The tapes also help me keep track of rival gang members. They're out there every day, just like I am, trying to get on camera, right behind the reporter. I have dozens of filled notebooks tracking who appears, when, where, and with what frequency. It's an arduous task, but it's an important one. If they're getting on all the time, they start getting cocky and making bolder moves, sometimes successfully taking over territories. Things can turn ugly.

Take East Side Joey, for instance. A couple of years ago, because he's near the hospital and we were having a very dangerous winter, you'd see that guy all the time. Sometimes he'd be sliding past in a wheel chair, or pretending to be a doctor. Joey was everywhere.

He decides he needs to expand his operation so he breaks Louie Vilakowski's legs and takes over the North (which has some great soccer parks and the library, I might add). Then he lets the brake fluid out of Southeast Ronnie's car, landing a couple of really big high schools.

He comes on my turf one night, right as I'm wandering past Nikki Fiefgold's report on the opening of a new ice cream shop. Peaceful little scene, perfect for me to cruise by. But Joey shows up and we get into this brutal fight. Windows are broken, language is ugly, and eventually, knives are drawn.

Nikki completely freaks out, and she and her crew zoom off. Meanwhile, Joey and I get picked up by the cops. After that, things cool down, and Joey stops cutting in where he isn't wanted.

That's the way it goes sometimes. There's no money in it, nor glamour. But there is an unexplainable thrill. I guarantee, if you start watching the news more closely, you'll see what I mean.

Just be careful; that's how I got started. Don't say I didn't warn you. And stay away from the mall.

***