COMMENTARY

The video that follows was not planned.  Quite frankly, I was up at the computer early this morning because I had not been able to sleep.  Instead, I’d found myself thinking of a Tucson Police Officer who’d been shot Sunday.

Like most Tucsonans, I don’t believe I’d ever met the officer.

Yet, like many who live here, he----and his family----are very much on our collective minds.

Officer Erik Hite had been with TPD for four years.  He’d also served in the military for 21-years.

Just 43, Officer Hite was a husband and a father of two children.  His youngest child; a little girl who’ll soon turn one.

Officer Hite died Monday from head wounds.

Two other law enforcement officers were also shot in Sunday’s rampage.  Both are deputies with the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.  Their injuries are reportedly not life-threatening.

These words and the video below were simply inspired by my visit to the myspace pages of the 25-year-old suspect:  David Nickolas Delich.

The final push of inspiration came as I studied

Delich’s pictures of weapons, plants and people. 

That’s when something unexpected happened.

Someone logged-in to his myspace account.

That was a bit of a surprise, but enough to

encourage a spur-of-the-moment video.

Yes, I mispronounce a few words along the way.

But I’m tired and feel no sense of having to be

perfect at a moment like this one. 

As someone smarter than me once said, “Life’s too short to sweat the small stuff.”

The total run time for the video is 4:12.

Update (October 4, 2008):  The video is no longer embedded here as I’ve just moved it to another server and have run into a technical issue.  However, you CAN still watch the video here (it will simply appear in a new window and you’ll need to click “play”).

Sorry for the inconvenience.  I hope to have the video embedded here, once again, soon!