odd timing

today is the 30th anniversary of John Hinckley's attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.
which is something I did not realize until around 10:45 last night as I was finishing reading Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan by Washington Post reporter and first-time author Del Quentin Wilber.
also shot that day: Press Secretary James Brady, Washington D.C. Police Office Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy.

an excerpt:

"Sergeant Herbert Granger was facing the president when he heard the first cracks of gunfire. Whipping around, he spotted a blond man in a combat crouch. The gunman was holding a small revolver with both hands and firing at the president, tracking his target from right to left. Granger lunged toward the shooter, but his body felt strangely sluggish, as if he were moving through syrup. He heard screams and his own grunting, but they echoed in his ears like an audiotape being played on its slowest setting. He was puzzled by the gunman's blank and emotionless expression, then he watched as an elderly man in a yellow sweater raised his arms and slammed them down on the neck of the assailant. 'Kill the son of a bitch!' the old man yelled."

the last book I ever read: Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan
the last album I ever bought (that's right - bought): The Mountain Goats' All Eternals Deck