One of the nice things about working in a "medium" market is that you have a more personal relationship with your viewers than you might in a big city.
A number of people said I was in their thoughts after I covered an especially disturbing story Saturday.
Toddler, Parents Dead After Murder-Suicide
It is very touching that folks are thinking about my feelings in a truly tragic and hard-to-fathom situation like that.
Some of you may remember the Forty Fort Murder Suicide just over three years ago.
That day is still frozen in time for me. The victim's family spoke to us and shared their anguish. If you watch the story you can see my head fall down as the grandfather described the little girl. Certain stories stay with you forever, and change you. I have heard officials say that they too were marked by that day in some way.
The facts of Saturday's story are almost worse. Police say not only did Zackary Yashkus kill his young ex-girlfriend Sharae, he then put their son Xander, 3, in a car seat and drove the vehicle up Interstate 81 to Pittston Township where he shot the boy and himself.
I had hoped to shed some light in this post on how I cope with covering tragedy.
Saturday was confusing. There were two scenes, one we couldn't find, and there were conflicting rumors about who was where. When we spend a lot of time trying to get the basic facts, it leaves less time for the emotional part of the story.
Another thing that happened is that a relative of the victims got hostile.
Please don't think I am complaining or judging.
I get that this happens for a number of reasons.
They see the news crews and all of a sudden there is no denying something has happened.
You can't direct your anger at the police or your family, so a reporter receives the it.
Molly, my photographer, asked me how I deal with this. All I could say is remember it's not personal.
In some ways I am glad that a victim had a "safe" person to vent at. At least that is what I try to tell myself.
Dealing with angry people is part of the job. Just not my favorite part.
One thing I have learned over the years, is it takes time to truly comprehend a tragedy. It took many months before my brain absorbed that the Twin Towers were really gone.
More than a decade later I still think about Holley Chromey and her children Katie and Jerrod murdered in Long Prarie, MN.
I try to inagine what little Xander experienced in the last moments of his short life and my mind just can't go there.
At least not yet.
