Saturday, January 17, 2009

still never a dull moment in this neighborhood

I was hoping my first post of the year was going to be something about my resolutions or the healthy lifestyle changes I want to make, or all the books I plan to read. Something like that.

Not tonight.

I am sitting in the living room right now in front of the space-heater with a glass of Dry Riesling, anxious and freaked out. Ryan is up the street playing a gig with The Jugsliders and should be home in another hour and a half.

Half an hour ago, there was an RPD officer on our front porch asking me questions about the shooting that just took place across the street. I was totally oblivious until I saw the reflection of flashing lights on the wall in the corner of the living room. I had cleaned up the dishes, poured myself a last glass of wine, grabbed my knitting, and settled down in the rocking chair. I flipped on the TV for some background noise, but I wasn't really watching anything. I was in the middle of a row on the pair of slippers I'm knitting when I heard something that I thought was a car door slamming. It was enough to startle the cats, so I got up and had a look through the windows. I didn't see anything so I figured my assumption was correct and I sat back down.

Then I noticed the flashing lights through the crack in the living room drapes. When I looked outside, I saw that the street just after our driveway was blocked off with yellow tape. There were half a dozen or more cop cars, a fire truck, an ambulance and a TV camera with reporters set up at the end of my next-door neighbor's driveway. A gurney was wheeled out from the rear apartment of the house across the street and loaded into an ambulance. The ambulance didn't take off right away, so I guessed it wasn't life-threatening. Either that or it was a death, which is a very unsettling thought.

As the officers dispersed, one came up the front walk, little note-pad and pen in hand. I met him at the front door and asked what happened.

"Your neighbor's been shot."

He asked if I'd heard anything and I told him how about 10 or 15 minutes prior I had heard a loud bang or a pop, or maybe a car door. I said how I'd gotten up and looked outside, but not right away, and didn't see anything. He asked if I saw a car drive away, to which I responded in the negative. The officer took my name, phone number, and date of birth. After verifying our address, he said the victim is probably going to be all right, and thanked me for my help.

As I was locking up the front door, I saw an officer carrying a very small child out to the street. the officer took off his jacket and wrapped it around the child. When I saw that, I lost it. I went back inside and called Ryan, hoping he was on a set break. He didn't answer right away, but called me back within minutes because he suspected the reason for my call. He had seen the cop cars driving down the street.

And......here is the developing story as posted by RNews.

I love the Southwedge but this is getting ridiculous. Shootings, stabbings, fires. When will it end?