Derby II

Speaking of derbies and their influence on my work, I suppose it is a coincidence that my forthcoming novel, titled AWESOME, was initially inspired by the sight of yet another young person wearing a derby in the Little Five Points area, where Savage Pizza is located. In fact, an excerpt from the novel (which will appear in the next issue of AMERICAN SHORT FICTION) is called "My Derby." Over the past two years, I have seen three persons wearing derbies in Little Five Points, and a fourth person pedaling around on one of those old-timey bicycles with the big huge wheel in front and the tiny wheel in back. I thought they were called velocipedes, but Phil Oppenheim informed me that they are more properly referred to as penny-farthings.