Ooops.

So I previewed a post I just wrote, then realized I spelled commitments wrong (two t's), tried to go back and change it, and I lost the whole post.

I'll try to remember what I had written, and add some more.

It's been really busy around here lately. I thought I would be able to update this space more frequently. But between working at the paper, finishing a year-long research project (What an undertaking!) and various other commitments, I haven't had the time.

Last week was heavy with spot news. I shot a fatal car wreck, a large fire in an unoccupied, low-income housing complex and covered a truency sweep. Two women were killed after leaving a bar and driving south in the northbound lanes of a highway. It goes without saying, but drinking and driving is stupid.

Access to the fire was a little hard to get. When I first arrived, a cop wouldn't let me get within 500 yards of the housing complex, which has been closed for several years after a similar fire exposed major flaws with the facility's infrastructure.

Then I was allowed to stand in the street at the gate and shoot the fire trucks. Yay. A few minutes later I was told to go back to the edge where I was before. Boo. Finally, one of the deputy fire chiefs fetched the reporter and me and took us to the blaze. He explained why firefighters were in a defensive mode and how the fire had moved through a wing of the complex.

He gets it. The cops, not so much this time.

The next morning I spent a few hours with a deputy sheriff on a truency sweep. It was interesting, but we only made two stops. In a way, it was better than my night with undercover detectives in St. Louis. Yet it lacked the excitement - no one threatened to shoot us this time.

The week ended with a profile on a local artist who creates his own pottery glazes. They're irridescent, too!

Be safe.