A Year Later, Event Lingers

Dan Barry: TUCSON

January has come again to Tucson. The pleasant days all but demand a hike or a bicycle ride. The cool evenings cast the Santa Catalina Mountains in a mesmerizing magenta. And, for some, the late nights bring to mind a supermarket called Safeway, of all things, and an echoing pop. Pop, pop, pop, pop.

A year later, Nancy Ostromencki, a piano teacher who shops regularly at Safeway, hears them still. She and her husband, Phil, had just checked out at Register 1, with the friendly cashier, Beverly, ringing up their beef, salmon, dog food and Diet Pepsi. Then came those pops, which made her think that another supermarket employee, a known joker, was popping balloons in the floral…