Q&A with Danny Aynes

On Favorites & "On Writing"

I’m one of those people who doesn’t pick favorites.

Anytime someone wants me to put together a list of favorites, I cringe. Favorite song? Favorite TV show? Favorite food? I don’t know. I like tons!

Asked to pick a favorite quote from Stephen King’s book “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft:”  I’m sorry, I simply can’t.

It’s not that I don’t like what King wrote. On the contrary, I love it. I learned many lessons while reading “On Writing,” as well as remembering one long-forgotten -- that of literally not judging a book by its cover. 

When I became aware that “On Writing” was a required piece of material for the curriculum of JN 217 Feature Writing, my eyes widened at the sight of the author's name. I was hit with the irony. If there is a genre of which I have never been a fan, it is horror. Knowing King devoted much of his life to the darker side within literature, my heart sank.

Postcard from the Future: Finding Hope in New York City

Our view from the Marriott Marquis Hotel. August 2016

Times Square would be humming with activity as New York City warms up leading into the summer months. No matter the season, this city is always alive.

We’d be standing in line outside of the boxy red TKTS Ticket Booth on the corner of 47th Street and Broadway, making a last-minute decision on which performance we’d see later this evening. Finalizing our purchase, we’d shoulder our way through the crowd to head down the stairs leading to the subway.

One day we will show you the enormity and complexity of this place, this vast network of human connectedness existing between strangers. To travel to a place that contrasts so greatly with the open space of our lush, green Willamette Valley. At over eight million people, New York City is the most densely populated metropolitan area in the United States. Now though, it is quiet. Shuttered. The coronavirus has ravaged this city.

I recall our excitement as we unpacked and settled in to our corner hotel room on the 45th floor. Space was at a premium, but we didn’t mind. Pressing my nose to the glass of the window, I heard car horns honking as I spied tiny human forms walking below.

We’d taken the red-eye flight from Portland. Exhausted but fueled by adrenaline, we freshened up and joined the bustle of Times Square. Our plans were to see and do and explore as much as we could on the island of Manhattan, ending most nights with a show.

“The Phantom of the Opera” was our first taste of the theater scene. Known as “the longest-running show on Broadway,” we were dazzled even before the curtain lifted. The golden interior of the theater with lampshade lighting, the long layers of draperies dressing the doorways, and the cushiony, velvety seats all made a perfect setting for this famous Gothic fantasy. 

Afterwards, exhilarated and hungry, we laughed as we walked across the street to John’s Pizzeria, ordering a thin crust margherita pizza with rounds of fresh mozzarella and tons of basil. The server asked where we were from, giving us suggestions “from a local.” 

Regardless of socioeconomic status, gender, or age, simple humanity was never more apparent than when riding the subway, our preferred form of transportation. Sharing seats and overhead handles with strangers in one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world opened an unexpected partnership toward a common destination-oriented goal. Accepting of friendly smiles as well as overt, indifferent glances from downturned eyes, one did not have to speak the same language to understand. However, for the first time in 115 years, the subway now shuts down each night to allow a deep, thorough cleaning of each car before the system restarts the next day.

Lower Manhattan as seen from the Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center. August 2016

The Fascinating Allure of a Hidden World: Disneynature’s “Diving with Dolphins”

Image courtesy of Disney Plus

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net forever.” - Jacques Cousteau

Celebrating 50 years, Earth Day 2020 is a reminder to appreciate the diversity of our natural world. However, with trails, parks and beaches closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, our exploration and experiences are limited to living vicariously through others.