The Consequences of Being Ernest

Merriam Press Fiction No. 3 First Edition, 2015

A dark, sad, comedic, fictional account of a man who believes he is the reincarnation of Ernest Hemingway.

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21st, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Hemingway died on July 2nd, 1961, at his home in Ketchum, Idaho, from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head that blew off half of his face and the back of his head.

I was born on May 2nd, 1962, in Oak Lawn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, exactly ten months to the day after Hemingway’s death.

My name is Edsel Michael Hunter. Yes, my father, who worked in the automobile industry in Chicago at the time, named me after a failed automobile. I suppose I was doomed from the start, as the very word ‘Edsel’ became a popular symbol for failure in American society, and I was destined to be its poster child.

I have a confession to make. For better or worse, my name is Edsel Michael Hunter, and I am the reincarnation of the great twentieth century American writer, Ernest Hemingway. You may not believe it, but I know it’s true. And, no, I am not insane.