Had Raymond Carver lived in Prairie Village, blogger Bill Brownlee would have been his ideal neighbor. On his blog, Happy in Bag (let's let the origin of that odd phrase remain a mystery), Brownlee documents everyday life like a suburban naturalist. Camera often in hand, he documents encounters with wily squirrels, fast-food-restaurant employees, bad drivers, fellow attendees of the Plaza lighting ceremony, and everything else. He's a music lover: Drunk, he mistook Fred Wesley for James Brown horn-section member Maceo Parker in an elevator at the Folly Theater. Embarrassment ensued. And he's a hero: He saved a child from drowning at an Overland Park apartment complex last summer. Sadness ensued (the teenage mother didn't seem to care — so Carver). Best of all, he conveys this with few references to the details of his personal life. The man's a born essayist. Check the opening of an entry from last November: "Most Kansas Citians actively avoid engaging in risky activity. They know better than to ride a bike to work, date a Chiefs player, or stand between a preacher and a television camera." Get on that book deal, Bill!