The Blind Date

...is all I knew about my blind date when I borrowed it from the library.  Wrapped in fresh, clean newspaper, with only a small rectangle  cut out to expose the bar code, this book was one of many set out for a Valentine's Day reading promotion.

One of the groovy librarians at my public library, fittingly enough, borrowed the idea from another library in another town.  I believe the purpose of this promotion was to encourage readers to step outside his or her literary  comfort zones and take a chance on the unknown.  Borrow a wrapped book, take it home, and get to know an author you may have overlooked in the past.  It was as simple as that, and there would be no hard feelings if the book was returned without finishing it.  Sometimes a blind date just doesn't work out.

There were genres of every sort as I scanned the wrapped books on display.  I was tempted by a mystery/suspense novel, but then the above description caught my eye.  First, I liked that it was labeled Fiction, because that meant it could be anything!  Second, as I  told the groovy librarians while I checked out my blind date book, "You had me at Damaged people."   Then I rushed home and proceeded to carefully open the newspaper on one end.  Gently I slipped the book out little by little until I was face to face with...

Honestly, the cover as a whole didn't do much for or against me and I never heard of the author, so that didn't influence me one way or another.  It was, however, the title that sent a poetic spark through my entire being.  I grinned with the growing suspicion that I would seriously enjoy The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by Michele Young Stone.

Most people, at this point, would probably have flipped open the cover and read the inside jacket.  Being whatever it is I am, I decided, before unwrapping my blind date book, that I would read it without knowing any other information than the librarian's synopsis, the cover and the title.  So, I gleefully skipped the inside flap and began my blind date with the author's words.

I'm not going to spoil this book with a review.  Going on a blind date with a book is a fantastic literary experience, and it would be terrible of me to prevent you the same opportunity.  Now, go forth, Readers, and start your own blind date book.

I will give you this...my growing suspicion was correct and then some.

Be well, Readers, and Freak Out,
JLH
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expression

The following short subject was inspired by a series of physically and emotionally raw photographs I experienced today.

 

expression

Wrap me in your shadows

        blurring the lines of us

Break away my lonely void

        dissolving it with yours

Depict our fervent longings

        under brilliant, blinding views

Until we become a single silhouette

        with nothing in-between

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

2-10-2014

John L. Harmon

Random Writing Thoughts

I am always late.

 

I didn’t learn to tie my shoelaces until I was in 2^nd grade.  Believe me, it helps when you have a really good friend who doesn’t judge you as she ties them for you during recess.

 

I didn’t experience my first kiss until I was 21.  Well, first real kiss.  A kissing booth at a church does not count and, in hindsight, is completely absurd.

 

I didn’t put myself out there as a writer until I was 39.  Even then I did it backwards.  Perhaps I should have blogged for a while and then released my e-books, not the other way around.  Either way, I did it and no one can take that accomplishment away from me.

 

Now I wonder what kind of writer I am.  Surely not mainstream, but not cool/edgy either.  Goofy is typically the word I use to describe my scribbling.  Rarely serious, because I’ve learned that when I write with serious emotion, I am often misunderstood.  Maybe too many of my other writings are full of levity and satire, or perhaps I can’t write strictly serious.  My soul might not be deep enough and my agile tongue continually aims for my cheek.

 

Then I wonder what genre my fiction veers toward.  Satire isn’t completely accurate, because while there are satirical elements in my e-books and blog fiction, they are not just satire.  I hate the notion of one book being one thing.  Life is not one thing, so how can a representation of life be labeled one thing?

 

I guess I write what I write.  If people read it, that is awesome!  If people don’t read it, that is their loss.  Besides, it wouldn’t make a difference.  I would continue to write since I write for myself.  Been doing so since I learned to tie my shoes.

 

 

Be well and Freak Out,

JLH

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