the morning after
ok. so i am going to cheat a little. usually i save the words for this, and pictures for the photoblog, but my most recent post could really go in either, so i am posting it in both. sorry if that bores you. please check out the photo this post goes with here.
I am not sure if the woke up just before the gunshots, or if it was the gunshots that woke me up.
"Pwack..Pwack...Pwack.Pwack.Pwack"
The five thuds were more percussive and deeper sounding than the firecrackers I've been hearing in the weeks leading up to last weekend's Carnaval parade. It sounded like it was right outside my window. Given the three shootings this year in or near the projects at 26th and Harrison, I was sure the shots came from that area.
I looked at the clock. 3:14 AM. Shit.
I've had a police scanner since my days as a staff photog then photo editor at the college paper. As a weekly, we didn't cover a lot of spot news, but it was generally the photo editor's job to catch that kind of news. In college I had the misfortune of covering, among other things, a SWAT raid on a crazy with a rifle, couple of shootings, including an extremely gruesome shotgun rampage that wounded a handful of people.
I am man enough to admit after seeing the cops hose the fleshy remains of a victim's arm off the hood of a car, I had to put my camera away, sit on the curb, and sob at the senseless horror of it. After a few moments, I pulled myself together and got on with it. I’ve never been able to enjoy violent movies after that long day.
Anyway, since college the scanner has been generally gathering dust. Now that I am home a lot more, and I don't live in the boring Richmond District anymore, I’ve turn it on every once and a while.
When the gunshots went off this morning, I turned it on and waited to hear if the medics had arrived on scene. Generally speaking, the medics won't go in unless a scene is safe enough for them to work, which means it's safe enough for me. Some guy was shot and wounded at 25th and Florida, one block from my house, but the opposite direction of the projects.
I got out of bed, threw on some clothes and grabbed my camera bag. Usually, when there are lights and sirens, there will be curious neighbors lining the yellow police tape watching the show. This time it was two fire trucks, an ambulance, a several squad cars and me. I walked up just as they lifted the victim onto a gurney. I hate this shit, so I kept my camera in the bag, took one last look at the scene and walked back home.
Today I went back. Just a few hours before, something horrible, something life changing happened. With the exception of some double thick latex gloves laying the gutter, and a small piece of crime scene tape fluttering in the breeze, you'd think this was just another intersection in the Mission. Nothing in the news, either. It’s like if a tree falls in the forest.... did this shooting really even happen?
I am not sure if the woke up just before the gunshots, or if it was the gunshots that woke me up.
"Pwack..Pwack...Pwack.Pwack.Pwack"
The five thuds were more percussive and deeper sounding than the firecrackers I've been hearing in the weeks leading up to last weekend's Carnaval parade. It sounded like it was right outside my window. Given the three shootings this year in or near the projects at 26th and Harrison, I was sure the shots came from that area.
I looked at the clock. 3:14 AM. Shit.
I've had a police scanner since my days as a staff photog then photo editor at the college paper. As a weekly, we didn't cover a lot of spot news, but it was generally the photo editor's job to catch that kind of news. In college I had the misfortune of covering, among other things, a SWAT raid on a crazy with a rifle, couple of shootings, including an extremely gruesome shotgun rampage that wounded a handful of people.
I am man enough to admit after seeing the cops hose the fleshy remains of a victim's arm off the hood of a car, I had to put my camera away, sit on the curb, and sob at the senseless horror of it. After a few moments, I pulled myself together and got on with it. I’ve never been able to enjoy violent movies after that long day.
Anyway, since college the scanner has been generally gathering dust. Now that I am home a lot more, and I don't live in the boring Richmond District anymore, I’ve turn it on every once and a while.
When the gunshots went off this morning, I turned it on and waited to hear if the medics had arrived on scene. Generally speaking, the medics won't go in unless a scene is safe enough for them to work, which means it's safe enough for me. Some guy was shot and wounded at 25th and Florida, one block from my house, but the opposite direction of the projects.
I got out of bed, threw on some clothes and grabbed my camera bag. Usually, when there are lights and sirens, there will be curious neighbors lining the yellow police tape watching the show. This time it was two fire trucks, an ambulance, a several squad cars and me. I walked up just as they lifted the victim onto a gurney. I hate this shit, so I kept my camera in the bag, took one last look at the scene and walked back home.
Today I went back. Just a few hours before, something horrible, something life changing happened. With the exception of some double thick latex gloves laying the gutter, and a small piece of crime scene tape fluttering in the breeze, you'd think this was just another intersection in the Mission. Nothing in the news, either. It’s like if a tree falls in the forest.... did this shooting really even happen?
posted by pete g at 6/02/2005 05:18:00 PM
1 Comments:
Yes, because you were there.
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