Two's a lot for me. I usually don't drink that much. My alcohol consumption has diminished considerably over the past year, especially since my car accident and post-concussive headaches, but last night, I needed a drink. What started out as a festive evening in City Park, listening to jazz with several friends, turned into a night of chaos and confusion and weariness.
The band finished playing around 8pm. The mayor's wife--the First Lady of Denver, as she was introduced--made a guest appearance and sang beautifully, and the crowd relaxed on the lawn with their food and drink. I had finished my wild boar brat and was munching on a piece of ED's amazing almond cake with brown butter icing, when I heard a "pop pop pop." I absentmindedly assumed that someone had set off some firecrackers and didn't give it a second thought until hordes of people started screaming and running in our direction. But even then, I didn't put two and two together immediately. My friends and I thought that maybe the sprinklers had been turned on, which had happened a few summers earlier, but soon thereafter a man got on the microphone and announced that the park was closed. We were advised to leave via the south exit for our safety and we hurriedly gathered up our blankets and belongings.
As everyone scattered in different directions, we somehow lost ED and her brother. KT and I were making good time toward the exit, but CT, TP, and RR--who all happen to work for the AP--stopped abruptly, wondering if they should call their bosses and/or report on the story. We could see the gears turning in their heads, as they switched into work mode, but almost two minutes passed before KT and I finally told them, "Just go! Go go go!" And so they ran toward the chaos, while KT and I headed in the opposite direction...straight to a bar. On our way out of the park, we saw at least twenty police cars fly by, with their lights flashing and sirens screaming, followed by several unmarked cruisers, a fire truck, and an ambulance. The roads devolved into parking lots, as police officers attempted to divert traffic away from the park and clear a path for the ambulance.
KT and I were beat--she had had more than her fair share of grief and drama for the week, while I was still tired from having Skyped with J until 2:30am and drained from my shitty work week. So we sat. And drank. And ate some fries. And used our iPhones to search for breaking news on the story. And drank some more. Eventually, our other friends found us and we were able to piece together that a female police officer had been shot in the head while trying to break up a confrontation. Turns out that she was a single mom who'd been on the force for seven years, and she was pronounced dead at the hospital. Absolutely tragic.
So much for a quiet Sunday in the park. But despite the mayhem and the tragedy that unfolded, it was good to be among friends and loved ones yesterday and this past weekend. It's events like these that make me appreciate how fortunate I am to be blessed with such a wonderful family and friends. Thoughts and prayers for the police officer, her family, and especially the twelve year old daughter she leaves behind.
Watermelon granitas (with vodka)
TP making faces at me
The calm (very shortly) before the chaos
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