Hit and run

I saw a hit and run yesterday. I was crossing the street near Grandview and Commercial. I had just crossed and was observing a needle exchange when I heard the sound of someone being smacked. A blue car had sped by and smacked a kid. The child had probably darted into the street without looking. He was about 8. The driver hit the kid so hard that a piece of the bumper fell off the car. The child stood up, and ran back to the sidewalk, where his friends held him. The driver kept going. Fortunately, there were many bystanders. One of the needle exchange people was furious and stood in the street. He began yelling at the getaway car, screaming, "You have to stop if you hit someone, you fucker!"

One of the other needle exchange people called an ambulance, and police and ambulance were on the scene immediately.

Still, the whole experience was both jarring and scary. I thought I was going to throw up because I was so disgusted that a driver could just hit a child and keep going.

I was pretty shaken up after seeing this event, and I was late to the meeting I was supposed to attend.

That doesn't mean you should write a book about it...

I'm all for diversification, but I have to admit that I find it strange when singers turn their attentions to penning literary works. I shuddered when I examined the childrens' books put out by Kenny Loggins and Michael Bolton. I scowled when I looked at Naomi Campbell's story "Swan." And I've heard that Jewel's book of poetry "Night without armor" is one of the top selling poetry books of all time. (I've read some of the poems in it, and frankly, I think I could write some better poems with both arms tied behind my back, using only my mouth.)

I'll agree that some singer/songwriters have made valuable contributions to the literary cannon, and there are some whose work I would read if they released something. If Lucinda Williams was to release a book of poems, I'd probably check it out and I've heard that Jann Arden's book of poetry is quite good.

However, I'm notably skeptical of the genre. The newest singer/songwriter to tour promoting a book of poetry is Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. He's touring to release a new book called "Blinking with fists." The strange thing is, he's touring with Yungchen Llamo, a Tibetan vocalist. Am I the only one who thinks this is bizarre?