The Devil in Deskeyes

NSFW (Not Safe For Wombats)

Devil in Deskeyes is a short story from a collection of stories and fragments put together and self-published in 1975 under the title of ” ˈfa-byə-ləs kəm-ˈpəl-shənz ” i.e.“Fabulous Compulsions”.

Disclaimer: I was a child with typewriter — 23 years old.

Now that I’ve got your attention, pleadingly, was the subtext of the “Hello Fellow Wombats” he began his speech with. He had fifteen, give or take a few, minutes to pour out his words. This was, rather obviously, the first speech he had ever given. They (his fellow lodge members) felt that if this was going to be anything like his usual dull conversations, that it would be about fifteen, give or take a few, minutes too many.

He [Henry Deskeyes is the name, mediocrity and lackluster is his usual game] was surely going to have problems talking to his fellow “Hairy-Nosed” Wombats, who, besides finding most of his dangling-and-dragging-on-the-floor digressive conversations extremely boring, were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their special guest speaker of the night — the Hollywood actor Gregory Peck. Henry was being granted these few minutes, which if Mr. Peck appeared at the door would be slipped from under him like a rug, by the Grand Wombat himself, a Mr. Ed Shroff, who just had to give into the good natured request from Henry, for whom this was the last week with the lodge.