Guest Story I

As a change of pace, I have decided to post a story on this neglected blog. And, so that I will have several days worth of material, I will only post some of the story at a time. Also, this will enable you people to tell me if you are interested in the story and want to hear more. This, in turn, will feed my self-image and help me feel fulfilled and like a better human being. Well, not really, because I didn't even write this story, but maybe it will still let me feel affirmed in some weird indirect way. Anyway, here it is! Enjoy :) And tell me if you want more.


"Eric Fillmore was in a good deal of trouble. He had a total of three hours sleep since Tuesday night. It was now Friday morning. His clothes reeked of sweat, cigarette smoke and alcohol. He was late for his train, and he was drunk.

Normally, Eric would have been able to address each of these problems in an orderly fashion. Perhaps on a good day, under the best of circumstances, he could have tackled them all at once. However, the fact that he was currently penniless and in a foreign country was presenting some unprecedented challenges to his typically good problem-solving skills. Eric had spent the last two rainy, cold, fruitless nights in a run down hostel in London, and he was headed back to his home in Missouri, a prospect that was looking more attractive by the minute. His trip to London, one he had been eagerly awaiting for months, had gone decidedly south.

Of course some of it probably was his fault. He had disregarded everyone�s advice. When he told his friends that he was going to propose to Kristine, their jaws dropped halfway to the ground. The remaining distance of jaw to ground was covered when he told them that his plan of action was to fly out to London and surprise her. This, they overtly warned, was a world-class mistake. It wasn�t that Kristine was unsuitable, because she was suitable and rich, and it wasn�t that nobody liked her, because she was well liked by all, it was that she was a redhead.

The general rule for redheads was to never trust them, not for any purpose. Eric had diligently followed this rule all of his life until Kristine came around. They had dated for several years already, and she seemed trustworthy enough. Her dream was to be an actress in London, so when the opportunity came about, Eric was nothing but happy for her. However, she was a redhead and had already challenged just about every rule in the book, the last of which was the cardinal, never break at any cost, Don�t-Surprise-Visit-Your-Significant-Other-While-He-Or-She-Is-In-A-Foreign-Country-Doing-God-Knows-What rule that Eric was about to breach. Eric, like any other deceived individual, had insisted that his particular circumstance was different, and that his friends had nothing to worry about. So when he spent his year�s income on an engagement ring and plane tickets to London, all his friends could do was wish him good luck and hope for the best."