Joseph John's Biography

The Eighth Day

I got my inspiration for the Eighth Day while visiting Sea World with my wife. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant and were enjoying our meal on the outdoor deck. I was eating a hamburger or hotdog or something equally wholesome. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. A man at the railing next to us. At first, I thought he was handing me a note, but when I turned, I saw that he was just dropping his napkin on the railing. Littering.

I wondered what I would have done if he had handed me a note--some kind of cryptic message, a warning. The idea stuck with me, evolving and growing inside my head until it grew too big and spilled out onto paper:

The waiter had written a note on the back of his check.

That line began a journey that has lasted almost half a decade. I've enjoyed the ride, but at the same time, I'm glad that it's almost over. It's time to fling it out to the public and let the reader take it for a spin.