Ep 718 - The Four Million, by O. Henry

Summary

OVERDUE – EPISODE 718 SUMMARY
"The Four Million, by O. Henry"
Original Air Date: September 1, 2025
Hosts: Craig and Andrew

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Overview

Craig and Andrew dive into O. Henry’s iconic 1906 short story collection The Four Million. They explore O. Henry’s biography, the origins (and urban legends) of the O. Henry candy bar, and dig deeply into the collection’s themes, memorable stories, and O. Henry’s signature twist endings. Unsurprisingly, "The Gift of the Magi"—O. Henry’s most famous story—gets detailed scrutiny. Along the way, the hosts examine how the stories hold up today, how O. Henry’s reputation has shifted, the collection’s portrayal of New York City, and the enduring appeal (and limitations) of the twist ending.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. O. Henry – Biography and Reputation (07:04–18:00)

• William Sidney Porter (O. Henry):
  • Born 1862, died 1910.
  • Former pharmacist and bank teller from Austin, Texas; spent time in prison for embezzlement, where he began writing under pseudonyms.
  • Fled to Honduras to avoid charges; returned when wife was ill; imprisoned after her death.
• Writing and Style:
  • Wrote hundreds of short stories, known for "twist" endings.
  • Early collections like Cabbages and Kings (1904, source of “banana republic”) and The Four Million (1906).
  • "His reputation kind of goes downhill [over time] ... changes in reader tastes and like stylistic preferences." – Craig (09:17)
• Legacy:
  • The O. Henry Award, given annually to notable short stories, reflects his lasting impact.
  • Modern assessments compare his "twist" style to M. Night Shyamalan: “He gets famous for a type of storytelling... and people who want that are fine with him and people who are a little tired of it get very loud.” – Craig (11:21)

2. The O. Henry Candy Bar Tangent (02:23–08:44)

• Detailed banter about the US and Canadian versions, disputed origin stories, and the parallels between the branding of O. Henry and Baby Ruth bars.
• Notable quote:
  • “This is a family-friendly show. We cannot say the phrase ‘the Canadian O. Henry.’ That’s a maneuver.” – Craig (03:40)
• Fun but ultimately the hosts set aside “candy bar discourse” to dive into the literature.

3. Background & Structure of The Four Million (17:24–18:22)

• Title responds to a claim that only “400 people in New York are worth knowing”; O. Henry retorts, “there are four million, and they’re all worth knowing.”
• The collection contains 25 short stories—Craig briefly lists each (26:06–27:21).
• Stories draw on New York’s diversity; many treat lower-class city dwellers with warmth, but the era’s stereotypes and language persist.

4. O. Henry’s Style: Twists, Rhythm, and Modern Reception (27:41–36:02)

• Recurring twist endings are a double-edged sword; reading the stories all at once creates “twist brain.”
  • “You get in a rhythm ... like the Secret or another book, where it’s like: here’s an anecdote that ends with the thing that you’re supposed to feel. Move on to the next one.” – Craig (28:49)
• Hosts compare the rhythm to reading several O. Henry candy bars in a row.
• Stories range from romances and slice-of-life to tales of dashed dreams and poverty, with tones from comic to tragic.

5. In-Depth Story Analyses

a. THE GIFT OF THE MAGI (38:13–48:25)

• Detailed breakdown—see full analysis below.

