Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Rude Awakening

I usually get woken up by one of two things in the morning...and they both usually happen around 6:15 or 6:30, which is about the right time for me. Either the brat next door starts screaming, or the dog starts going apeshit because he hasn't peed since 6 the night before (I wish I had that kind of bladder) and needs to go out.

But today, I got jolted awake at about 5:40 by what sounded like a remake of "Apocalypse Now" being filmed above the building. Low flying helicopters galore. All that was missing was the Wagner soundtrack.

Turns out there was a huge accident on the Kennedy Expressway, and all 5 of Chicago's news networks had their choppers hovering right above us to zoom in good and close on the carnage. Sure enough, i flipped on Channel 7, and there it was right on the TeeVee.

You know, waking me up is just a drop in the bucket compared to what someone who has a loved one who drives on the Kennedy in the early hours of the morning has got to be going through. I'm sure every person who knows someone who drives a Crown Vic or a black SUV's heart probably skipped a couple beats. How would you like to find out someone in your family got maimed or killed through the news, or go into a panic only to find out that it's not them, it's someone else.

If it bleeds, it leads...