Dual assignments for shooting Floyd’s 14-13 come from behind victory over Lebanon in the state semi-final football tournament.  Since Lebanon is down in the far western corner of the state, the Bristol Herald-Courier, a sister publication to The Floyd Press in the Media General chain, asked for photos.

It’s been a while since I shot on a daily newspaper deadline and darkness fell on the studio as I readied six prints to transmit to the chief photographer in Bristol. They used one in the web story (left) of Luke Harris getting tackled but I haven’t seen the print edition yet.

The Roanoke Times coverage includes several excellent photos from Justin Cook.

Floyd will meet Gretna in the state final at 4:15 p.m. Saturday in Salem Stadium.

Floyd County High School’s Buffaloes pulled off another one-point, come-from-behind win in the state semi-finals today with a w touchdown and extra point with just over 6 second to go — beating Lebanon 14-13 and going 13-0.

To do so, they had to drive nearly the length of the field after recovering a fumble with less than two minutes to go after Lebanon drove deep into Buffalo territory and threatened to put the game out of reach.

With one minute to go, quarterback Luke Harris completed a fourth and 20 pass to keep the drive alive, then another to put the ball at the one-yard line for a first and goal. Then he threw he touchdown to tie the game and the extra point iced the victory (Lebanon missed an extra point when they scored their go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter.

Harris played on a taped ankle that he injured in the first half. He and the team were shaky in the third quarter, coughing up the ball twice on fumbles but they came through when it counted. Harris also threw two interceptions but he kept his cool and he and the team came through when it counted.

Floyd goes for the state title next Saturday afternoon in Salem.

Game time is 4:15 p.m.

Floyd County High School’s varsity football team puts its undefeated record on the line again today with a 1 p.m. game against Lebanon at the school stadium in Floyd.

Will senior standout Luke Harris deliver another stunning performance like last week when the Buffaloes stunned Chilhowie 42-13 to take the district title.

I’ll be there with my cameras to find out. Will you?

Some stores opened at 12:01 a.m. today. JCPenney opened at 4 a.m. Many others at 5. Even the Harley-Davidson dealerships in Roanoke and Christiansburg opened at 5 with deep discounts on bikes, parts and clothes until 8 a.m.

It’s Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the busiest shopping day of the year…the day most retailers hope to sell enough to put their businsses into the black.

Odds are that won’t happen this year. Analysts say worried consumers will hold on to their money and avoid the "big ticket" items that make cash registers sing at the mall.

Even worse, shopping malls and other businesses are in trouble. Many have already missed mortgage payments and more will face foreclosure in the coming year.

Amy and I avoid the madness of Black Friday. We last participated in the annual ritual in 1991 when we went to New York to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and then stayed over on Friday to Christmas shop in Manhattan.

Big mistake. Take the crowds you see at Valley View Mall on Black Friday and multiply them by at least 500 and you might have some idea of what the streets of New York are like on the day after Thanksgiving.

The only shopping spectacle that tops Black Friday in the Big Apple is the day after New Year’s in London. We spent New Year’s Eve in London in 1986 and witnessed the post-New Year’s shopping blitz when hoards descend on the city’s West End like iguanas in a feeding frenzy.

No more. Yet, in a moment of fever-crazed madness brought up by pneumonia-induced lunacy, I suggested last night we might want to get up this morning and hit the Harley Dealer at 5 a.m. to check out the bargains. Amy went along with the idea with some misgivings and got up in the wee hours but I refused to budge. Sleep became my moment of sanity..

We’ll shop locally this year and buy what we can’t find around here online. It’s easier that way.

(Photo courtesy of Reuters. Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited)

For some, Thanksgiving 2008 brings more trepidation than thanks, more fear than hope, more dread than optimism.

A slumping economy, massive layoffs, rising foreclosures, seemingly-endless wars on two fronts and a daily news diet that features mostly bad news should send even the most idealistic into the depths of depression.

But in shouldn’t. Americans are a resilient bunch. We find hope when faced with adversity, we keep the faith when others lose hope.

Reports Todd Lewan of The Associated Press:

A Thanksgiving ago, many of us were fretting over delays at the airport, our holiday season shopping lists, even things like whether to get another Botox injection or a new set of wheels.

Now we worry about keeping gas in the car. Or just keeping the car.

This Thanksgiving, a slumping economy is making many Americans more fearful than thankful.

And yet, as grim as these days are, millions of Americans are still preparing to turn a meal into a celebration — to find joy in the midst of growing hardship.

You could see glimmers of it everywhere — from the suburbs north of Los Angeles, where families who once lived in new homes lined up for free food, to Denver, where dozens down on their luck answered an Internet ad for Thanksgiving dinner, to a church on Wall Street, where a clergyman repeatedly struggled to answer the question of the moment: Will the hard times ever end?

With me still layed low by pneumonia and Amy hobbled by the flu, we will spend Thanksgiving away from family and friends. We can’t risk my mother getting sick from any of the various germs that are having a party in our bodies.

But as we fight fever and sniffles and respiratory problems, we still find many reasons to be thankful on this holiday. Despite these temporary assaults on our wellness, we both remain relatively healthy as we head into our golden years. Despite a retirement nest egg destroyed by the stock market and falling real estate prices we still have food on the table and money enough to pay our bills.

I’m still able to take my cameras out to sporting events and other activities and record them for the local newspaper and this web site. I’m still able to write and report on national events on the web and local activities for the paper. These are all things I love to do. Anyone who is still doing what he or she loves for so long is truly lucky and should be thankful.

Amy finds fulfillment in volunteer activity at Angels in the Attic. I’m thankful that I’m still sober after so many years and can continue to successfully battle the beast of alcoholism one day at a time.

We’re thankful for the many new friends we’ve made since coming to Floyd and the many old friends who stay in touch.

To all of you, our best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving. We live in interesting times. Let’s make the most of it.