Q: Cormac McCarthy wrote No Country for Old Men.

A: Yes. From the poem by Yeats. Sailing to Byzantium.

An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick,

I think all old men feel that way. Can't clip your own toenails.

Nelson Algren called literary critics heads on a stick.

Q: Did you ever hear back from Dan Simon?

A: Yes I did.

I got a note that said,

Dear Mr. Saunders

Thank you for your recent submission to Seven Stories Press. We appreciate your interest in publishing with us, but unfortunately we're unable to use your submission at this time. Like other independent presses, we publish a limited number of titles each year, and your submission doesn't fit our current needs.

We wish you luck in finding the right publisher for your piece.

Sincerely,

Seven Stories Press

Q: What did you do?

A: I replied, of course.

Dear Seven Stories Press:

Thank you for your prompt reply.

I sent Dan Simon a copy of They, or dem as a professional courtesy, since he published Nelson Algren's Nonconformity, and wrote an afterword to the book.

Should have known I wouldn't make it past the gatekeeper.

Jack Saunders

As Hoke Moseley said, jacking off in the shower, thinking about a murder suspect he planned to try and get into the sack, "I'm too old for this shit."