The safest place in the world is a
somewhat difficult thing for me to determine. Safest from what? If it
were the safest place in the world from earthquakes, then that would
be a doorway. If it were the safest place in the world from tornadoes,
then it would be the northeast corner of the basement. But if it were the safest place to avoid noise while I am doing homework at the
college, it would have to be in the library.
When I first started taking classes at
the college, I would sit in a place next to some vending machines
that had basically a bunch of wild party people in the next room, and
a constant thin stream of people shuffling by to their classes. It
did not take me very long to figure out that I did not work well with
much din at all, let alone as much as I was being subjected to. I set
off to try to find a somewhat calmer place in the campus.
At first, the best I could locate was a
bench outside, which worked fine during the early fall, when it was
still at least twenty degrees or so, but if it got too cold then it
wasn't very good for the laptop. So I ended up migrating like a bird
in the face of the cold snow, to a warmer spot, namely, the library.
The library is cooler than a lot of the
building, presumably to maintain the condition of the books, which I
appreciate, being a mammal. Also, a library is synonymous with
something I did not experience much next the vending machines: quiet.
I located a room in the library that is
very quiet, that people do not really seem to know about since it is
at the back. It is a room for books by Maine authors, with several
chairs, and that is where I have done homework for the past two
years.
And it is rather a paradox that the
calmest place in the college is next to the Stephen King books.
Nice piece--you might want to give the Eyrie a crack at this one. You've got your material under complete control here--your tone, your style, your content all work in harmony. Of the three pieces I've just read (this is the first I'm commenting on), this one reads 'easy.' As if it wrote easy too--did it? The others feel a little artificial, a little ginned up, a little like you were reaching a bit and not quite sure what you were reaching for.
ReplyDeleteThis one, as I say, has none of those negatives and many positives.
This was also the first one I did. Not to excuse myself from the other two, but it was getting a bit late by the time I was writing them. I also started this one next to the Stephen King books.
ReplyDeleteSometimes one piece is a best shot, and the writer senses that nothing else in that session will quite reach that piece's level.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I really did that, but I sort of experimented with more allegorical things in the second two, as opposed to the first. Apparently, I need to stick with what I know works.
ReplyDeleteAhhh, it's a little early to be giving up the unknown and exotic and sticking with the tried and true. A writer of your calibre in a course like this is set free on the playground of letters. Go climb on the monkey bars!
ReplyDelete