Friends in High Places
kosmo - See all 471 of my articles
Leave the First Comment
Byron Walton sat on an uncomfortable folding chair near the back of the small bookstore. The card table in front of him held a dozen copies of his book and a laminated copy of his biography.
Even in this independent bookstore in this small Midwestern city, his presence attracted very little attention. Byron was beginning to doubt the wisdom of embarking on this self-financed book tour, against the advice of both his agent and his publisher.
After six days on the road, Byron had sold exactly eight copies of his book. Far from being a big money maker, this trip was actually costing him money. Byron sighed and wondered if he would manage to sell a book today.
By late afternoon, Byron had sold exactly one copy – to the girl working behind the counter. Byron thought that she probably bought the book out of pity for him. On the bright side, Byron had finished the New York Time crossword and several Sudoku puzzles. Closing time was quickly approaching, and Byron put the unsold books bag in his duffel bag and folded up the card table and chair. He was chatting for a minute with Ashley, the girl behind the counter, when a last minute customer popped into the store.
“Am I took late for the book signing?” asked the tall, middle-aged man.
Byron was speechless for a minute and then recovered his composure. “Nnnno, Mr. President. You’re not too late.”
The President of the United States beamed a smile at Byron and Ashley. “I apologize for stopping in so close to closing time. I had a couple of town hall meetings to attend, and time got away from me a bit. I hope I’m not making you stay late.”
“That’s perfectly alright,” responded Ashley. “I have to finish up some paperwork anyway. Take as much time as you need.”
“My wife read your book and absolutely loved it,” said the president, turning back to Byron. “I must say that I agreed with her after I had chance to read it. I’d like to buy two copies. Can you make them out to Bob and Brooke?”
“I’ll be happy to give you a couple of copies, Mr. President. I couldn’t possible charge you for them.”
“Oh, hogwash. I can certainly afford the price.” He pulled a wallet from his pocket and pulled out three twenty dollar bills. “In fact, keep the change.”
Byron decided to stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. He took the money offered to him by the most powerful man in the world. Byron signed two copies of the book and handed them to the president.
“I noticed that you don’t have a foreword for the book. I’d be very much interested in writing one, if you’d like. I couldn’t do it while I’m still in office, of course, but I’ll be a private citizen again in a couple of months.”
“That would be, uh, great,” replied an awestruck Byron. Certainly a glowing recommendation from the president would cause a spike in sales. He was sure that he’d sell at least two copies of his book at every stop on the next book tour.
“I’m starving,” commented the president. “Is there a good pizza place around here?”
“Sure,” replied Ashley. “Mickey’s Pizza Parlor is a few blocks from here. You just take main street two blocks and then …”
“How ‘bout you guys hop in and join us for dinner, instead. I’m not very good with directions.”
Kosmo is the founder of The Soap Boxers and writes on a variety of topics, including the Fiction Friday original short stories. You can purchase some of Kosmo's work at the company store. Like Kosmo's writing? You can leave a tip. Like this site? Subscribe via RSS, Subscribe via Email, or Follow us on Twitter. Want to get just the Fiction Friday articles, but not the rest of The Soap Boxers? Subscribe to the Fiction Friday RSS Feed - or subscribe via email. The permanent URL for this article is:http://www.thesoapboxers.com/friends-in-high-places/
Are Sports Drafts Fair?
kosmo - See all 471 of my articles
1 Comment
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. Drafts ensure an equal distribution of talent. But is it really true? The concept behind drafts in the major sports is that the teams with the worst records receive the top picks in the annual draft of amateur players. In baseball and football, this [...]
→ Read the full article
A Challenge to My Readers
kosmo - See all 471 of my articles
1 Comment
I have previously mentioned that I will be entering the 2011 Iowa Short Fiction Contest. Today, I throw down the gauntlet and ask you, the readers, to join me in this challenge. I know that we have writers in our midst – so join me in this plunge. You can read all of the details [...]
→ Read the full article
What Are the Broncos Thinking?
Johnny Goodman - See all 53 of my articles
3 Comments
Editor’s note: Today, Johnny Goodman resumes his regular gig on The Soap Boxers. Good to have you back, Johnny. Tim Tebow … Tim Tebow, Tim Tebow, Tim Tebow … The Media cannot get enough of this guy. I am thoroughly convinced anyone living outside of Gainesville is sick and tired of seeing his mug on [...]
→ Read the full article
Analysis of The NFL Draft Coverage
Martin Kelly - See all 41 of my articles
Leave the First Comment
Let’s talk about the NFL Draft It is the beginning of the Baseball season, the first round of both the Basketball and Hockey Playoffs, the sun is shining and yet the headlines are about the NFL. The NFL holds the draft in April each year. Why? Well there are lots of contractual reasons, and some [...]
→ Read the full article
The Imperfect Crime
kosmo - See all 471 of my articles
1 Comment
This is a special Sunday edition of Fiction Friday. Sadly, a real-life local crime was the inspiration for this story. Jason Rodriguez grabbed the insulated bag and jumped out of the Chevy Malibu. He was halfway to the house when several people jumped out of the bushes. Jason counted seven men, all apparently in their [...]
→ Read the full article
What’s Going On?
kosmo - See all 471 of my articles
2 Comments
We’re deep into April already. What’s going on in Kosmo’s world? We’re a few weeks into baseball season. This is my first year with Direct TV’s MLB Extra Innings package. I’ve been able to watch a lot of baseball, in spite of the crazy blackout situation in the state of Iowa. I also like MLB [...]
→ Read the full article
The Champion
kosmo - See all 471 of my articles
Leave the First Comment
The tattered banner fluttered in the breeze. It was faded by years of exposure to the sun, but still trumpeted its message to the world: CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TODAY. You could have cut the tension with a spork. The 72 hole competition was going to come down to the very final hole. Three time defending club [...]
→ Read the full article
Arizona Takes a Step Back With Immigration Legislation
The Angry Squirrel - See all 7 of my articles
14 Comments
Earlier this week the Arizona Senate took a huge step back when it decided to pass a new tough immigration bill 17-11 along mainly party lines (Republican for, Democrat against). The bill make it illegal for illegal immigrants to not have paperwork on them proving they are in the country legally as well as requiring [...]
→ Read the full article
Was the Y2K Bug a Hoax?
kosmo - See all 471 of my articles
4 Comments
In 1999, corporate America was gripped by a fear – that the flipping of the calendar to 2000 would cause significant problems. Then 2000 came not with a bang, but with a whimper. I was chatting with my brother yesterday, and he seems to be of the opinion that the entire situation was overblown. Was [...]
→ Read the full article
Writers for The Soap Boxers are freelance writers who work as independent contractors. Opinions expressed by the writers may not necessarily reflect the opinion of management.
Copyright for all content belongs to the writer identified in the byline. Copyright for any content not associated with a particular writer belongs to Kosmo. Copyright for comments belongs to the writer of the comment.
Content from The Soap Boxers cannot be reused in any manner other than what is allowed under the fair use doctrine of US copyright law or the applicable copyright laws of your country.
© 2008-2010. All rights reserved.
Please email Kosmo at Kosmo@ObservingCasually.com with any questions you may have.
The Soap Boxers is a division of Hyrax Publications
Soap Boxer Search
Just For Laughs
Category
Recent Posts
Search by Writer
Lazy Man and Money
Blogs Written By Us
Financial Blogs
Fun Blogs
