15 Minutes of Fame

This page is the receptacle for all things related to my experience on Sunday, April 10th, 2011 while riding the subway in Atlanta, Georgia.    

The short version: I grabbed a guy who was getting electrified by the third rail and in the process got myself shocked a bit too. Police told me later I saved the guy’s life. Yay for me. But I also knew as a former firefighter that it was a total idiot move on my part (you don’t grab people who are actively being shocked to death). Anyway, someone caught the incident on video, posted on YouTube, and and the story got some national attention over the next two weeks (6+ million online hits and 11+ million television viewers). National appearances include the Dr. Drew Show and Fox & Friends. A key takeaway from the experience is that producers should be doing a better job screening television guests with speech impairments (#notimpressed).

Never thought I’d ever be on Fox & Friends chatting with the Doocy.  Did you know they had almost 2 million daily viewers (probably higher now)?  My one regret: If I would have had 3 more seconds I would have said, “…and if Jon Stewart fell on the third rail, I’m sure you would  save him too!”  I missed my chance to generate a potentially hilarious poignant and awkward moment.  Who knows?  Maybe the the clip would have been picked up by Jon Stewart.  Maybe I would have been invited as a guest on the Daily Show and fulfilled my life’s ambition!

Original YouTube Video

Alicia found the original video online when it had 3 hits that captures the end of the incident.  Everyone screams when the man on the tracks is getting shocked and electricity is arching up and down his body.  You can’t see the electrcity in the video.  However, if you listen really carefully, when I lean towards him, I think you can hear me yelling “…stand the f*ck up!”

“Why I was Late for Work Today”  – my initial post 

I wanted to get the story down that night while it was still fresh.  I had started this blog a week earlier and I was jazzed about getting 10-15 hits a day.  But with this crazy story, I thought excitedly, maybe I could get 25 hits!  Instead I got 250 in 52 minutes and 875 the next day. Fun!

“Reflections” – the broader meaning 

The interviews got easier and less self-agrandizing when, after a few days, I wrapped my head a bit more around the question: “Lots of people are calling you a hero.  Are you?”

Fox5– my first interview (and my first gaffe!)

Since Alicia and I don’t have a TV, we ran out to a local pub, and watched it there.  At the two minute mark you’ll hear me say, “There are plenty of men and boys out there who would have done the same thing.”  Oh no!  I responded to concerns in the post “Am I Sexist?”

CBS Atlanta – my favorite coverage

This reporter was probably the nicest one I met and I was happy to see they kept the “we all do dumb things” quote.

11Alive NBC Morning Show – my first live interview on TV

A cameraman named Drew interviewed me for a normal segment the day before and then later I was invited to a live interview on their morning show.  Afterwards I met the anchors, who were nice, and covered in makeup.   Also, this is when I learned that when they put on that little ear piece a producer somewhere in the building reminds you of the anchor’s name.  I’ve always wondered how politicians always know the names of seemingly every news person they chat with.  Aha!

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – my first print news media

A reporter called me from the AJC and asked a few questions.  They ran the story on their main page at the time which I thought was neat.  This got a producer on ABC’s Morning Show interested, but that never happened.

Other Random Interviews

I did a radio interview with Nick Mendola in Buffalo, NY on WECK 1230AM.  It was cool.  He gave me a bit more time to discuss the broader context of these types of stories.  AmeriCorps Alums interviewed me and posted it on their blog.  Houghton College also posted the story on their blog.  Both were kind enough to include a bit on the broader message that I was trying to get across.

The Story Goes Viral

In addition to the interview on Fox and Friends, you can see the NBC Today Show coverage on Hulu, Bing (270,000 views! and apparently it was on ABC News?), TV Guide,  MSNBC, xfinitytv, clicker, MSN, myfittv, etc.  I also found it on Transworldnews.com, ABC7 in Los Angeles, the Great Falls Tribune in Montana, http://thebertshow.com,  www.wickedhype.com,  www.liveleak.com,  www.star94.com,  citizenhero.com,  www.poughkeepsiejournal.com,  http://news.wooeb.com,  http://board.spawn.com,  http://www.associatedcontent.com   (I am glad they ran the quote “we all do dumb things”),  http://www.wopular.com,…..

All my other posts about the incident

Fox5 Picked up the Story — I was excited to be on the news for the first time in my life!

Link to the Fox5 Story — …and I told everyone about it…

More local News coverage  — …twice.

Unjust Justice — Reflections after finding out the man was likely drunk and trying to jump the tracks.

This is New — People were not disagreeing with me anymore, and it felt strange.

It’s a Secret  — I respond to the question, why didn’t more bystanders help?

If you had 5 minutes in front of 2 million people, what would you say?  — Thinking about the moral implications of a vast audience.

Fox & Friends — My experience on a major live news show

Am I Sexist?  — Written later in response to my gaffe

George Zimmerman and Me — reflections a year later in the context of the Trayvon Martin shooting

A Note to George Zimmerman — some advice

Here’s is my appearance on the Dr. Drew show in December, 2012.