Good-bye Dann O'Keefe. That's saying something, given the fact that I've carried that persona ​within me for some fifty+ years. Will I miss it? I guess, but, you know, that's not really my style. I'm much more of a now guy, what I'm feeling right now, what's happening right now, what I'm engrossed with right now. 

     There are a few things Dann O'Keefe wants to get off his chest before he leaves, though, some gripes, some regrets, some secret promises that only he knows about but now wants to share. (And, no, I'm not going to go third person for the rest of the essay.)

     Let's start with my biggest regret. Over the last half century, I believe I've published some two dozen short stories, one, the first one, professionally published, the rest to the small press. I've also self-published some thirty+ installments of my own action series, Age of Super-Heroes. Today, I possess not a single copy of anything that I have ever published. That's a little pathological, right? What can I tell you? My introverted nature makes me a minimalist. Too many "possessions" confuse me. Things get lost. Plus, for me, the buzz has always come with the writing itself, not so much at all on all the publishing stuff that came afterward. Some might consider my lack of care concerning my own published works a form of disrespect for myself as an artist, and that just plain is not true. For me, the two are not related. I've left home twice in my life wearing one tennis shoe and one loafer by mistake. I do not drive. It really is all I can do to keep my hair combed and teeth brushed. The physical world, "reality" has never particularly intimidated me, I figure if everyone else can handle it why not me? but I also have to say that I've never really felt a part of it. Only at my writing table do I feel centered, at home, myself. I know I should feel guilty about not having any copies of my own stuff, but...

CONTINUE