#9 THE EGGMAN

The Eggman, the ninth story in the Big Lonesome two-year anniversary recap, was the last story to be included in the collection. The story is set in Los Angeles and helps balance out the contemporary vs. historical dichotomy at work in the collection.

The Eggman is in no way inspired by Humpty Dumpty. The main character is a jerk who gets sent to a Sensitivity Seminar and part of his therapy is to carry an egg around with him, the idea being that it will force him to consider and look after something other than himself for a change.

I'm not sure where I got the idea for this but when I was in graduate school in Flagstaff I went to a conference in Albuquerque. While on campus I bought a flower from a pretty girl who was selling them to raise money for some charitable cause. I couldn't leave the flower behind in the car as it would mean instant death in the desert heat, so I brought it with me everywhere I went that day. I was struck by how people treated me differently just because I was carrying a flower. Strangers smiled, waitresses brought be glasses of water, and everyone wanted to know why why why. Somewhere in the midst of all this the Eggman was born.   

Comments

[Mary Akers]

I had forgotten about this story! I loved it. I think I have to go reread it now.