THE ARCHITECT'S SKETCH
In the Spring of 1996 I began a series of short stories in which the central character, whose name is never given, happens to be an architect. His profession is central to a few of the stories, but it was never my intent to present him as a prototypical character or uber-Architect, a mythic Everyman, or anything like that. My wife's first comment on the first story was "I like this guy," and that's all I really went after from there on out: this should be a guy you can like. He is modeled after me in only a few vague ways-- he has a silly sense of humor, he is moderately intelligent and has something of an artistic temprament, and he is bald. (I don't really know how that happened. When I started out he had a full head of hair.)
At the time, I was vaguely involved in the world of architecture: I had taken a job as a construction reporter, and although my first position had me dealing mainly with General Contractors and developers, I relished the opportunities I got to talk to architects, especially the younger ones, since they had absolutely no illusions about their station in life: they were largely just cogs in the machine, just another rotating piece of machinery keeping the money train rolling. (I also made a point of learning to read blueprints. Because I'm a geek.) Later, after moving back to my native Charlotte (from the hellscape that is Atlanta), I began talking more and more to architects, as I had moved up to the position of Architectural Reporter. This, as you might imagine, had absolutely no effect on the progress of the stories. None of the experiences related in the stories is based more than lightly on stories I heard about architecture or construction, and my architect didn't change or grow to resemble any of the characters I talked to in my job. Only one of the stories, "The Construction Reporter Rings Twice," was heavily influenced by the job I held. (The construction reporter in this story is based on a woman I dealt with in another state who was every bit as good a reporter as I was while being only about half as smart.) Several of them, notably "The Myth of the Ronin," were written after I quit being a construction reporter.
They are presented here in nearly chronological order-- "The Day The Deal Went Queer" was written earlier, but I had always planned it to appear later in the series rather than earlier-- and with the exception of "Love and the Conspiracy Theorist" they appear without significant changes from their earliest incarnations. (Although the appearance of Atlanta's grubby yet efficient light rail service, the MARTA line, was eventually excised from "The Other Biography of Abraham Lincoln," as the location of our hero and his legends had been relocated from Atlanta to the Queen City.) (Charlotte.) (North Carolina.) (USA.) (PLANET EARTH.)
The Other Biography of Abraham Lincoln
A Beginner's Guide to Buying a Dog
Love and the Conspiracy Theorist
The Construction Reporter Rings Twice
Enjoy!