Rattled

Yesterday I was running errands and had to pass through Brockport to get to my destination, but never made it. A woman holding a baby and steering a two-year-old and five-year-old across route 19, which is very busy and congested in the village proper. She was jay walking, not fifty feet from the crosswalk. I stopped to let her get across, and Bam! A man not paying attention smashes into my car. My bumper is scuffed, but his front end is a mess. The woman, with her children, scuttled across the street. But this could have been far worse, because the woman wasn't really paying attention to the two "walking" children. Who knows what she was thinking. She had that far away look. I yelled at her. I said what are you doing walking across the street like that with three babies. And she burst into tears. Of course. and her husband is called, and get this, he's an ambulance driver. Perfect.

A long time ago, I knew a woman who lost her child crossing the street. She was racing across the street, with her child in tow, and the child was hit. What's the point of hurry? Needless to say, I was a jumpy mess all afternoon, and my lower back hurts. I took advil when I arrived home. Lost my ambition for the rest of the day.

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Last Thursday, October 21, Father Cavanaugh Reading Series at Fisher, Allie Larkin, Fisher alumna, 2002, read from her novel Stay (Dutton, 2010) to large, appreciative audience. My students really enjoyed reading her book. They fell in love with her characters. It was a perfect evening. Thanks, Allie!


Upcoming, on November 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Golisano Gateway Mid-level on St. John Fisher Campus, Poet Todd Davis will be reading from his newest collection The Least of These (University of Michigan Press, 2010). This reading is presented by The Arts Minor Program and funded in part by Poets & Writers and NYSCA. The reading is free and open to the public.


Today, Sunday October 24, I will be reading with Poet Marie Starr at Books ETC in Macedon NY at 4 p.m. If you're out and about, we hope you' ll stop by for our reading. I will be reading from my newest collection Within Reach (Cherry Grove Collections, 2010) and some new work (poetry and prose).