Randy Mennie: Adam

Working as a news cameraman obviously means you are out in the public taking pictures of people, places and things. Conversely, you are usually being watched by people who may be wondering why the media is in their neighbourhood.

Some want to know how we do those “live things”, and ask questions about the cameras and that unsightly mast sticking way up from the live truck. Most people watch for awhile and then carry on their way.

Then there is Adam.

One morning I was operating the live truck for the Morning News when I noticed this extremely happy young fellow chatting up our reporter. It was getting down to only a minute or so from our going live. In order to allow our reporter and cameraman to get ready, I asked the fellow to come stand beside me and watch from the sidelines. He was more than happy to oblige and watched eagerly while we did our live hit.

Afterwards he told me how much he liked watching the news, and of the different reporters he’d met. One thing that became immediately apparent with Adam was his unbounded enthusiasm, not to mention his ingenuous, ear-to-ear smile.

Adam also has Autism. He is one of those people that needs a little extra care and attention from society.

During the few years that I’ve worked at Global, Adam has popped up at many of our live news stories. It seems that everyone at the station knows him. He always says “hello”, and stands on the sidelines with his little camera, taking pictures and being amazed at how all our stuff makes live news. Even the most battle-hardened reporter cannot curb a smile when you mention that Adam was at the news scene.

On Sunday I was lucky enough to be assigned to work with the legendary Mike McCardell. We were to find a story at the PNE. We roamed the Exhibition grounds for awhile, looking for the unique and undiscovered human-interest story that Mike tells so well.

Eventually we passed the JoyTV stage and were discussing how they videotaped people performing in front of their video camera. As we got closer I pointed at the stage and said to Mike, “Hey, there’s that guy!”

Mike replied, “That’s Adam!”

Adam was up on JoyTV’s stage dancing to the pounding beat of rock music, with his beaming trademark smile. While Mike went up to talk with him, I began shooting the small crowd looking on. When I went up on the tiny stage to join Mike and Adam, a half-dozen girls from the crowd made their way on stage as well, and began dancing with Adam.

Adam’s normal ear-to-ear smile would be a smirk compared to what was on his face now. The group of them boogied for awhile in the muggy heat with Adam at centre stage taking it all in.

A few minutes earlier Adam had been dancing, alone, in front of a video camera, probably wondering if they were even recording what he was doing. In the blink of an eye he was gyrating with a half-dozen sexy girls and was the star of a news story that would be seen by several hundred thousand people around the province. At the end he said to me, “I’ve never felt this good before!”

Serendipity at its best.

Shooting news stories puts you front and centre with the best and worst in society, and everything in between. You see how simple fate can change people and families tremendously. You see how we can treat each other with wanton cruelty, or at times, with unbounded benevolence. In the middle of it all are people like Adam, who by simple fate have had to rely a little more on the benevolence of family, friends and society.

When we see Adam having the time of his life on that tiny stage, it puts perspective on how we look at our own dreams and challenges. We cannot help but pause and smile.

Click link for Mike McCardell’s Story Dreams Come True