Gunshots

Last night was a scary one. It had been a great but tiring weekend, so Paul and I had headed to bed early. Our neighbors were having a party, so there was a constant hum of a bass guitar which made Paul frustrated, and he put earplugs in so he could fall asleep. I had watched the "Sixth Sense" that afternoon and was having visions of a creepy version of Donnie Wahlberg coming out of my bathroom when the music stopped and Paul pulled the plugs out and we settled in to sleep. Just after 10:00 we heard 5-6 shots of rapid gunfire, then silence. We called 911 and were told they'd received a lot of calls, but I have no idea what happened from there; nothing's been reported in the papers yet.

What does this have to do with my blog? I love to run along the trails by my house, but shootings like this (the second in my 2 years in this neighborhood) freak me out. I know the gang members who perpetuate this violent tit-for-tat aren't looking for me - they're going after one another. But I live close enough to it that I worry about walking into a fight. However, I love Salinas. I love living in this town, and I don't want to allow a small minority of violent people to keep me from living my life with my family here. I'm going to do all of the things I learned to do last time: I'm keeping my porch light on. I'm going out for walks. I'm talking to my neighbors. I will not let this keep me from my fitness goal or living the life I want to live. I will remain aware. And I will do all that I can to make my community safe. And I will run.