A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Cover designed by Juan Carlos Hernandez © 2023,2024 Alex Diaz-Granados  The final strains of "Finale" seemed to linger, stretching out to touch the edges of eternity before they dissolved into the quiet of my shadowed room. The tape hissed its postlude, then snapped off with a decisive CLICK. Should I replay it, Marty’s graduation gift to me? "I wanted to give you something to remind you of our time together... um... in Mrs. Quincy's class. And our song is in it," Marty had said, her voice now a ghostly echo in my mind. A fresh stab of regret pierced me, sharp and frigid, and I knew—I just couldn't face it again. A knock at the door fractured my contemplation. My mother's voice, warm and familiar, filtered through the wood. “Jim, honey, Mark's here.” Mundane as they were, her words came like a lifeline thrown into the turbulent sea of my thoughts, pulling me back to the present, to reality. “Thanks, Mom,” I replied. I jumped up—or at least r...

Cover art design: Juan Carlos Hernandez   In this excerpt, Jim Garraty (our narrator/protagonist) is lying on his bed, listening to the original Broadway cast recording of West Side Story and trying to keep it together after an emotionally trying day that included his high school graduation ceremony. It's 8:00 PM on Friday, June 17, 1983, and Jim has just decided to not replay the cassette of music from the classic 1957 reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, choosing instead to be alone with his thoughts.  The final strains of "Finale" seemed to linger, stretching out to touch the edges of eternity before they dissolved into the quiet of my shadowed room. The tape in the GE 3-5104 cassette player, a Christmas gift from Mom, hissed its postlude, then snapped off with a decisive "Click!" that punctuated the silence. I toyed with the idea of replaying the tape—Marty's graduation gift to me, a treasure trove of melodies and memories. I'd managed to keep my composu...

 Boy of Harvard   (To the tune of Men of Harlech )   Boy of Harvard, what's your story? Tell her now or you'll be sorry. A gorgeous lass stands before ye, Hear ye not her call?   At your pause, she seems to wonder; Rend your teenage fears asunder, Let your heart's a-deaf'ning thunder Answer her love's call.   Kisses need exchanging Passions loudly waking; Till your young hearts b eat as one, The mourning soul is breaking; Fears on every side assailing Onward march with heart unfailing, Make her see your love prevailing, Cobras never fall!  

 Hi, all.  I'm sorry that I don't post on A Certain Point of View much, but between dealing with the ups and downs of an interstate move and  the challenges of writing a first novel, I haven't had the time to write here. It's hard enough to create content for one blog every day; try writing posts for two blogs, working on a novel, and figuring out life in a new state far from where you lived most of your life, then report back to me on how "easy" it is. Anyway, instead of a long-written essay, rant, or review, I thought I'd share some photos of my new surroundings here in Madison. Enjoy!

Photo by the author  Hi, everyone. Well, I’ve been in Madison, New Hampshire for 12 days now, and even though that sounds like a long time, I’m still in the process of getting settled in at my new place of residence. I did hope that after my first week here I’d be ready to begin working on Reunion: Coda after more than a month of not working on it, but I require at least some peace of mind so I can tackle creative writing projects as complex as a novel, and right now, I don’t have that. As of December 27, 2023 I am still trying to adapt to a colder climate than the one I left behind in Florida, dealing with homesickness and the feelings of sadness and even resentment that lurk in my heart, and learning to be patient with the pace of the setting up process, which depends greatly on how much time others have available to assist me.  As a result, my brain is already challenged by “simple” writing projects such as blog posts; I don’t yet feel up to the task of getting in...

 

 I left the Tampa Bay area on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. Arrived in Madison, New Hampshire, on Friday, December 15, 2003.