ABOUT —
driftwood (n.) wood floating on a body of water or cast ashore by it.
After nearly 15 years of wrongful imprisonment at the notorious Chateau d’If, Edmond Dantes manages to escape. Impersonating a dead man, he’s flung by his captors from atop a cliff into a churning sea below. After freeing himself from chains and body bag, he embarks on a swim across open water to a nearby island. When he finally reaches the shore, he collapses on the beach, exhausted, but a free man. When he’s roused by the rising tide, his joy is immediately dashed as he discovers that he’s been found by a band of smugglers. After narrowly avoiding death yet again, Dantes impresses their leader, Luigi Vampa, who bestows upon him the name “Zatara”. Dantes favors the moniker, noting that it sounds fearsome. Vampa laughs and explains “it means driftwood”.
The 2002 film adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo has been a favorite of mine since seeing it in theaters as a teenager. While struggling to come up with an online moniker several years ago, the film came to mind and I immediately identified, not with the lavish, vengeful persona Dantes assumes as the Count, but with Zatara, the humble label he’s given after washing up on the beach after surviving years of severe isolation and suffering. At the time, I had recently washed up on my own beach, after overcoming a series of my own personal tribulations, and the connection seemed apropos.
Aaron Mroczkowski —
A thirty-something Milwaukee-native currently residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lifelong writing and reading enthusiast. Bibliophile. Amateur photographer. Music glutton. Plant dad. Pizza snob. #YNWA.
This is an experiment in propagating my personal path forward. It’s an exploration of things that make me happy to be alive.
IN PARTNERSHIP —
None of the snaziness of this website would be possible without my amazing girlfriend, Megan, whose impeccable creative vision and drive, not to mention patience and pragmatism, have been invaluable in shaping and crafting this site into something that you, the reader, can comfortably peruse and enjoy without developing a migraine.
Owner & Author
Aaron Mroczkowski
Creative Director & Designer
Megan Griffa
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