Monday, January 11, 2010

Drop to the Floor?

I was peacefully working on the dining room table, updating my Quick Books and my checkbook (it'll soon be tax time), about 9:30 p.m., minding my own business. We still have the twinkly lights on in the kitchen, sending a cheerful note on a cold wintry night. All of a sudden, from the yard in back of us on Penn Avenue, I heard two separate popping noises and then three more, in rapid succession. What the hell? Should I drop to the floor? Just the other day a 19 month old baby was shot in her foot by a stray bullet as her mother descended from a MTC bus.

I paused and listened for a few moments - nothing more. Needless to say, I didn't drop to the floor. That would be much too sensible. Instead, I peered out the back window. What the hell? I asked Bob if he heard something while he was watching TV and he thought it was my laptop - silly boy! I don't watch movies on MY computer. I finally broke down and called 911 on my cell phone. Immediately, the 911 operator answered with "are you calling about the sound of gunshots on Penn Avenue?" - sheeesh! I answered her questions and gave her my name (she already had my phone # on her caller ID). Shortly thereafter the Brooklyn Center dispatcher called and asked more questions about what I had heard and then Bob and I saw a squad car roaming the neighborhood with a spotlight searching the yards around. I told Bob "we'd better not tell Mike, Scott & Eric about this". So, I'll just post it on the blog.

Kind of interesting to note my reaction, when I heard the noises - are we becoming so used to the stories of urban violence that we become almost fatalistic? Guess it's just not my time? Too bad, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Where is our outrage at the proliferation of guns in our neighborhoods and the innocent lives that are being sacrificed in the name of drugs, gambling debts, pride of gang membership and overall stupidity?

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