ERES stories comments

I was more entertained by these stories than I could have bargained for starting with "Winky" by George Saunders. In "Winky" we encounter Neil Yankey at a self-help seminar. Neil is a regular guy with only one problem, he lets people shit in his oatmeal. I know this sounds vulgar and putrid, but in a way it is a great metaphor. Saunders compares a bowl of oatmeal to your soul on the day you are born. Throughout life we constantly let people contaminate our little bowl of oatmeal ruining out meal (a metaphor for life). The use of great metaphors is a constant for Saunders as seen in "civilwarland". If we do not protect our oatmeal from others contaminants our lives will never be ours. There is also a hidden gem in the story told about Neil’s mother and father, and how Neil's dad always let the world "shit in his oatmeal". How the hoodlums in the neighborhood near the church used to harass Neil's mom about her weight and breast size. At this point I realized that Neil was destined to fail. That he would continue to let others "shit in his oatmeal", especially his sister Winky, who he was supposed to kick out of his house. The story ends with Neil wimping out on his practiced speech and letting Winky use his life as her own personal latrine. I mean the guy was at a self-help seminar, did we ever think he would grow a spine from one day of glorified cheerleading from Tom Rodgers, self-help expert. The kind of person who attends these seminars needs more than a protective screen over their oatmeal. This type of person might need to call in A plumber to unclog the backed up waist pipes that he calls life. Metaphorically speaking!