b. Other Notable Stories & Twists

• A Service of Love (49:05–53:00)
  • Both young artist lovers secretly take menial jobs to support each other’s ambitions—revealed only after an injury.
  • “The twist is they both went and got real jobs.” – Andrew (52:44)
• Tobin’s Palm (53:08–56:42)
  • A palm reading’s predictions comically play out as coincidence brings an Irish lover together with his lost girl.
• The Cop and the Anthem (56:46–59:51)
  • The homeless protagonist tries to get arrested for shelter but fails, until he repents—and is arrested for loitering.
  • “That one’s fun, actually.” – Andrew (59:49)
• Lost on Dress Parade (60:03–60:38)
  • Two people masquerading as classes they are not; the twist: they’re both playing the same game.
• The Brief Debut of Tildy (60:59–61:59)
  • Noted for its uncomfortable premise and “stuff going on.”
• The Green Door (62:39–66:40)
  • Adventure leads a romantic to a fainting, impoverished woman whose door is marked by fate (actually, a random advertisement).
• The Skylight Room (66:40–68:55)
  • A starving woman is saved—by a doctor named after the star she named in loneliness.
• After 20 Years (69:20–73:13)
  • Two friends reunite after 20 years, but one is a criminal—arrested by his old friend, now a cop.
  • Notable quote:
    • “You’ve cowed me into submission. I can’t guess any more twists.” – Andrew (70:54)
• General conclusion: Reading all stories together can become numbing (“twist brain”), but the individual tales’ punchlines often land.

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Notable Moments & Memorable Quotes

Introduction of Gift of the Magi (38:13)

“Jim and Della Young. They’re two kids living together in their twenties in the early 19th century, turn of the century New York City... She is trying to buy her husband Jim a gift. And that is how much money she has. It’s not much. And she has scrimped and saved to get that far.” – Craig (36:48)

Critique of Story’s Logic (41:20)

“Her hair’s gonna grow back, which makes it honestly a pretty decent deal that she sold it for $20, actually... She is eventually gonna be able to use the combs. Like, she’ll be fine.” – Andrew (41:20)

On O. Henry’s Writing Style

“This one’s about Cabbie. This one’s about Yellow Dog... Each of these stories is what it says on the tin. No symbolism, no like, obfuscation, no nothing.” – Andrew (27:28)

On Reading Many Stories At Once

“You get twist brain and you’re just reading every story, trying to decipher it like you’re stuck in an escape room.” – Craig (29:40)

On O. Henry’s Enduring Appeal

“His prolificness and his contributions to the Forum [are] still recognized... it’s kind of like Shyamalan... He gets famous for a type of storytelling, continues to do it... and people who want that are fine with him and people who are a little tired of it get very loud, I think.” – Craig (11:21)

"If you eat one O. Henry bar, you're like 'Oh, Henry!' And then you eat, like, 24 O. Henry bars and you're like 'oh, Henry…’" – Craig (75:02)

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In-Depth: "The Gift of the Magi" Discussion (38:13–48:25)

• The hosts walk through the story beat by beat, noting the couple’s poverty and immense love.
• “There’s not even a mention in this story—what are you gonna do? Use it as a wallet chain, I guess. What do you do with a watch fob when you don’t have a watch to fob with it?” – Andrew (41:43)
• Critique of logic: The authors note Della’s hair will grow back, but Jim’s heirloom watch is gone forever, making the sacrifices uneven.
• On the story’s emotional impact:
  • “At least they have each other. And that is good; that is—sure. I cannot argue with the good of that.” – Craig (45:46)
  • Reading the story through a modern lens, the hosts find the precarity and poverty less romantic and more troubling, especially when adaptations soften these elements.
• Fan Feedback:
  • Nora (Discord): “My hot take: The Gift of the Magi is not that good. They should have spent their money fixing their broken apartment, and their relationship has communication issues... It works better in adaptations than in the original. It's a very different vibe when the gift givers don't have to beg for discounts on food.” (45:23)
• Closing Thoughts:
  • The story is “very nice” in its celebration of attentive, thoughtful gift-giving but “a little uneven” in terms of sacrifice, and perhaps emotionally manipulative given the context of poverty.

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Portrayal of New York City & Social Context (32:45–34:30)

• O. Henry’s stories, while rich in character, show their age: several references and language describing people of color are now offensive or outdated.
• “The best that black people and other… anybody other than an upper-middle-class white person can expect from any of these authors is to be ignored and not explicitly disparaged.” – Andrew (32:45)
• Still, O. Henry captures the lived realities (“food insecurity… dashed dreams”) and melting pot feel of old New York in ways that blend pathos and fantasy.

