Aphelion

I loved the story. I honestly couldn't stop reading it. That being said, I agree with you 100%... Unfortunately what ended up happening between the hand and such is kind of vague. I understand that at the end "Golden Boy" is going to do the same thing that got him in this situation to begin with to the secretary... (maybe?) but I don't understand what he is doing exactly. As far as the characters, the only truly nonfictional mention in the story is Babe Ruth. To my knowledge, none of the other references are real, or based on anyone real in particular. But of course, I could be wrong. Certain parts of the story did get a little confusing, but to me, it's mostly an issue of author style.

...To my knowledge, none of the other references are real, or based on anyone real in particular. But of course, I could be wrong. Certain parts of the story did get a little confusing, but to me, it's mostly an issue of author style.

<br><br>I'm no baseball expert, but I would ASSUME that 'Ty Corn' is a slight tweaking of 'Ty Cobb'. Dunno if Ty Cobb was renowned for underhanded play, but I know he's famous for something.<br><br>Robert M.<br>

Um, the phrase "give ... a hand" has two common meanings.<br><br>One is "provide assistance", as in "I could use a hand here", "give me a hand with this, would you?"<br><br>The other is "let's have a round of applause for ...".<br><br>Ty Corn didn't seem to need assistance, so I would presume that the title is a mocking reference to (say) a baseball announcer soliciting applause for a well-known player.<br><br>As for Satan's ineffectual nature -- hey, he's been the ruler of Hell for a loooong time. Corn would have been a relative newcomer, still fresh from his peak years of underhanded tactics, while Satan was ... well, rusty. The story seems to hint that Satan will have his revenge now that he understands his opponent better (sequel?)<br><br>Robert M.

I knew who Ty Cobb was, I just wasn't sure it was a direct reference to him. I never knew he was THAT dirty, hehe.

I think I'm gonna start adding a note to acceptance e-mails telling authors to visit the lettercol to see what (if anything) readers have to say about their work. For that matter, I should probably add a note to rejection e-mails so rejectees can see what the 'published' authors have to put up with!<br><br>Robert M.<br>

Lol... yeah, I guess we are a demanding bunch. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my bewilderment. I wasn't understanding the hand part, but I ASSUMED it's like an ancient relic or part of an ancient ceremony... but defintely it's not the author's job to leave such a central mechanic an enigma.

I assumed the same... ???

Lessee now ... there's the 'Hand of Glory' <br><br>Notes from http://www.shadowdrake.com/folklore/han ... ><br>[i]An excerpt concerning the Hand of Glory from a book entitled, "The Golden Book of the Mysterious":<br><br> "A fearsome talisman called the Hand of Glory was prepared by some sorcerers for robbers to use as they went about their work. Its preparation started with cutting off the hand of a hanged criminal. This had to be wrapped in cloth, placed in a pot with various herbs and minerals and left for two weeks, after which it was to be dried in the sun." [/i]<br><br>And at Cat Yronwode's "The Lucky W Amulet Archive", we find a list of 'Hand' charms and talismans:<br><br>http://www.luckymojo.com/luckywindex.html#h<br><br>[i] hand of Power, Roman <br> hamsa hand, Jewish and Moslem <br> hamsa hand and cresecent amulet, Arabic <br> Helping Hand (of God), hoodoo <br> Helping Hand on hoodoo votive candle <br> Helping Hand on Lucky Mon-Gol Curio Number XI <br> eye-in-hand amulets <br> Lucky Hand root <br> Lucky Hand Alleged Indian Grandma formula in Sonny Boy Products <br> mano cornuto (horned hand) <br> mano fico (fig hand) <br> mano fico hand on a South American package amulet <br> mano fico (called mano poderosa) in South American charm vial <br> Mano Poderosa, the Powerful Hand (of God), Catholic <br> Mano Poderosa, the Powerful Hand (of God), on Catholic votive candles <br> Mano Poderosa, the Powerful Hand (of God), in a Peruvian package amulet <br> milagro hand in Mexican snow-globe pyramid of luck <br> "mojo hand" as alternative name for conjure bag[/i]<br><br>(At the website noted, each of the above is a link, so there's a lot of material for anyone curious enough to go exploring!)<br><br>Robert M.