Category: Personal Thoughts
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July 2025: Heat, Grief, and Writing-Related Stress
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Anxiety, Blogging, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Going Full Circle: Back to South Florida I Go, Hurricane Andrew, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in Miami….Again, Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2025, Summer in FloridaWednesday Afternoon, July 9, 2025 – Miami, Florida Hi, everyone. Historically, July has never been my favorite month. Aside from the nearly six years I spent living in Colombia (1966–1972) and a more recent 10-month stint in New Hampshire, July in Florida usually means oppressive heat and humidity—weather that makes retreating indoors feel more like…
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The Distance Between Then and Now: Seville, 1988–2025
Midday, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, Miami, Florida In the fall of 1988, I participated in the International College of Seville/College Consortium for International Studies’ Semester in Spain program. I lived and studied there for 12 weeks, immersing myself in the country’s history, government, culture, and (por supuesto) its language. At my home institution, Miami-Dade Community…
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3,000 Miles from Home: A Column from Spain
Originally published in Catalyst – February 2, 1989Written in Seville, Spain – November 1988By Alex Diaz-Granados, Columnist SEVILLE, Spain (CCIS Program)One of the most important aspects of an extended trip overseas, especially for young collegians studying abroad (like us here in Spain), is mail from home—and no ritual is more important than the daily search…
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July 4, 2025: No Fireworks, No Sousa Marches…Just Grief and Dirges
🗽 “Fourth of July, Unfinished” Afternoon, Friday, July 4, 2025 – Miami, Florida Hello, everyone. Today is, as you likely know, Independence Day in the United States and its territories. The Fourth of July—“the Glorious Fourth”—marks the day in 1776 when the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, formally severing political ties between…
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Thunder, Memory, and the Gentle Ache of Longing
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Going Full Circle: Back to South Florida I Go, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer in FloridaThursday Afternoon, July 3, 2025, Miami, Florida “When thunderstorms roll in, you make a choice to either succumb with tears to the gloomy downpour, or smile and look for rainbows.” — Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year It’s a dark and stormy… day. I’m…
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The Weight of a Book, the Light of a July Afternoon
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Donating “Reunion: A Story” to the Conway Public Library, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Summer 2025, Summer in FloridaAfternoon, Wednesday, July 2, 2025 – Miami, FloridaIt’s a hot, muggy, and overcast summer afternoon here in southeastern Florida. Thankfully, while the atmosphere is heavy, the skies aren’t stormy—at least not at the moment. I did wake to the distant rumble of thunder, though. Tourists hoping for postcard-perfect sunshine might be disappointed; the Greater Miami…
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12 Months of Change: A Writer’s Reflection on Life and Publication
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in Miami….Again, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Life in the United States, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, UncategorizedMidday / Early Afternoon, Tuesday, July 1, 2025 – Miami, Florida“Time is passing: not leaden steppingBut sprinting on winged feet,Quick silver slipping by.” — Richard L. Ratliff It’s difficult to grasp, here on this sweltering South Florida afternoon, that another July has arrived. A year ago, my life looked completely different—geographically, emotionally, and in terms…
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The Kiss That Lingered: A Memoir’s Echo Through Fiction
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, College Life, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Student JournalistSome stories begin long after the moment itself. This one started in a college classroom in 1985, but it didn’t find its full voice until years later—first in memoir, then through the echoed silences of fiction. What follows isn’t just about Maria, or Marty, or Kelly. It’s about the quiet resonance of memory, and how…
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From a Journalism Major’s String Book: – Before Jim and Marty, There Was Maria
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, College Life, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in South Florida, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Student Journalist, Student NewspaperI was 24 in the spring of ’87—still holding onto the hope that someday, somehow, math would make sense to me. Spoiler: it didn’t. Not then, not now. Even the so-called “remedial” kind felt like trying to read sheet music in the dark. But while numbers left me bewildered, words felt like home. I was…
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The Echo of a Smile: Memory, Maria, and the Garratyverse
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, Books, College Life, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Films by Steven Spielberg, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Miami-Dade Community College, Movies, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, West Side Story (1961 Film), West Side Story (1961), West Side Story (2021)Long before Jim Garraty stood on the curb in Somerville, watching a Corolla disappear into the quiet, there was a boy sitting in a sunlit classroom, speechless at the sound of someone saying “Hi.” I wrote about Maria in Catalyst back in 1987. She was radiant, kind, and achingly real. We shared benches between buildings…
A Certain Point of View, Too 