she was alert and then put her back to sleep. 

"It's better that way, so she doesn't feel the pain and keeps the anxiety under control," her mom said in a text message today.

They're going to wean her off the breathing machine and wake her up tonight.

She still has a long way to go, but my best friend is alive. 

May God give her strength. 

Visiting Stavroula in the weeks before her transplant 

Saint Savvas 

What's Your Story?

Honored to have been a guest on the University of Florida show, "What's Your Story."

Big shoes to fill

I filled in for our weekend anchor, Erik von Ancken tonight at 6 and 11. Thank God all went well :)

 Our floor director Steve doing his thing

Man arrested for stealing his neighbor's cows

DeLeon Springs man arrested for stealing his neighbor's cows, deputies say

This happened...

Central Fla. grandma: 'Bad haircut is ruining my life'

To those who may be wondering why bad haircuts make the news- take a look at Chartbeat, real-time traffic and audience-behavior data that shows us how people are engaging with our content.
Grandma's bad haircut is leading the way.

Heyyyyyy

Local 6 intern Lindsey and I hanging out in the live truck :)

No shoes

According to the National Weather Service, the high in Brevard county was 86 on Tuesday.

I was in Rockledge, reporting on a father who left his 9-month-old daughter in the back seat of his pickup truck.

As I was getting ready for the 6:00, a boy walked up to me with no shoes on. 

I'm certain the asphalt was burning his little feet- but he didn't seem to be bothered. 

I asked him why he wasn't wearing shoes and he said he didn't have any that fit.

Beauty of the butterfly...

I've stood outside a shed where three homeless people were murdered, in front of an apartment where a woman was beaten to death by her husband, and countless other places where evil crimes have taken place, and precious lives were destroyed. 

In the news gathering process, journalists put themselves at ground zero - on a mission to get the most important and accurate information for our readers and viewers, in a timely and ethical manner- so that we are exposing the truth, hoping that by informing, we are helping someone in some way. 

At least that's how I see it. 

You would think that the details of these terrible stories stick like glue, and replay in my mind but thank God, they don't.

What I do recall, is that at almost all of these horrific scenes, a butterfly has crossed my path.

Maya Angelou once said, "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."

Sadly, she passed away today, but what I take from the American author's quote, is to never stop hoping people will change for the better-- and always remember that good exists - even in chaos.

Statement from taken from: Maya Angelou-The Official Website

Thursday, May 28, 2014

Statement from Dr. Maya Angelou’s Family:

Dr. Maya Angelou passed quietly in her home before 8:00 a.m. EST. Her family is extremely grateful that her ascension was not belabored by a loss of acuity or comprehension. She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace. The family is extremely appreciative of the time we had with her and we know that she is looking down upon us with love.

Guy B. Johnson

Hellooooooo!

This post needs to start with a Mrs. Doubtfire "helloooooo" because I haven't been on here in awhile.

I really love blogging, and rambling about whatever is on my mind, (whether or not anyone reads) but the news has been keeping me busy. 

I had the opportunity to fill-in on the anchor desk this past Saturday. 

Here's a clip from the show. 

I drove to my parent's house on Sunday to spend Mother's Day with the family. 

Cosmo (my dad) made a delicious lobster tail dinner and we finished it off with some cheesecake.

It was lovely.

I'll end with some old school pics of my mom and I, and a video I produced for her a few years ago on her birthday. 

She's a beautiful woman- inside and out, and I am so very grateful for her.

My mom Melissa and I after my baptism :) 

Click on picture :) 

Pensacola

It's 2:22 A.M. and I'm sitting at a rest stop on the Florida turnpike. My photographer is taking a nap before we start our last leg back to Orlando.

We've been covering the floods in Pensacola for the past two days.

This morning, we were sent to the Escambia County Jail - after an apparent gas explosion killed two inmates and injured over 150 prisoners and corrections officers.

Stay classy

Ron Burgundy left his shades in the newsroom... 

ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ Η ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ - FREEDOM OR DEATH

Happy Greek Independence Day! 
Photos: L. Skenderis

Good morning!

Thieves Targeting Cars

^ Click on the screen shot to watch the story ^

"I thought you died when that house fell on you..."

I was reporting in Daytona last Saturday (Bike Week) and my feet were freezing so I ran into the dollar store and bought these fabulous socks. A biker walked up to me and said, "I thought you died when that house fell on you." Lol

I posted about it on my Facebook page and got a lot of laughs :) 

Hopscotch

Three years ago, I was trying to make friends with a group of kids in Haiti, but I only knew a few phrases in Creole. 
So I picked up a rock and taught them how to play hopscotch.

#TeamSupra

'SupraMan' Dr. Phillips High School senior gets OK from doctors to play at meet
SUPRA MAN 

Fro-YO

I met up with a group of UCF journalism students on Tuesday night.
We talked about the business over some delicious frozen yogurt.
Thank you UCF RTDNA for having me - it was a pleasure meeting all of you :)

~ Click on the pic and it gets bigga ~

THE BEATLES!

Beatles land in U.S. 50 years ago. British Invasion begins. 

I had an awesome time putting together a story about the Beatles. 

Mr. Tee Taylor shot and edited the piece.

Check it out here.

My favorite girl...

My family came up to visit for the day. 

It was my mom's birthday yesterday, so I surprised her with a cannoli cake (her favorite). 

She said it was the best cake she's ever had. 

She also started singing a song, (she does that sometimes).

"I'll always love my mama, she's my favorite girl..."

Come to find out, it's a real song -she's not making it up, (she does that sometimes). 

"I'll Always Love My Mama," by The Intruders.

I got the recipe for the cake here 

Roadkill Ghost Choir

Awesome group of guys- very down to earth and they have a good sense of humor.
Today I interviewed "Roadkill Ghost Choir," a rock band with a unique name and sound.
The guys are set to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman on January 16.

Check out my story, and their music:

I one-man-banded this story- one of the guys in the studio helped me light up my look live :)

Filling in on the morning show

On our drive back to the station after going live at 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30 and noon.
TOO TIRED TO SPEAK....

Karen got the coin!

I brought a round of vasilopita to the station, and the lovely Karen Gehl got the coin.

This May will be 22 years that she's been our receptionist- the first smile you see when you walk into Local 6 :) 

Happy New Year!

Here's to drinking champagne out of wine glasses.
My parents and little brother surprised me at my apartment last night when I got home from work, and we had to use something other than my coffee cups to ring in the new year.
My mom brought everything but the kitchen sink- pots, pans, a huge piece of roast beef, vegetables.
They stayed the night, and as I was covering the Capital One Bowl today, they were cooking, and cleaning, and fixing my apartment.
I came home from work and dinner was ready, my laundry was all done and folded, my refrigerator was cleaned out and practically color-coordinated, and that knob that had been hanging off my laundry room door for months, was back to normal.
I gave them all a big hug and kiss before they left and told them they could come back anytime.
So here's to a new year; no matter what kind of glass you're drinking out of, may you be toasting with the people you love and cherish every moment.

Vasilopita 

The piece of vasilopita we set aside for my older brother had the coin :)