fiction

What’s the Point?

I’ve lived in Point A all my life. Never had any reason to leave. My family is here, my work, shopping, movies, whatever I want. Have a good coffee house that I like to go to– a place where they know my name and what my drink is (Americano, no room for cream). All of my doctors are here, there’s a great library, and over the years I have acquired many, many friends.

I know most of the streets in Point A, so I have to laugh when I see people buying these $400 and $500 GPS devices. I know how to get where I want to go. If I am at the hospital on Hilltop Street, for example, and I want to go to the mall on West End Avenue, I have to go down High Street to the second right on Maple Avenue and follow Maple to Brewster. Then it’s three blocks to another right on to West End. Go down a half mile and the mall is on the left. Simple. No directional aids required. And since I don’t ever leave Point A, I don’t need any maps either. Other people have glove compartments filled with maps that they can’t read or even refold the correct way, but I don’t need to bother with them.

People ask me all the time if I’ve been on any interesting trips or vacations lately, and they always seem astonished when I tell them that I never have been outside Point A. “Don’t you want to see the world?” they ask. The answer is no, I don’t. My world here in Point A fulfills all my wants and desires. Am I less of a human being for not having ever been outside Point A? I don’t think so. I watch plenty of TV shows on the Travel Channel so I get to experience the world outside Point A. I’ve seen Paris, London, Rome, Iceland, and all the best places to get hotdogs in the U.S.A. I see other shows and films that feature different locations, from Hollywood to Wasilla, Alaska. What more do I need?

That’s why I will never understand this obsession everyone seems to have about Point B. How do you get from Point A to Point B? You must have a plan in order to get from A to B. No, I don’t have to do anything of the kind. Point A is everything to me, and I have absolutely no intention of ever moving to Point B. If the people in Point B think it’s so important to get somewhere else, let them come to Point A! They need to plan how to get from Point B to Point A!

Sorry for shouting, but sometimes that’s the only way to make your Point.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept. He's written a mystery novel, which therefore makes him a pre-published author.

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