Letter To Ray From me
E. E. King
7/18/2006
Dear Ray,
It was so lovely talking to you yesterday. I have always thought of you as my Godfather… an English/Irish Godfather, not a Sicilian one.
As I told you, I wrote a book and various short stories, Dirk Snigby’s Guide to the Afterlife (Five ***** rating system for food, accommodation, liquor and entry requirements,) was published in “The Devil’s Bathtub, ten international winning stories and 2 CD’s from Biscuit Press.
I recently returned from a book talk and reading in NewcastleEngland for “The Devil’s Bathtub.”
I was asked to read and gave a talk on “My American Short Story”, which in the end is all that anyone can truly relate, their story.
Even Hemmingway, if asked, could only tell his story. This would contain a lot of hard liquor, dead animals and dysfunctional relationships. Mine however was happier.
One of my earliest and best memories is of sitting on the living room steps, listening to all of you read.
I heard “The Halloween Tree” and the resonance of your voice still echoes in my mind. I reread it recently and could hear you clearly.
In Newcastle, I talked of these memories.
I began with a bit of the prologue you wrote about the inception of the group.
When I was a child, daddy would take me on “Buzz Story” walks.
He would begin; take the tale to the pinnacle of excitement and say, “Buzz.”
This mean that I was to continue telling the story, but I could not bear the thought of his not finishing !
I would wrap my tiny body around a lamppost, odd how one was always nearby, and cry,
“No, Please go on, please, please, please!”
He would struggle, but I held strong! Eventually he’d relent and finish the story.
It wasn’t until I was grown, that I realized I wasn’t actually forcing him to tell tale.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized how lucky I was, to have had him and have mom, you and the group in my life. Thank you.
My book has won some prizes as a short story and I have an agent. So the Sharp story tradition continues.
Thanks for your continued friendship and support. I look forward to attending some of your new plays in October.
Evie