Death on the Sidewalk

The other night I was trying to sleep, but this freaking louds ass helicopter was circling the area. I was pissed. Once I get mad at a noise that's keeping me awake, of course then I can't sleep. So I lay there fuming mad, trying to keep my eyes closed, but this helicopter was really, really loud. I even tried thinking about them Palestinians or Iraquis or even US soldiers, and how problably sleep for them is something they can do wen rockets are being fired. Yet poor little me can't get to sleep and so the world should stop.

The next day, as I drove to work I noticed there were police cars on the main street about a block from my house, and one entire side of the street was closed. Police tape wrapped around trees and cars blocking whole area. I tried to catch a glimpse - obviously this was serious - but I couldn't quite see what the hubub was.

The following day as I drove to work, the police were gone and the street was open. So I drove up the street then turned around. In front of a tattoo parlor and next to a headshop was a smattering of flowers, balloons, votive candles still burning. The sign in the tattoo shop said "Tattoos 50% off." The head shop was closed.

I went home and called the police station to find out what had happened and they told me someone had been shot. "There was a fatal shooting" were the exact words from the man on the other end of the phone. A block from my house, someone took a gun out shot somebody. Maybe the person was shot inside the tattoo shop, I don't know. Now every day I drive to work, I look at the candles and flowers. Yesterday there was some cards and a teddy bear placed down. Every night I still hear a helicopter, but it doesn't circle as much. It still keeps me awake, and that's when I try to imagine what happened in the shooting, how it happened and why, and who got killed. It still keeps me awake.