Skin Off My Teeth

Lt. Col. Frank Latt, Airman Bobby Bonello (back), Thad Forester, Matt Rogers, SSgt Johnnie Yellock, pay tribute to SrA Mark Forester in Haleyville, AL, in January, 2011 It's no big surprise that most "reality" TV is made up of a bunch of contrived moments. One thing I enjoyed about one of my last assignments was the ACTUALITY of it. Last January, for "Coming Home," we were fortunate to be invited to capture a planned tribute to a fallen hero, Senior Airman Mark Forester, who was killed in Afghanistan while trying to save a fallen comrade. Paying tribute to Mark in his home town of Haleyville, Alabama were US Marines Lt. Col. Frank Latt, and fellow airmen, Bobby Bonello & Johnnie Yellock. It was during that extended weekend when it hit many of us civilian clods on the crew the level of sacrifice our military makes on our behalf as part of their oaths to do their jobs well. Mark's brother, Thad, reports that Johnnie Yellock recently suffered

When I first had a space that needed gardening, it was about keeping it weeded and looking good. There's a lot of work involved in maintaining a swell looking yard, and it made me think, here we are living in the market basket of the country, but turning over our yards mostly to just looking nice. Yeah, it's restful to see the green, but keeping it ornamental, keeps us separate from it, too. We look at it, and mostly, don't use it. And if you have a gardener as most people do in this area, well-tended yards take on about the same function as fresh paint on a house. Curb appeal. Nothing wrong with that, but how about maintaining your curb appeal, but also putting your yard to work for you? I started doing it several years ago. Now, most of the year, I can find something growing right outside the door that my family and I can eat, juice, or use to season our food. For those adverse to mowing and blowing, keep your gardener, but have him leave you an area