j e s r u s h . c o m

NPR recently aired an incredible story of a NY man who was mugged on his way home from work.  Listening to the audio is the best way to hear it, but a teaser to get you started:

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

“He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go,’” Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”

Continue reading at NPR…  Wow.

I don’t pay much attention to children’s poetry, but I heard a segment on NPR about Calef Brown’s new collection, Flamingos on the Roof, and it was too good to pass up. I can’t really explain it, but I love this stuff. A sample:

10-Cent Haiku

I sat down to write a haiku
it seemed like the right thing to do
I wouldn’t need very much time
no need to bother with making it rhyme
I reached in my pocket and pulled out a dime
this is my 10 cent haiku:

shiny, silver friend
i will never let you go
Look!
An ice cream truck!

Listen to the story and several more poems at NPR, and hear what might be the best title for a poem *EVER*: “Biscuits in the Wind.”