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Rapid-Fire: Funniest/Sharpest Exchanges

• On candy bars:
  • “Are we talking American recipe or Canadian?” – Andrew (24:19)
  • “Which one's naked?” – Andrew (24:55)
• On story tropes:
  • “If you like cigarettes so much, why don’t you smoke the whole pack?” – Andrew (62:07)
  • On growing exhausted by O. Henry’s formula: “You said there was an element of: if you like cigarettes so much, why don't you smoke the whole pack, a little bit, a bunch of these O. Henry stories.” – Andrew (62:07)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [07:04–11:21] — O. Henry biography, career arc, and legacy
• [17:24–18:22] — Structure and intentions behind The Four Million
• [26:06–27:21] — Rapid fire: Titles in the collection
• [36:02–48:25] — Deep dive into "The Gift of the Magi"
• [49:05–53:00] — “A Service of Love” and other twists
• [54:03–56:42] — “Tobin’s Palm”
• [56:46–59:51] — “The Cop and the Anthem”
• [60:03–60:38] — “Lost on Dress Parade” and others
• [62:39–66:40] — “The Green Door”
• [66:40–68:55] — “The Skylight Room”
• [69:20–73:13] — “After 20 Years”
• [75:02–76:10] — Reflections on reading the whole collection

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Final Thoughts

• O. Henry’s stories are fast-paced, twisty, and deeply connected to the vibrancy (and poverty) of early-1900s New York.
• The twist endings offer fun mind-traps but can become formulaic en masse (“twist brain”).
• Some stories retain remarkable power; others feel slight or tinged with the prejudices of their era.
• "Gift of the Magi" remains iconic—beloved more in adaptation than in its original form, thanks to its portrayal of loving self-sacrifice, but criticized for unevenness and the way it romanticizes hardship.

Closing words:

“If you eat one O. Henry bar, you’re like ‘Oh, Henry!’ And then you eat, like, 24 O. Henry bars and you’re like ‘oh, Henry…’” – Craig (75:02)

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Recommended for:
Anyone interested in short story structure, the history of American popular fiction, or the evolution of literary reputation. Enjoy for the craft and social context, but read with an eye to dated attitudes and the cumulative fatigue of too many twists.

Transcript

[Andrew]

This is a headgum podcast.

[Craig]

Quick time to choose a meal deal with McValue. The $5 McChicken meal deal, the $6 McDouble meal deal, or the new $7 Daily Double meal deal, each with its own small fries, drink and Four Piece McNuggets. There's actually no rush. I'm just excited for McDonald's. Price and participation may vary. While Andrew and Craig believe the joy of discovery is crucial to enjoying any well told tale, they will not shy.

[Andrew]

Away from spoiling specific story beats when necessary.

[Craig]

Plus, these are books you should have read by now. Oh, everybody, it. Welcome to our podcast. It's overdue. It's a podcast about the books you've been meaning to read. My name is Craig.

[Andrew]

Oh, my name is Andrew.

[Craig]

Oh, I messed up the intro because I got so excited to say, oh, podcast.

[Andrew]

Oh, it sound like you were just trying to do a Sopranos thing, like an anti Italian discrimination thing.

[Craig]

I would never.

[Andrew]

Oh, I know you would never.

[Craig]

I would never. I'm lost in the sauce. The red gravy. I'm all. I'm all about it.

[Andrew]

We love our Italian.

[Craig]

It's not red gravy. It's just gravy. Or red sauce. I shouldn't have said that. That's very inappropriate. I apologize. It's not red gravy. That's not.

[Andrew]

Why don't you. Why don't you just snap a box of pasta in half right into the microphone next.

[Craig]

You've really zeroed in. Why don't you just. Why don't you just. That is not the first time you've said that in the last week. Welcome on Mike to our book podcast.

[Andrew]

It's a fresh joke for somebody.

[Craig]

I'm working on one. Everyone reads a book and talks about it on their own podcast. We read a book that one of us hasn't read before and we tell the other person about it and you, the listener at home, get to hear about it. Maybe you've read along, maybe you haven't, but you're here now and you can't stop listening.

[Andrew]

You can't stop listening. It's illegal. Craig, what did you read this week for the podcast?

