Are We On Cops?
Last week we sure did have some excitement. You know, more than the usual exhilarating experiences like your kids getting up on your second wakeup call, not the fifth or finding everything on your grocery list or having no bills in your stack of mail. While I was picking up my middle schooler, I noticed a bunch of news helicopters circling overhead. There were police dogs on the ground, a swat team waiting for the signal to swat or whatever it is that they do, and police cars crawling around like ants at a Starbucks. Of course my first thought was "Crap, what did he do now," but a call to the city office quelled my anxiety. Apparently an armed robber ditched his car in the area after a high-speed pursuit by the HPD. The school was in lockdown and we were told to remain in our cars in case of flying bullets. I had Annika do her homework in the front seat in a fully reclined position to reduce her exposure. Although I thought I was being pretty thoughtful, Annika didn't. Something about doing homework in the middle of a war zone, missing the excitement, blah, blah, blah, whatever. After an hour I gave up and went home because they weren't finding this dufus and the school was going to be locked down for what seemed like an eternity. Moments after I got home, Lukas called to be picked up. On my way, I spent some time thinking about how grateful I was that he was okay (and not in trouble) but I have to confess, the bulk of my cognitive rumblings were "God, I hope he did some of his homework." If you knew what I had to go through to get him to do it everyday, you wouldn't sit there thinking I'm a coldhearted bitch of a mom in desperate need of industrial strength Prozac. Actually, the last part is true, but that's another story. The thing that irked me most, though, was that there was no story about it in the following morning's Houston Chronicle. Okay, let's see. Swat team. Police dogs. An armed robber (still at large, by the way). Middle school lockdown, Helicopters swarming. What, that's not newsworthy? Do you have to have a death or two to qualify? Does it have to be a story that supports the liberal agenda? Do you have to sleep with your intern, embezzle petty cash, or sell FEMA bucks on eBay to get into print? I thumbed through all the tired and boring stories about Katrina (hey, it's been months, get over it), Iraq insurgents, and other blah blah blah I'm sick and tired of hearing it news. I hate the stinkin liberal press. Despite the fact that I'll miss the crossword puzzles, I'm not renewing my subscription when it comes due. I suggest you all do the same. Save a tree, say no to liberal newspaper.