Goose Hunt

I broke one of my cardinal rules this week. Next time, I'll just leave the reporter.

The day started out well, then I got to the station. It actually wasn't that bad, but it would be the start of a half-day hunt for the ever-elusive gooose. Kenny P, who some might know from my trips to Cameron, informs me that I'm the lucky guy who gets to work with him, which is a dubious honor in our shop. It could mean a great story, or a really long day.

As we board our rusty chariot he tells me to head out of town. We're going to pick up a radar for a story on speeding in a local neighborhood where we covered a fatal accident last week. Actually seems like a pretty good story to me, since the residents say that people regularly speed through this area. The locals were wrong, at least today. So we get pulled from that story to check on a few other things. Does anyone hear that honking sound somewhere beyond my hood?

Two blocks from the station, and a chance to fill my stomach before it eats itself, the Nextel crackles to life. There's been a shooting in an all too familar area across town. For a little history, check out Turdpolisher's story. This murder happened 50 yards from the last murder a week and a half ago.

The rule I spoke of earlier is that I never leave the scene after the police. I see them preparing to leave and realize that KP hasn't attempted to talk to the greiving family members. "Uh, Kenny, I think we should be going now." "We've gotta try to talk to the family, first." I hate this part of the job, but it comes with the territory. "Make it quick." My photog sense is tingling. We do our interview, and now I think we can go. By this time I've got warning klaxons going off in my head. It could have something to do with the large crowd that is still in the street, and the two groups yelling at each other. Fists start flying and I start rolling, but I hang back just in case something else fills the air. Now Kenny is ready to go.

Twenty-four hours later one of my coworkers is looking at the video I shot while he cuts the follow-up package. In the video he sees one guy pull a gun from the pocket of another, which I caught, nearly perfectly framed. Showing this to KP I say, "This is why I don't hang around after the cops leave."