[Craig]

Oh, I read the 4 million by. Oh, Henry.

[Andrew]

Oh, Henry.

[Craig]

Oh, I. So I have a couple of pages open on my computer right now. Sequential tabs. One of them is O. Henry the man. And one of them is oh, Henry, the candy bar.

[Ad Host]

Oh, Henry.

[Andrew]

So let's. Well, okay, if you have those tabs open, let's just dive right into the research section. Oh, Henry, is A combination of caramel, peanuts and fudge covered in a thin layer of chocolate, as in a Snickers bar. The softer fudge layer. Now, I would not call it fudge. It seems more like a nougat to me. But it's identified as fudge. So, okay, the fudge layer is on the bottom of fudge layer and then the caramel earth peanut, and then the caramel and peanut layer is on the top. So this, this particular candy bar was invented in 1920. Nestle sold the name to Ferrero. In 2019. It was. Or in 2018, I think it was discontinued in the US in 2019. A variant is still sold in Canada under the O. Henry name, but with a totally different recipe. You can occasionally still in the US Find a candy bar called Rally, which is, according to the candy blogs that I found, may or may or may not be identical to a Canadian O. Henry bar. But these are different recipes.

[Craig]

This is a family friendly show. We cannot say the phrase the Canadian O. Henry. That's a maneuver. We can't talk about that.

[Andrew]

I found vintage O. Henry ads are pretty cool because they're from like the radio age. So you had to have a really snappy, you know, a snappy tagline. The radio show True Detective Mysteries that O. Henry sponsored used the tagline Public energy number one for the O. Henry bar. Also found an ad with a tagline that said it was the 10 cent piece of dollar candy, I think is really. It's got a real nice snap.

[Craig]

And these are, these are old radio ads. And.

[Andrew]

Well, these are old magazines. Print. Print and radio. Yeah. And packaging.

[Craig]

It's all giving me the Danny DeVito Snickers commercial energy in a way. And that's a compliment. Like, I like it. I'm having fun here.

[Andrew]

There is some disagreement, Craig, about the provenance of the O. Henry bar and how it got its name. The official story of the bar from Hershey is that was invented by George Williamson of the Williamson Candy Company in 1920. I'm. I'm citing mostly a page from the Made in Chicago museum, Chicago being a city that sort of claims O. Henry claims that the O. Henry bar predates the Baby Ruth bar by one year on a technicality. That bar existed before O. Henry as candy cake with two K's. No, the brand Baby Ruth did not. And then it predates Snickers by a decade.

[Craig]

But you're saying what? Go ahead. No, go ahead, Go ahead.

[Andrew]

No. What were you gonna.

[Craig]

I was gonna say, but the, like, where did the name come from that.

[Andrew]

We'Re gonna get to the name.

[Craig]

Okay. The.

[Andrew]

So there, you know, there's, that's the official story. That's the party line. Oh, that's the owners of the Kansas.

[Craig]

This is cereal. We're gonna get to the bottom of this.

[Andrew]

The owners of the Kansas based Henry's Candy Company have told a different story over the years. Their forefather, as they say, as the story goes, Thomas Henry invented a sick candy bar called the Tom Henry Bar, which Williamson then bought the recipe for and changed the name of in 1920. The made in Chicago museum claims it can find no contempor. Contemporaneous references to any Tom Henry bar in writing. So there is like no evidence to support this sort of family legend that the Henry's Candy Company passed down. This, this candy company stayed family owned for almost 70 years. Closed in May of 2024.

[Craig]

I love a small candy company.

[Andrew]

Yeah, but those, those people would say that the O. Henry name is, is a reference to the, the Tom Henry bar and they just changed it so it was not just a man's name.

[Craig]

Okay.

[Andrew]

The other sort of folksy yarn about where the name could possibly have come from. This again goes back to the official account. It's about a handsome boy named Henry who had come into the candy shop where Williamson worked and had invented the O. Henry bar. And all the fe employees who worked at the candy shop would go, oh, Henry, no. Such a handsome.

