Four

For the fourth time in just over eight months I am standing outside the crime scene tape at a homicide scene as officers begin the investigation of the latest death, a 72-year-old man found lying in a pool of blood.
This killing took place on West Carlton near the middle of the city. The other three killings have been scattered through town. No one area seems safer or more dangerous than the other. Random acts of violence. With the violence and sex crimes it seems Tracy has been heading down a dark path. I am starting to doubt if the light will ever come at the end of this tunnel we are traveling down.
This has been no ordinary year. Just when we think we have seen the end of the violence we are greeted with a fresh crime. I'm starting to not recognize the town I grew up in. This is not the same city and streets where my grandmother would walk from her home to my parent' s home at night. These are different streets now where gang members emblazoned with their gang affiliation walk down the street uncaring. Streets where people lock their doors and switch on their video surveillance cameras at night as they brace for a night of crime on their block.
I'm starting to hate this town. Maybe it is just I am a little depressed from going to all these horrible events. The court appearances, the candlelight vigils the grieving family members-it is just one depressing assignment. I keep waiting for something good to happen and it never does.
I wonder how many more tragedies we will have this year as the few remaining weeks wind down. I can't wait for the this year to end. We need a fresh start, a new beginning. I hope this is the end of the violence for now but I have been disappointed before.

UFO hunter

It seems that UFO mania has struck Tracy as we are still getting calls and emails about mysterious lights in the night sky on Monday. Most of the pictures submitted to the newspaper were blurry and showed just a squiggle of light in the night sky. I decided to see if I could do any better and capture a couple of pictures of these these nocturnal visitors.

So armed with a tinfoil hat to block their mind control rays, a cup of coffee and some Chex Mix (hot and spicy flavor) I camped out in an empty field off Grant Line Road using a cardboard box and an old tire as my my photo hideout. I masked my scent with a fresh side of bacon lest the aliens use their ecto-plasmatic sensor to sniff out my presence. Besides everyone knows aliens like bacon.

Then suddenly rising above the Holly Sugar silos like a Thorazine fueled hallucination I saw the lights. They weren't really floating or pulsating, but looked more like a toy light spinning in a dark room being held by a giant hand. I snapped away with my camera as they changed color hovering in the northern sky.

No, these were no electric-powered radio controlled model airplanes with L.E.D. lights built inside the translucent covered wings and fuselage to allow hobbyists to safely fly them at night, surely these must be the advance guard of an alien army sizing up the Tracy defenses as they scout the countryside as a vanguard for their mother ship.

I switched to a telephoto lens and glinting off the moonlight I think I caught the face of one of the alien pilots through an opening in his inter-galactic craft. He almost looked human, how hideous!

I could see the red glow of their warp engine coils as the ship must have been straining mightily against our planet's gravitational pull. It circled the field looking for any stray cattle to probe. With a fiery burst from its flux capacitor it accelerated high into the night sky and grew a small speck of light as the saucer went into trans-dimensional light speed and disappeared.


But then again maybe it was just an airplane.

Fallen

In all the years I have been covering Veterans Day services I think this was the saddest. Gathered around the Tracy War Memorial we all watched as the last name of a Tracy serviceman was unveiled on the stone wall recalling those from Tracy who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Marine Staff Sgt. Daniel Hansen was the latest casualty in the war on terrorism and the first to be killed in Afghanistan. His name is inscribed on the wall with the seven servicemen who died in the Iraq War. I sometimes can’t recall their names right off the top of my head but I remember their pictures. I also remember the pictures of the families caught in the depths of their sorrow and mourning.


Today’s ceremony at the War Memorial honored all veterans but I think the large crowd turned out in part to pay their respects to Staff Sgt. Hansen and his family. Tracy has one of the highest rates of casualties per capita in the war. Our city has paid a heavy price for freedoms we all take for granted and today’s ceremony honored the latest to lay down his life for us.

The ceremony was brief, a few speeches the name of Staff Sgt. Hansen was unveiled and then with a rifle volley and the playing of taps ceremony ended. But through it all were the tears. Family, friends and strangers could be seen sobbing all around. Mayor Ives even looked to be fighting back tears as he read a proclamation for Staff Sgt. Hansen. It seems harsh and cruel to take pictures of the family as they grieve but it tells the story of their undying love and unbearable loss.
With the ceremony over and the crowd leaving I took one more picture of Staff Sgt. Daniel Hansen’s name on the black marble wall. One of our own is gone but he will never be forgotten.

Goodbye blue sky

With the winter months approaching Alice and I need to squeeze as many fair weather hikes we can in before storm clouds roll in. Sunday found us on Mount Diablo for a short hike up to the summit along the Juniper Trail.




The Juniper Trail is moderate hike winding up a rocky trail through light brush as it heads to the lower summit parking lot. From there it is just a hop, skip and a jump up the Trail Through Time to the summit building. Cool temperatures and high winds greeted us as we headed out mid morning.




We decided to take an extra trip along the Moses Rock Ridge Trail. This small trail spur branches off Juniper Trail to to far from the start and heads along a ridge for a bout a half a mile. It gives spectacular views of the countryside and ends at a surveyor spike left in the earth. Along the way you are greeted by two large rock outcroppings which is Moses Rock.




As we made the climb we were amazed by the visibility across the region. A few high clouds were giving way to blue skies with no smog or haze to be seen. We had good view of the surround areas from Richmond to Antioch and Benicia with even a good view of San Francisco available.




We made good time to the top where we feasted on french bread, salami and an apple before heading back down. it was nice to get a last hike in before the foul weather hist us. We still plan to hike through the end of the year but I doubt we will be rewarded with such grand views in the coming weeks.

Think Inside The Triangle

I like this better for the city slogan.

Ridge runners

It had been too long since Alice and I hit the hiking trail so last Monday we headed out for a trek through the Pleasanton Ridge Regional Par. Our hike last summer there took us through rolling hills and olive groves. This hike would follow a different path through live oaks and grasslands.





Pleasanton Ridge is one of those hidden parks. Located just off the freeway its open spaces and dog friendly trail bring the locals out to explore the steep trails and vistas. We hadn’t had a good hike workout in about a month so we were eager to hit the trail.




The temperature was bordering on hot as we made our way up the ridgeline. The path led us through mostly live oaks although we did cross near a few olive trees. At a steep ravine Alice caught a glimpse of deer as it skirted up the hillside. Mostly we were alone on the hills.




In addition to my digital SLR camera I packed my point and shoot and captured a few clips of video on the trail. I liked the idea of video panning across the hillside and trail to give a sense of space on our hike and have included a few of the clips here.



We need to get back into our hiking shape as Alice and I plan to tackle the Mount Diablo summit sometime in March.