EGGS

New York City, New York

EGGS sat alone at the chess table, pawns and rooks sprawled across both sides as though someone leapt up mid-game, leaving him to decide which king would be cornered.* 

"That's E for my last name, G for my middle name, second G for my father's last name, and S for my first name," he told me. "I'm feeling gloomy. The Clinton era was okay, and we had Bloomberg here in New York for awhile. Then Bush was gloomier and with Trump I feel concerned but..."

"But?" I pressed. 

"I grew up with these guys — the twins. They were the same as the rest of us, but then at 16-and-a-half years old they decided to drop out. I was like, your mama ain't gonna let you do that...but they did. I was like, what the hell? They'd never been in trouble with the law, or at school. They were doing all right.

They went into construction, working. And they've done really well for themselves. One thing they've done since dropping out is go to seminars. And heck, they keep on going. And inviting me. They were always wanting me to go, too. You know whose seminar they loved the most? Donald J. Trump."

"Still?" I asked. 

"Still." 

"So people you love love Trump," I said. "How does that make you feel about America?" 

"I feel okay. The twins respect him. They believe in him. And even though I don't like Trump, I think it's going to be okay. At least Trump loves America. At least he believes in America. I'm behind that."

-

*In return for our conversation, EGGS asked for a donation. I initially offered him a dollar, but found I only had a five in my wallet. So a five it was.