Living in the Chicago area we often make jokes about what people think of our city. "Chicago Bang Bang" is actually a running joke especially when we see pictures like this one. So it should come as no surprise that quite a few people actually still get killed in the Chicago. It's a big city, things happen. So it makes perfect sense for the news to keep a running tally of how many school children get shot. We're in the 20s and it's only April! Apparently to be counted as a statistic you need to actually be enrolled in school, but you don't have to be killed at school. Case in point is this sad occurence in a South Side alley. The article actually makes a point of saying he was not a student in he Chicago Public School System. My point? Big deal! The kid was 16. He's dead now and whether he's enrolled in school or not he's still a sad sad statistic. It's almost as if the news is saying, "See, he's not a school attendee! It's not a big deal. The number doesn't go up and we will only make a big deal out of a child's death if they were enrolled in school."

The more I watch the local news the more I see that they don't have a clue about much. Just two days ago there was a cougar in a local neighborhood. At the same time one newscaster reported that a cougar had been spotted and another said that the cougar had been shot. These two were being broadcast at the same time at the gym so I probably looked like a loon laughing on the treadmill at the discrepancy. Then don't even get me started on the guy who insisted on calling it a mountain lion when everyone else on the same newscast was calling it a cougar. I know they're the same thing, but it was funny.