Fire off Russellville

A trailer caught fire off of Russellville Rd. Tuesday around midnight. Both residents were okay.

Firefighters walk out of the mobile home after extinguishing the blaze.
Johnny, 47, and Tina, 46, Milam watch the commotion outside of their own mobile home. The Milams said they were awoken when a police officer knocked on the door, and had not been aware of the fire at the time.
Neighbors gathered to watch the proceedings and make sure everyone was alright.

Portrait of an Immigrant

Imagine this in diptych form...

Perlis Sailas, 21, Bowling Green, Ky., immigrated to the United States 17 months ago to work with his fellow Micronesians in Shogun of Japan on Scottsville Road. Back home in Phonpei, Micronesia, Sailas was a carpenter. Comparing the two jobs, he said, “This job is better, back home I cut the trees and everything myself, here I cook one time and make money.” Aside from a motorized scooter, Sailas hasn’t made any large purchases and sends most of his money home, he said, “I always send money, because I love my family, they no make big money.” Sailas left his parents and a son in Phonpei.

Chewing beetle nut (right) is a cultural tradition that Sailas and other Micronesians continue in the states. In preparation the beetle nut has tobacco and lime paste added to it, and is then wrapped in a tobacco leaf. It is rumored to make your teeth stronger, said Sailas.

Musician

Leroy Berry, 59, plays the bongos and sings in his backyard by his grandkids' playset. Berry spent his whole life on the road from the age of 17 doing odd jobs to get by, and along the way falling into a drug habit with drugs as serious as herion and LSD. In 2002 his sister found him in St. Louis and they both agreed he needed to leave, says Berry. She took him to Bowling Green, where he got back in touch with his passion for performing he had as a kid, he said, "As a teen I survived through the performing arts center (in St. Louis), but my teen life was snatched from me when I had a kid at 16." Berry tries to convey happiness to others through his music, he said.
Berry now lives with his wife in Bowling Green, and she has let him dedicate a room of the house to his art. The walls of the room are surrounded by drawings of influential black people painted by his brother, Lavirelle Aber. Selling these drawings was once a main source of income for the brothers.

Something I Saw

Construction workers lean over the edge of the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center being built in downtown Bowling Green.

WKU football vs Florida Atlantic University

One streak ends, another begins. Is that too cynical?

WKU linebacker Ben Duvall tries to bring down FAU runningback Alfred Morris Saturday. Morris ran for 68 yards and a touchdown as the Owls defeated the Hilltoppers 17-16.

WKU wide receiver Willie McNeal forces FAU cornerback Tavious Polo to fumble on an interception return in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game. FAU went on to recover the fumble and win the game 17 to 16.

Shadows of people in the stands and walking by as the sun went down.

The crowd in the first half of the game. Attendance dwindled some as it got colder, but many people stayed until the end.

Homecoming Parade

Jim Kessler, 39, Bowling Green, Ky., keeps his kids Lauren, 4, Grant, 10, and Trey (wolf mask), 14, out of the street as they pick up candy thrown from the WKU homecoming floats October 29, 2010. Jim attended Western Kentucky University for a few years before leaving to start a family.

A WKU student sits in the 'Thriller' themed homecoming float Friday before the parade started.

Parade participants wait for the parade to begin as the sun went down Friday.

Training For A New Life

I spent a while trying to embed soundslides on here, but ultimately failed. Anyways, here is my lighting photo story, Livingston 'Don' Prens, hibachi chef in training at Shogun.

Livingston 'Don' Prens, 23, practices his Hibachi moves in an empty Shogun after the lunch rush. Prens has been in training for about 8 months, and hopes to become a full chef in the next year.

Prens gripes about doing the rookie job as he cleans a grill after the restaurant closes. When he becomes a full chef he will no longer have to do the rookie jobs, and more importantly he will get a significant pay increase. Nearly all of his paycheck now goes to support his unemployed fiance, as well as his 3 year-old son being raised by his parents in Pohnpei. "It was hard," said Prens about leaving his son and home, "but I had to get a better life rather than struggle."

J.R. Yasou Yamada oversees Prens' cooking and critiques his performance. Yamada and Prens are distant cousins, both immigrated from Pohnpei, Micronesia, as did most of the employees in the restaurant. Yamada gives instruction in their native dialect of Phonapeyek, like "Hey, smile a bit!". Showmanship is the hardest part for a rookie chef to learn according to Yamada.

Prens laughs in the kitchen with other Micronesians. "Us Micros work hard, we didn't come from much back home." Most of the conversation in the restaurant is in Phonapeyek, a Micronesian dialect. They all came to the US to make more money to send home, and chose Bowling Green because the cost of living is cheap.

Prens drinks Kava with his fiancé, Jusihda Edward, and a friend from work, Dixon Welson. Kava is a traditional intoxicating drink, which Micronesians drink to relax after work. Prens and his friends drink about once a week then look at images of Pohnpei and reminisce.

Jusihda shows Prens a hospital bill that just came in the mail. Prens doesn't want to bring their son into the US until he is more financially stable. "There's health bills, saving for a car," Prens lists things he needs to take care of, "I want to make sure everything's tight with me before I bring him here."

Because he doesn't have a car, Prens relies on rides from coworkers and cabs. Often he cannot get a ride or afford the $7 cab fare and has to walk 15 minutes to work.

Photos of Livingston, Jusihda, and their son are pasted on the wall of their apartment. Livingston talks to him about twice a month on the phone, and sees pictures of him on Facebook.

Prens shows off a tattoo he designed. He got it as a connection to where he came from. "If you see a tattoo like this you know I'm a pacific islander."