On Literary Confusion

I went downstairs to fix a cup of coffee. I needed a break from the word processor; the flow of words had come to a careening halt.

My grandmother was watching television. I heard the voice of Mo Rocca. She was watching CBS Sunday Morning.

He was talking about Grover’s Corners.

“Grover’s Corners,” I thought. “That sounds familiar… What’s it from, what’s it from…” Suddenly I had it!

It was where the Martians landed in Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds!

Then Mo Rocca started talking about Thornton Wilder. And Our Town.

And then I realized that I had the wrong fucking Grover’s Something-something in my mind.

It was Grover’s Mill where the Martians invaded in 1938.

Then I realized what an awesome literary mash-up this would make — Wilder’s Our Town and Welles’ War of the Worlds.

Emily and George grow up, start a family, and then…

A Martian cylinder lands outside Grover’s Corners!

Then the Martians become sick and die, and this parallels Emily’s own death.

Because that’s what Our Town needs — Martian war machines, death rays, Black Smoke, and rampant destruction. :h2g2:

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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