Crashes & Burns

We begin with a crash:

It happened last Sunday near Mesilla Dam. Sheriff deputies say a modified Volkswagen off-roader hit a washout and went off the side of a levy, that the driver died after being thrown 50 feet from the vehicle; the passenger was hospitalized. Deputies say neither was wearing a seatbelt. They later determined the driver had been drinking.

Neighbors told me on Monday it was an accident begging to happen since groups of trespassers come onto this federally-owned private property often to drag race (as they say the driver was doing before he died). Neighbors say they've found used condoms, beer bottles, and bullet holes in their homes courtesy of these trespassers.

As soon as I reported all of this, the feedback gates were thrust open. I'll share with you one email which captures the general essence:

"Your report on the Mesilla Dam off-road accident was a real eye opener. Apparently the news you want to report is shocking and disconcerting news. It is obviously not intended to be correct or compassionate. Although I did not know [the driver] very well, I did know that he was a caring husband, loving father and successful business owner. Not the drunken, gun-toting maniac he was made out to be on your broadcast. I can only hope his two boys will not ever hear the nastiness that was the kvia coverage of their father's tragic death.
I was also impressed by the way your news team and [one neighbor I interviewed] were able to quickly determine that any off-road enthusiast could easily be catagorized with gangbangers and drunken teenagers. We should warn everyone in the Borderland with a four-wheel drive, motorcycle or ATV 'don't have a tragic accient on a Sunday afternoon when the news is slow or we will drag you through the dirt like you wouldn't believe, we don't care if you are an experienced, championship-winning off-road racer, father and business owner. We have got to make this story gritty.'
But I understand, it's just local news. It doesn't have to be concise, just shocking. Twist the words around, make it sound good. That is what's important, really.
ABC-7, where news comes first, and the truth is a distant second."

My dad asked me what I took away from that email.
I replied, "Only a strong reminder of how quickly a journalist's credibility can be stripped away IF (s)he generalizes or distorts facts and/or fails to attribute them."

I can honestly say if the deceased driver had been my relative, I still would not have changed a word. I wish I had time to try for a comment from the family. But time allowed only for facts, and I didn't want to spare the public what this man allegedly did. Several emailers asked me to think about the driver's family. I wish the driver had. I think of myself as a compassionate journalist... but I am not an obit writer. Sometimes the truth hurts. But denial and suppression only delay the process, in my humble opinion.

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Burns. As in the burns on my arms, upper chest and face. I got them playing frisbee. I have not played frisbee in decades. I'm so glad I have active friends. (Mom, I swear I put on SPF 15 though I admit, I failed to reapply.) (Kids, reapply your sunscreen. The sun is not fucking around anymore. If you don't reapply, don't bother applying)

Frisbee was the end of a phenomenal weekend complete with an El Paso Diablos baseball game in the company skybox, an awesome karaoke bar (no, I didn't sing... but I'm going back and that machine better have plenty of Billy Joel), and a serene outdoor cafe breakfast (conversation is never lacking at a table of 6 journalists). I should also point out that 3 stations were represented at this breakfast table. I can only hope that competitors get along as well in my future cities as we do here in El Paso. I don't take it for granted.

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It's now midnight. 4 days til I'm out of here.
I've taken ONE day off since January 18th. And I spent that day-off signing 783 legal papers, building furniture, moving in the rest of my shit and cleaning my ex-apartment.

This vacation is not going to be "cool" or "nice." It's essential to my survival. Plus, I've been itching to test my newest theory that the cure for Type I Diabetes lies inside of a Fenway Frank. Sure... enough of them could CAUSE Type II, but I'm not really that hungry.

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I'll end with a familiar plea... send me blog topics or questions about... anything. I'd love this blog to be more interactive. So start deciding what random crap I ramble about.

Until next time, I'm

JaRube?

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