Dig a little deeper

Abstract

'Dig a little deeper' is the teasing mantra for opponents in the card game, Crazy Eights. You know Crazy Eights, don't you? With the cards in your hand, you either match the number or suit of whatever card is face up on the pile, or you play an eight and call your own suit. When you don't have a matching number, matching suit, or an eight, you have to rifle through the draw pile until you find one, adding the cards to your ever-growing hand. Meanwhile, the other participants chant, 'dig a little deeper, dig a little deeper.' And that brings me to the title of this story collection. I consider these stories an excavation of human behavior. Why do people act the way they do? I don't profess to know the answers. All I know is that everybody has a story; sometimes it takes digging to uncover it. Everybody has needs; sometimes you accumulate things you don't need on the way to getting what you do need. Luck, both good and bad, is fleeting, but it exists as long as there are four crazy eights floating around. The characters that live in these pages work, play, think, obsess, love. Some of their stories are being uncovered; some are already on display. They don't always find what they're looking for, and believe me they're flawed. But by the end of the story, I think you'll find that you know who they are, even if they don't.