Choppers

I’ll start this out by saying although we technically live in Worcester, our neighborhood is incredibly quiet. Yesterday afternoon I was out on Deckzilla, minding my own business (sort of), when I noticed there were a bunch of helicopters circling our hill.  It was almost like being back at Fort Campbell with the omnipresent choppers passing by. These, however, were news helicopters which meant something newsworthy was happening nearby. I figured it was some sort of traffic accident on I-190 which is just down the street. I was almost right. I checked the news channels and there was nothing on so I figured it wasn’t that sensational. I was wrong.

House Where First Shooting Took Place

I-190 Completely Snarled

It turned out there weas a shooting down the hill, on the same street that eventually becomes the one we live on. The news alert said there was now a guy seen brandishing a pistol on I-190. I didn’t mention this to my Favorite Panamanian because she would have had me filling sandbags to fortify the house; I did lock a couple doors though. Eventually we heard that I-190 was closed in both directions at the height of the rush hour. I told my wife at that point that someone had to be dead because that extreme measure would only be taken in the event of a fatal incident requiring thorough investigation. The Neighborhood Mafioso stopped by with the update. She is wired into the neighborhood as few people are. She related that a guy had been shot just down the street and the assailant had run onto I-190 where he had been shot by police.

Shooting was at Where Heroult Road is Pointed At
Our House is on Same Street near Bottom of Map

That turned out to be almost correct. The only difference being the guy had aimed the pistol at cars on the highway and tried to carjack a couple. I’m thinking he wasn’t much a brain surgeon because trying to jack speeding cars on an interstate isn’t exactly brilliant. He exchanged some shots with police and eventually shot himself. The road was closed because of the police involved shooting. So. Excitement. The guy shot down the street eventually died from his wounds. It was kind of surreal as the local news channels started broadcasting about the incident and we saw our house a couple times as they panned back. We always watch the 6pm news (I know, we’re dinosaurs) but there was the trusty Channel 5 news lady broadcasting live about quarter mile down the street. They’re still there today.

Mary Saladna just Down the Street

The Neighborhood Mafioso said the people who live in the house just moved in a couple months ago. It’s strange because that’s the route I always take when leaving the house and pass by it at least two or three times a day. Again, a really quiet neighborhood where you nod to the people as you pass by, never thinking this kind of violence would take place. Worcester has its share of problems, but they are, for the most part, centered around the downtown area of Main Street South and the public housing neighborhoods. I’m psyched because I believe in the law of averages. This is the kind of thing that happens in this neighborhood maybe once in a generation, so, we’re all set for the foreseeable future. I still love living in Worcester.

Two movies fell in the A-Z watch, both keepers: Man with the Iron Fists, RZA may not be able to act but this is a great homage to kung fu movies and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Guy Ritchie does a credible job capturing the cool of the 60’s TV show.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course