Odd Jobs

Below is a collection of current and past American Profile articles. Don't forget you can also submit your own story and read others submitted by the American Profile community.

Watching for Wildfires

by Ted Alan Stedman

Billy Ellis trains his binoculars on the rugged, forested terrain surrounding his 9,748-foot mountain-top lookout in Colorado's Pike National Forest

first appeared: 6/29/2008

Making Monkeys & Merriment

by Marti Attoun

In her studio in Stone Lake, Wis., Dee Lindner cuts a stack of red-heeled work socks...

first appeared: 2/10/2008

Delivering Books and Goodwill

by Marti Attoun

Within minutes of parking in the mountain village of Hurley, N.M. (pop. 1,464), Fred Barraza opens the bookmobile door and welcomes one eager patron after another.

first appeared: 11/4/2007

Jousting for a Living

by Marti Attoun

Armed with a metal shield and a 10-foot-long lance, Kent Shelton gallops into the arena at the Lawton Renaissance Festival in Lawton, Okla., atop a mighty steed.

first appeared: 7/22/2007

Teaching Top Gun

by Jeanne Lauf Walpole

Lt. Guy Snodgrass, 30, streaks across the desert sky in an F/A-18 Hornet at supersonic speeds, performing a heart-stopping aerial maneuver...

first appeared: 5/28/2007

Doctoring Beloved Dolls

by Marti Attoun

Mary Ann Pizzolato peers into the dull blue eyes of Baby Coos, a 60-year-old doll whose plastic peepers have been clouded by a fungus—and time. Next, she flexes the doll’s vinyl legs, which are ripped and ready to fall off.

first appeared: 5/13/2007

Plowing Mountain Passes

by Marti Attoun

Ray Mumford’s snowplow twists around hairpin curves on its way up U.S. Highway 6 over Loveland Pass in the Colorado Rockies, one of the nation’s highest passes kept open to traffic year-round.

first appeared: 2/4/2007

Prospecting for Space Rocks.

by Marti Attoun

Steve Arnold, 40, drives across a farm field near Haviland, Kan. (pop. 612), listening intently to the hum from the home-built metal detector pulled behind his all-terrain vehicle.

first appeared: 1/28/2007

Carving Time In Stone

John Carmichael Jr. lifts his safety glasses to study a cut he’s made in a sandstone disc.

first appeared: 1/14/2007

Having a Blast

by Vicki Cox

Dave “Cannonball” Smith, 63, kneels at the opening of his 33-foot-long, star-spangled cannon.

first appeared: 10/29/2006

Curator of Rock 'n' Roll

by Vivian Wagner

Today, Henke is just as meticulous in his work as the curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.

first appeared: 10/22/2006

Devouring the West's Weeds

by Kathy Summers

Lani Malmberg wanders the meadows, hillsides and waterways of the West, hooked staff in hand, pitting 1,500 cashmere goats against pockets of unwanted weeds that infest the landscape.

first appeared: 10/1/2006

Brett Bodine Sets the NASCAR Pace

by Richard McVey

After 18 years as a NASCAR Cup series driver, Brett Bodine hung up his race suit in 2003 and now serves as the official pace car driver for the NEXTEL Cup series.

first appeared: 8/20/2006

Chasing the Perfect Storm

by Alan M. Petrillo

first appeared: 8/6/2006

Staging the Family Circus

by Jim Distasio

first appeared: 7/16/2006

Corralling Killer Bees

by Alan Ross

first appeared: 3/19/2006

Sculpting the Art of Money

by Tracy Leinberger-Leonardi

first appeared: 1/15/2006

Inflating Art and Spirits

by Laurie Mercer

first appeared: 10/2/2005

Smoke Jumpers

by Stephen Stuebner

Smokejumpers are tougher than granite. They jog with their boots on. They risk their lives on a daily basis to fight wildfires.

first appeared: 7/25/2004

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