Meet Aaron Keehoe, photo intern

Aaron is our new photo intern. I had my first assignment with him on Sunday to interview a couple living "off the power grid."

Aaron drives a green Kia Rio rental car that makes him feel like "one of those elephants on a tricycle in the circus."

To get to the couple we had to go down a long, windy, gravely road with many dips and pot holes. Technically you didn't need a 4-wheel-drive vehicle. Technically.

"Wow, this is awesome, this is what it's all about, you know what I mean?" Aaron was exuberant as we bounced down the road. "Uh-oh, pot hole up ahead, that's not going to be good. OK, OK. It's all good. That was fun don't you think? This is fun. It's going to be all good."

Aaron and I were late because Aaron forgot to bring a memory card for his digital camera so he had to make a last minute stop at the local Radio Shack.

Andrea describes Aaron as "a real kick in the pants, isn't he?"

I found it nearly impossible to believe anyone could be as genuinely happy as he seemed.

I'm still not sure it was genuine, to tell you the truth, but I let myself get sucked in anyway.

The highlight of the assignment: After a quick stop to take pictures, Aaron got back into the car without bothering to remove the two bulky cameras hanging from thick straps around his neck. He drove the rest of the way like that, hunched over the steering wheel, cameras swinging at every pothole, non-stop jabber.

This image of him, so absurd, is what inspired this entire post.

"This is what I love about my job, you know?" he enthused, thinking nothing of pushing 30 in a car meant only for paved roads. "Every day is an adventure. I get to come out here hang out with people and look at this scenery...This is paradise. THIS is paradise."

Finally I put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Aaron this is hilarious. I am going to write a New Yorker style profile about you, about driving down some random back road with you. I write that kind of stuff you know, but just haven't sold it yet. So your job is to get famous so I can sell it."

This caused a momentary pause. Then,

"OK. OK. Sure. I can do that. I'll work on it. It's a deal..."