Newsletter from Jay Wilcox, October 2018 - BOO! A Meditation

This morning, a coworker commented that he sees me everywhere around the school. This is true: I set up shop all over campus, grading essays or writing lesson plans or meeting with students. I am always heading down some corridor, or floating through the background of a campus security video.

I smiled back at him and joked about living on campus in one of the unused broom closets. Cheap rent, I added--which made him laugh. People have commented on my ubiquity before. I'm good at playing along.

As his wingtips tapped away down the hall, my brain worked. What if this coworker was talking to another coworker and my name came up? What would he say about me? Sure, call me vain for asking such questions, but I, like many people, care what others think of me. I'd like to think this coworker and I have a pretty good working relationship.

Another thought: what if, when this coworker brought me up, the person he was talking to was like "Jay Wilcox? Why, Jay Wilcox has been dead for forty years."

The best time to plant seeds is right now. I've already informed campus security of my plan and told them what to say, should this coworker engage them in a me-related conversation, and I'm working on getting in touch with the Bursar's office. There are still a lot of administrative hoops to get through, and of course there's paperwork with these kinds of things. I'm hopeful, because the college offers all kinds of grants to faculty conducting research. Following the conclusion of "Make Harvey Think He Saw A Ghost" (final thesis title pending), I may consider a short sabbatical to drive home the project's verisimilitude. To sufficiently ice the cake, as it were.

Distract yourself from global climate change--I guess that's what I'm trying to say.

Of course Harvey isn't his real name, ya dingus.

Anyway, still writing a novel. #musicforparasites

Infinite Regards,

Jay