Tag: life
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Small Sparks, Quiet Joys: A Writer’s New Year Grace Notes
Small Sparks, Quiet Joys: A Writer’s New Year Grace Notes The first days of a new year always feel a little strange — like standing in a doorway with one foot in the past and one in the future, trying to decide whether to look back, look ahead, or just enjoy the view. This year,…
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Musings for the Shortest Day of the Year – 2025
Sunday, December 21, 2025, Orlando, Florida It’s a nice early winter day here in my home state of Florida. Although it’s the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year and traditionally the first day of winter – it’s not uncomfortably cold. The temperature outside is 76°F (25°C) under mostly sunny conditions – a…
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A (Laundry) Day in the Life
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Tempus fugit, The Jim Garraty ChroniclesSaturday, December 13, 2025, Orlando, Florida Time flies faster than a rollercoaster at Universal Studios—or so it seems. Can you believe we’re already skidding into mid-December, with just twelve days left on the countdown to Christmas 2025? I’m still trying to wrap my head around that one, and my coffee hasn’t quite caught up yet.…
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“The Last Afterschool Walk Home”: Writing Friendship, Farewell, and the Emotional Geography of South Miami High
🌇 “The Last Afterschool Walk Home”: Writing Friendship, Farewell, and the Emotional Geography of South Miami High This is a story I don’t tell often; I’m a private man, and I don’t like to spill my guts about my love life, or lack thereof. I’m fine with talking in front of a crowd – whether…
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A Somewhat Stressful Monday in Orlando
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in the United States, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A StoryMonday, November 10, 2025, Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. It’s Monday afternoon here in Central Florida, and I’ll be honest—it’s been a bit of a nerve-wracking day. Earlier, I had to complete a mandatory phone interview with Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) to qualify for SNAP benefits—what most folks still call “food stamps.” I…
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A Sunday Musicale for a Cloudy November Day in Florida
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Anxiety, Audible, Audiobooks, Autumn in Florida, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Family History, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A StorySunday, November 9, 2025, Orlando, Florida It’s late morning here in my corner of Central Florida, and the second weekend of November has arrived cloaked in gray skies and a damp chill that mirrors my mood a little too well. I’m still worried—quietly, persistently—about when (or if) I’ll be reunited with my belongings that remain…
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My Plans for a Restful Sunday
Sunday, November 2, 2025, Orlando, Florida It’s late morning here in Central Florida as I write this—my 2,214th post on WordPress. True to late autumn in this part of the world, it’s a bright but cool day: 74°F (23°C) under sunny skies, with a forecast high of 80°F (27°C) and mostly sunny conditions. Being the…
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The Music That Hurt Less: A Response to Thomas Wikman’s Review of ‘Comings and Goings’
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The Music That Hurt Less: A Response to Thomas Wikman’s Review When Thomas Wikman described Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen as a luminous prelude to Reunion: Coda, I felt seen—not just as a writer, but as someone who stitched memory and melody into fiction, hoping someone might hear the emotional subtext.…
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Adventures in Storytelling: ‘Reunion: Coda’ Nears Its ’15-Minute Checkpoint’
Checkpoint Received: A Milestone for Reunion: CodaVignette I: Time Doesn’t Heal All Wounds I woke up to a quiet thrill this morning—a message from Stefan (Steve) Lee confirming that the 15-minute checkpoint for Reunion: Coda is already in progress. For those following along, Coda is the longest and most emotionally layered of the three Reunion…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Taste of Memory
🍺 The Taste of Memory: How Beer Became a Quiet Motif of Emotional Growth in the Garratyverse In Reunion: Coda, beer isn’t just a beverage—it’s a threshold. When Mark Prieto hands Jim Garraty his first Heineken, it’s not about rebellion. It’s about presence. About offering comfort without commentary. About saying, I see you, in the…
A Certain Point of View, Too 