full of a baby's venom

Today, having lunch in my quiet spot and trying to digest Jazz (as a quick aside, I always feel like I SHOULD like Toni Morrison, and I DO like her use of language, but always find her to be too much. Trying to reach for too many things, to great a statement at once. But what do I know about reading? Not much.), I heard someone passing in close proximity to me say something, so I looked up, thinking that perhaps they were saying hi. (This was reason for alarm in and of itself, cf. this post.) The individual in question was a "SK8R DOOD" who looked like he might have just emerged from my TV set, were I watching Viva La Bam! I determined that he had not been saying hi when, a few steps further along in his trip, he hurled his skateboard at a pigeon that was in his way and yelled something incomprehensible aside from its containing the "fuck" word.

I was tempted to say something like, "Hey pal! You look like you need a friend!" but my instincts told me that if he'd go after a bird whose only crime is mooching food from stupid humans like that, perhaps his response to my interference would be even more violent, and I didn't feel like getting blood on my hands during my lunch break. He proceeded to walk on, right through a construction site, where I was sort of hoping some beefy hardhat dude would give his attitude right back, and they might destroy each other or something, but no dice.

Just a short time ago, I was walking back from a brief shopping trip, when I saw the driver of one SUV attempt a three-point turn in the middle of Baum Boulevard while another SUV was coming down the opposing lane at an alarming rate of speed. The driver of the second SUV, rather than slowing to a halt, perhaps honking the horn and sharing some cross words, decided it would be wise to cross over into the other lane and continue on toward her/his destination, barely slowing up. Of course the two nearly collided at a high rate of speed and--this might make me a bad person, so brace yourself--I was pretty disappointed that they didn't destroy each other. Car accidents often disturb me because usually only one person does something stupid but another innocent person is made a victim. The summer after my junior year in high school, a friend's dad was killed in a horrible accident caused by a woman who stole a car and was drunk. I was really upset by it for quite some time, and still am, when I let myself think about it. I guess I just wish for people like that to eliminate themselves without hurting other people. I don't generally cheer on violence or any such thing, but sometimes if it means diminishing the risk for someone innocent being hurt, I'm okay with it.

But not today.

(I should note that, despite my spiteful tone, I've got nothing to complain about and am in wonderful spirits lately. Tonight, work on some creative stuff hopefully, touch base with friends I haven't talked to in too many days, then call it a night early, as I failed to do last night.)