Who was that in the
behind the first wave of Arizona shooting coverage, trying to do back flips on a cheery-colored boogie board? Why, it was the
, the Wire Service That Zigs™! No more for the AP the drudgery of writing the first draft of news, for others to write into the first draft of history. Your 21st-century wire service has moved on to writing the first draft of sociology:
Before everything fell apart, he went through the motions as many young men do nowadays: Living at home with his parents, working low-wage jobs at big brand stores and volunteering time doing things he liked.
Jared Loughner: typical young American, going through the motions. But how did he
feel
? How about a first draft of biography?
Even when Loughner tried to do good, it didn’t work out.
And finally, the first draft of poetry:
Loughner grew up on an unremarkable Tucson block of low-slung homes with palm trees and cactus gardens out front. Fittingly, it’s called Soledad Avenue - Spanish for solitude.
Solitude found Loughner, even when he tried to escape it.
Heavy stuff, Associated Press. Heavy.
found him. Or—did it…
leave him alone
?