Nita Johnson: MY POINT IS... Daring but humorous escapades
May 23—The 20-plus years of being a newspaper reporter have brought some unique situations requiring me to muster my sense of humor. People have asked me over the years what was the craziest thing I'd ever done as a reporter. Here are a few:
Lunch with a Lion
A lady in southern Laurel had a pet lion that she had raised from a baby. She'd gotten it legally but its rapid growth as it entered adulthood posed some concerns and she contacted the newspaper for help in placing the lion in a good facility.
Somewhat leery, I still traveled to the house where the owner met me in the yard. So did the lion. Despite her assurances that the lion wouldn't attack, I was terrified. I did remember, however, that animals can sense fear so I attempted bravery and held out my hand and called the lion's name as it approached me. But then I remembered hearing that wild animals smell blood and immediately attack. It was only as the lion — who was waist high to me — came near that I remembered I'd scratched my arm that morning and had a bandaid on my arm. As the lion approached, I tried to turn the injured arm away from him but he circled around me, sniffing, and sending me into a near state of panic.
The lady had said we could talk over a late lunch. But when that lion circled around me sniffing, my only thought was: I'm going to BE lunch!
The Finger
Newspapers have moved away from running pictures of vehicle crashes over the past years, but much of my reporting career involved chasing police and ambulances to scenes of accidents.
Around 2012, I went to a single vehicle crash in the East Bernstadt area where a truck had gone off the roadway and crashed into a tree.
Traffic was backed up but I parked and got out to take my pictures. The driver was uninjured and was walking around, talking to some family and/or friends. But a woman kept walking in front of me as I was taking pictures. Every time I'd move, she would move. I had gotten a couple of shots of the collision before that, but I wanted to make sure I had some usable pictures. But every time I got a good angle, that woman would step in front of my view. Finally, she yelled at me to stop taking pictures. I answered that I worked for the newspaper and that was my job. She again told me to stop and stepped closer to me —once again blocking my angle. So, I pretended to walk away, but whirled around and deliberately snapped another picture out of arrogance. That effort turned out the best possible picture ever of the woman flipping me off! and the pictures I got before she showed up were printed in the next edition of the newspaper!
The Climb to Success
While I often moan and groan and move slower than 30 years ago, I continuously have to convince people that I can climb.
I have proven that over the years — even as recently as last week! I shocked the Leadership Tri-County class when I climbed into a chair to get a better view of all the class members.
Such things are not new to me. One year I was challenged with taking the picture of the city and county police during Shop With a Cop. The large number of officers present made taking a shot on level ground with them impossible. So, I teamed with Elizabeth Sparks to grab a shopping cart to elevate for a better picture. Elizabeth is the age of my son and we debated on who would climb into the cart. Greg Reams volunteered to hold the cart steady, so I just hiked my leg over the cart and pulled myself up on the basket part — to the surprise of everyone there! I had to comment that they didn't think I could do that, but that I may need help getting down. Once I took the picture of the group, three police officers came running to the cart to make sure I got out without killing myself! But, I just reversed my climbing action — holding the basket while I swung one leg down, then the other!
I surpassed that achievement this past year. I got the store manager to bring one of their lifts to the front of the store and an officer's wife, the manager and I were lifted about 10 feet in the air to take the picture of the officers. But I had to outdo the previous years — this past year, I lead the group in singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" on the Sentinel's Facebook page while some of them undoubtedly considered what paperwork they needed in order to have me committed!
Another climbing feat took place in the early years. The late Steve Cessna was president of North Laurel Little League and he wanted an aerial shot of the proposed fields off West KY 80. He originally tried to get the late Eddy Sizemore to take us up in the helicopter but that didn't work out. For those who knew both of those men, you could imagine what a helicopter flight with Eddy, Steve and myself would have been! Especially since at that time I had never flown!
Instead, Steve had me come to the site where he had arranged for a large loader or crane or some kind of heavy equipment with a bucket to be there. So, up I went approximately 50 feet in the air — clinging desperately to the bucket — to take pictures while Steve stood on the ground, laughing as hard as he could! It's probably a good thing the helicopter idea didn't work out...........
In Living Color
While I shared stories of court reporting last week, this is definitely the clincher of all court stories. It was the late 1990s and the "community standards" of London came to a trial against Fantasy World and its inventory. One of the last steps of the trial was for jurors to watch one of the movies sold at the store.
The jurors were seated in the jury box of Courtroom Annex 2, where district court was held before the new judicial center was built. The evidence to prove that Fantasy World sold items that conflicted with the demeanor of the community required showing a XXX-rated pornographic film that not only featured nudity, it showed actual sexual acts. Of all kinds.
One juror hid her face in her hands, others looked down at the floor during specific points, some sat in shock and others......well, some just watched the movie!
The trial ended with Fantasy World remaining open with most of its usual inventory. The sex toys, sexual enhancement products and lingerie were permitted to remain in stock. Only the XXX-rated movies were banned.
And the community continued to prosper with its high standards — just a few years before the city restaurants were permitted to sell alcohol (but no dancing or karaoke) and a decade or so before the citizens of the city voted to allow packaged alcohol sales.
But I love to watch people's expressions when I say that I once watched a XXX-rated movie in the Laurel District Courtroom!
Nita Johnson has been a staff writer for 21 years. Reach her at njohnson@sentinel-echo.com.
