Uncle Jimmy and the Tallest Man in Chicago: a short story

Status: finished, edited, available to a good journal.

A flash-fiction short story:

Every spam phone call involving a live human caller ought to be an opportunity for the call recipient to make a little human connection. Maybe tell stories, offer some warmth, even humor. And maybe baffle the hell out of the caller, finally leaving her with no way to pursue her agenda.

“Uncle Jimmy and the Tallest Man in Chicago” is a flash-fiction conversation between a spam caller and a call recipient, in which the recipient seizes the conversational lead and then uses the opportunity to tell stories from his teen years, when his Uncle Jimmy and the tallest man in Chicago played pivotal roles in his life.

By the end of the call, the caller is amused, the recipient is relieved, and both are comforted by an unexpected exchange of human interest. Uncle Jimmy would be pleased. The story explores integrity, curiosity, expectations of social mores, and reactions to the unexpected. With humor.

Is it a little fantasy morality play about what recipients might like to do with spam calls? Sure. Is it based on real life? Yes, some of this was tried. The caller did laugh.

“Uncle Jimmy and the Tallest Man in Chicago” runs 970 words.

Exerpt:

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m getting to that. I’m a storyteller, right? That’s why you called me. Remember? So, I’ll get to my point now.

“So yeah, Uncle Jimmy, yeah. He died a couple years ago. I went back to Chicago. He was in hospice, in his house, a little brownstone in Wrigleyville, a few blocks from Wrigley Field. Man, that’s some of my best memories, going to games at Wrigley. Yeah. Uncle Jimmy was a big Cubs fan. Me, I’ve always been a Reds fan, so I rooted against the Cubs. But Uncle Jimmy—”

“Sir. You said you had a point?”

“Oh yes. Sorry. I get sidetracked. You noticed? Uncle Jimmy. “