In 2002, I decided to come out of the closet… artistically speaking. I had always wanted to do some sort of crazy performance art, and walking around town as Taceo the Mime gave me a fun new creative outlet. This story was a natural extension of my experiences, and most of it is based on events that actually happened.

Because of the title and the theme, some people never seem to get past the surface and assume that I’m using this as an allegory to talk about a homosexual’s “coming out” experience. Being straight and happily married, I’ve never had to deal with such an experience, so I would have a hard time writing about it. No, what this story is really about is what happens when we find ourselves searching for a way to express whom we really, truly are and find that unique outlet that gives us a chance to finally speak up for ourselves. For me, mime was a passing fancy to pass the time, but for Tara in this story, it’s more of a spiritual awakening.

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This is one of my favorite stories that I’ve written, because it really speaks to the heart of the beliefs we cling to. I used to be a hardcore Christian, but I found myself dwelling more and more towards the outskirts of the faith as I dealt with small-minded people who were more concerned with telling others that they were going to hell than they were with helping those people out in their daily lives. It really bothered me.

Another thing that annoyed me was the insistence of these same Christians that the name “Jesus Christ” was the only name synonymous with the redemption of the soul. Truth be told, no one knows what the man we refer to as Jesus Christ actually called himself; the letter “J” didn’t even exist until the 9th century AD, and the Greek word “Iesus” is a translation of a Hebrew name. scholars believe he may have called himself “Yeshu” or “Yeshoua,” but the lack of sources outside the gospels make it hard to know what.

Both of those pet peeves played a heavy role in the creation of Elijah, who is very much like myself in the year 2001…

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When I was a freshman in college, I was interested in the idea of the Antichrist, likely because there were a lot of people saying that the world was about to end, and those stupid “Left Behind” novels were widely available. Sadly, they had a really lame Antichrist character who was so ridiculously obvious that I couldn’t believe anyone would follow him to the end of the world. So, I decided to create my own, and Carl was born in a story for my freshman writing workshop class.

I would hasten to add that I do not share Carl’s views on Adolf Hitler, or on much else, for that matter.

I want to rewrite this story as a daily blog, but I just don’t have the time. So, until I do that, here’s the original. Enjoy!

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I wrote this story for my Christmas cards, but I couldn’t get it to fit into the envelope. It’s just as well; people probably wouldn’t have been happy with me for this little tale, which seems sad on the surface, but which is really about the deepest kind of Christmas charity one can offer.

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