Taste of Tenderloin (22 page)

“
Bushido” incorporates some
of my interest and admiration for the old Samurai culture of Japan.
The epigram comes from a favorite film of mine,
The Last Samurai
. The Tenderloin is
packed with shy, withdrawn people like the Ugly Man in the story.
Perhaps many of them requiring mental health outreach services.
What has been done recently is to gate many of the ‘Loin’s alleys
so the homeless can’t erect their cardboard tents. I wonder if that
does much for their mental problems?

“
Balance” is one of my
favorite stories, and a 2006 Stoker finalist. Back in the 60s when
disabled vets were beginning to return home from Vietnam, requiring
medical services, I was aware of the deplorable condition of many
VA hospitals, especially those in non-urban areas. As we have found
out about even the highly visible Walter Reed Hospital, until
recently conditions haven’t changed much. I also couldn’t resist
the dramatic irony of an ex-Force Recon Marine running his own
special operation in the ‘Loin. His particular delusion actual came
from a real case of a serial murderer who believed in something
like the Law of Catastrophic Geo-Homeostatis (my title). He moves
back and forth from Vacaville Correctional Medical Facility to San
Quentin, depending on his current mental evaluation by the
State.

“
The Apotheosis of Nathan
McKee” first appeared in Gord Rollo’s anthology,
Unnatural Selection
. Gord
wanted me to do an invisible man and monster story. I said sure but
gave it my own spin—no real monster. Recently I finished a
novel,
Not Fade Away
which is based on this short story—actually an
extension.

“
Bruised Soul,” is another
of my favorites. A boxer returning from a State Hospital to the
‘Loin. He had no where else to go. As some folks know I did a
little boxing in my youth. The ex-boxer in this story may be more
typical than folks imagine. I think there are many people in the
Tenderloin like this character whose feet seem to be stuck in
hardening cement. They just can’t get out. The sad thing is that
many of them know it. For those who would like to know more about
the non-spectacular side of boxing,
Fat
City
is a very realistic book . Or wait for
my
Not Fade Away
.
I think I do a pretty good job of explaining the attraction to the
sport.

“
5150” is probably a pretty
realistic slice of an old cop’s life in the City. Or anyone else
who has just faded away in their job, hanging on until they can
retire. I think the relationship between the cop and his girlfriend
is both sad and touching. In this aspect of the story I suspect
that what these two deal with isn’t much different that what we all
deal with in dysfunctional relationships.

AUTHOR BIO

Gene O’Neill
lives in the Napa Valley with his wife, Kay, a
primary grade teacher at St. Helena Elementary School. They have
been married for 44 years; their grown children, Gavin and Kay Dee,
live in Oakland and San Diego.

Gene has two degrees,
neither having anything to do with writing (or much of anything
else). At one time or another he has been a Marine, carried mail,
worked on seismic crews exploring for oil, been a Right-of-Way
Agent (appraised, acquired, condemned, and managed real property to
build the interstate highway system around Sacramento), been a
contract specialist for AAFES (contracting to bring private
services like barbers, cleaners, and beauty parlors onto military
bases), and vice president of a manufacturing plant. Gene describes
his employment background as “rich, varied, and colorful.” His
brother-in-law, the president of the above plant, describes Gene as
more of a “disgruntled ne’er-do-well.”

Since surviving the Clarion
Writers' Workshop in 1979, Gene has seen over 100 of his stories
published, perhaps most notably: two in the Twilight Zone Magazine,
six in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, two in
Pulpsmith, four in Science Fiction Age, three in Cemetery Dance,
and several in various anthologies. Many of his past stories have
garnered Nebula and Stoker recommendations, including “Balance,” a
Stoker finalist in 2007.

Gene writes full time now,
recently putting the finishing touches on a novel,
Not Fade Away
. His
novels
Lost Tribe
,
Shadow of the Dark Angel
and
Deathflash
are forthcoming in 2009/2010 from Bad Moon
Books.

ARTIST BIO

In 1962 in the bucolic
region of Southern Indiana, a peculiar child was born and given the
name of
Steven Charles
Gilberts
. Being the only Indiana bred
person in a family of Wisconsin origin, this led to the unfortunate
child being labeled “hoosier” by his extended family; a group
collectively known as “badgers,” “cheese heads,” and perhaps most
frightening of all, Norwegians.

Steven and his lovely wife
Becky now live in a spooky Queen Ann cottage within a small
Dunwich-esk village of southern Indiana, near the now abandoned
ammo plant of his youth. While hiding from the townsfolk, Steven
concocts odd illustrations for the small press industry.

Introduction
Bio

Gavin O'Neill
has covered lots of weird action for the
San Francisco Bay Guardian
, and
published dark fiction and poetry in respected literary
journals. He holds an MFA from the University of
Oregon where he taught fiction writing. He is the unfortunate son
of horror writer Gene O’Neill.

END