Read this excerpt from "Collision Course.”Now I felt like a friendless alien in this wide-open suburb. The openness of it just made me feel small and more alone. In our apartment in the Richmond District, there were always people walking around, and the neighborhood was always humming with fruit sellers, taquerias, and restaurants, especially Chinese restaurants and my favorite, dim sum bakeries. And you could rely on the street noise and interesting smells. The Geary and Clement bus lines ran late into the night and started up again early in the morning. Something was always happening. Our neighborhood was alive. It was my dream childhood.