Apparent Bloodlust

Today was my second City Desk shift at the paper. That means that I sit around, answer phones, visit my daily sites, fantasize, and write obits. Fortunately I only had to write one obit today and I didn't have to call any of the family for quotes, which we usually do. I'm always afraid they're going to cry or something. Though last time the lady talked my ear off about her friend that had died. I wanted to just be like "i get it, she was cool, let it go." Maybe I'm insensitive.

The other desk that I'll work in a couple weeks is the Breaking News desk. That's where you sit and listen to the police scanner, praying that nothing happens so that you don't have to do anything. That's probably just the attitude of me and the other magazine workers.

Anyway, it was almost 3, the end of my shift, when a car accident came over the speaker. Sewell, the ACE (he's a person who's been where we are before and is paid to help us, like a TA, I guess) looked around and asked if anyone with a car could go cover it. The girl who was working the Breaking News desk magically disappeared. The girl that was also working the City Desk had an interview at 3. I didn't have anything until 4. So reluctantly I said "me Sewell, I'll do it."

He was happy that I took it. He ran to get me a fancy camera and a shiny yellow vest I should wear to maneuver around traffic. He instructed me to go to the scene, talk to the cops, maybe the victims and to take pictures.

I was very nervous. This isn't for me- I write fluff pieces! I don't do wrecks. But, as I was nearing my car, it hit me that I had a camera. When I think of wreck photos, i think of screaming people covered in blood; bodies under sheets; tears falling from eyes; people on their knees praying.

This all excited me. The worse I imagined the wreck, the happier I got. It would be front page. I'd get excellent quotes, much like the NY Post did when a limo carrying a wedding party got in an accident. At the end of this post, after some asterisks, I'll post some of the quotes from the story. It's a horribly depressing story, though. A 7 yr old girl was decapitated in the accident, and it's about her mom's discovery of it.

Anyway, i didn't actually want a child to be dead, but I thought the bigger the accident the better- I get more space in the paper for my word. And then I realized how horrible that was. It was sick that I got excited about covering an accident.

So I get to the intersection and.... nothing is there. No backed-up traffic. No cops. No ambulances. Nothing. I drove around the interstate searching and found nothing. False alarm, I guess. It's probably for the best. Plus, I would've missed my 4:00 meeting had there actually been a serious accident.

I ran into Nancy, an awesome lady, and told her the story (or lack-there-of) and she said it was obvious that my dad is an under-taker. She said he gave me my lust for blood. It's hardly bloodlust, but maybe seeing a lot of dead bodies, and caskets, and walking in the freezer did desensitize me.

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I was going to post the quotes, but I can't, they're too bad (the mom describes holding her daughter's head in one article). I couldn't find that one, but I could find a similar one. It really does make you hate drunk drivers.

http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read.php?post_id=208318