Silent Night...

You know, there are some nights when I make my self feel like a real asshole. Don't get me wrong, I am an asshole (wonderful - more hits from pervs looking for asshole pictures...) but it usually doesn't bother me. What does bother me is when I find myself saying 'It's too damn quiet. I wish something would happen.'

Why is that bothersome? Because for something to make it on the news - hell to even get my attention as an ambulance chaser - someone has to be dead, dying, or losing everything they own in a fire.

I met some tourists on the bus when I was riding it to work - due to my vehicular issues - and they asked me to come and put them on TV later. I said, very quietly:

"You don't want to be in front of my camera, because if you are, you're having the worst day of your life."

It's a dirty job, but that's what I've chosen to do. To say that it doesn't bother me that I make my living off of other people’s misfortunes would be a lie. However, as I have explained before, if I let it get to me I'd fall apart.

Anyway, I found myself saying that tonight. I kicked myself for saying it, but it's been an unbelievably slow news month (at least for overnights). So, as usual I found myself sitting around, waiting and listening for something to happen. I mean something has to happen. This is Vegas - a city where people come to get away from their troubles, which always seem to find them.

I don't sit around at the station though. I hate sitting on the assignment desk because one - I spend to much time on the internet, two - I can't listen to 8 different scanners at once, and three - I hate answering phones and I hate most of the people who would call at 3 in the morning.

I usually spend my nights driving around. I usually make one loop around the city, which kills about an hour. But driving around the freeways over and over again will put you to sleep; especially when you get up north where there are NO cars and NO lights. When I am not driving I am sitting in one of my two favorite news waiting locations:



Either I-15 and Flamingo (tucked away where no one can see my car - idiots are drawn to the logos I think) or Decatur and Sunset by NHP's HQ. The picture to the right is at Decatur and Sunset.

Both are right off the freeway, which makes quick travels in the middle of the night. And both are in unique spots in the city where I can pick up both North Las Vegas PD and Boulder City PD. So I don't miss anything.

On slow nights like this I end up using several pieces of notebook paper as I spend my waiting time smoking and writing down every single address that comes over the scanner, as well as the unit number and the 400 code. You never know when an officer will respond to a 417 (domestic) and find people shooting at each other. And here, radio traffic is discouraged so catching the address a second time is a rarity.

Tonight I spent about 40 minutes sitting here before my spot news prayers were answered. And as an added bonus, no one was hurt in this! Unless you count the idiots ego. Tomorrow I will tell you what happened! Or you can watch it later, exclusively, on Channel 8 Eyewitness News! WOOT!