[Craig]

That's fake. That's not real.

[Andrew]

People are sort of skeptical of these stories. It gets, it got like sort of compared to the saga of the Baby Ruth bar a lot. I don't know if you know the, the story of the Baby Ruth Bar. Who do you think the Baby Ruth Bar is named after?

[Craig]

Babe. George Herman Ruth.

[Andrew]

Babe Ruth, the famous baseball player. Interesting. Lots of people thought. Thought that including the man himself, Babe R. Madness. But when Babe Ruth sued the people who made the Baby Ruth bar in the 20s and. And into the 30s, this, this case spanned. The company said no. No. Babe Ruth famous baseball player. This is a reference to the deceased daughter of Grover Cleveland.

[Craig]

No.

[Andrew]

Who had left office some 23 years before as a deeply unpopular second term president somebody. And it was alleged it was allegedly named after. After Ruth, Grover Cleveland's daughter who once a baby her, her birth was a big deal and there was a campaign song with her and like the grandson of the vice presidential candidate and she was referred to as Baby Ruth in that ad.

[Craig]

That's not why it called Baby Ruth.

[Andrew]

And so in what is widely suspected to be just a Way to get around paying Babe Ruth any money for using his name. They were like, no, this is a referen. Grover Cleveland's dead daughter Baby Ruth did not.

[Craig]

Did Gnarls Barkley deal with this?

[Andrew]

I don't. I feel like this Barkley candy bar.

[Craig]

No, like the fact that they basically. Charles Barkley like, you know, I feel like that might have been a thing that they had to deal with. So. But.

[Andrew]

But yet. So the. You know, just as in the Baby Ruth. Yeah.

[Craig]

Let's get to the book.

[Andrew]

The Occam's Razor is you. You name this after extremely famous contemporary baseball man Baby Ruth.

[Craig]

Yes.

[Andrew]

People think who. People who don't buy the. The official party line think that the O. Henry bar was just named for then extremely famous author O. Henry.

[Craig]

O. Henry.

[Andrew]

O. Henry's born William Sidney Porter in 1862. He dies in 1910. He's an American short story writer of short. Of poetry, not short stories. Yeah, I know my notes were bad. I tried to alight over it and you caught me. People also consider his first collection published in 1904 called Cabbages and Kings as a novel because all the stories are interlinked.

[Craig]

Also the source of the term banana republic.

[Andrew]

Yes. Apparently, apparently surprisingly relevant. Weirdly, he published hundreds and hundreds of short stories both during his lifetime and posthumously. They became known for their twist endings, which was kind of eye catching at the time though even critics at the time, even I don't think. I don't think love the device. And it's gotten I think a little more looked down on as. As the form has developed. Like they are not surprising anymore to end all of your short stories with a little twist. I my just poking around like literary Reddit and some other places. My impression of O. Henry's reputation is that it's a less extreme version of the Tarkington Arc where he was very, very famous around the turn of the 1900s. And then sor. Changes in reader tastes and like stylistic preferences and what is valued in literature change and then his reputation kind of goes downhill.

[Craig]

Also he died like a few years after the collect. I read the Four Million by O. Henry, which was published in 1906. Obviously he had been publishing stories for a while at that point, but he'd also only come back from Honduras, Honduran exile while he was fleeing embezzlement charges from the US Government. A few years I got stuff on.

[Andrew]

Not just candy bar information.

[Craig]

No. So he did not live to be. He died at age 47 or something.

[Andrew]

Yeah, he died of cirrhosis of The. Of the liver. Because he was a heavy drinker.

[Craig]

Yes. So he did not, like, he did not live into his 80s churning out these stories and everyone going, boo. You know, like, he is, like, his most successful collections are published only a few years prior to his death. Obviously he is very prolific.

[Andrew]

Super, super prolific. And still has left a big. A big mark on the forum. Like, I think many of it's a.

[Craig]

Bit like Shyamalan, I think, where it's like, okay, you know, he gets famous for a type of storytelling, including a.

[Andrew]

Couple of, like, prominent early bangers, and.

[Craig]

He continues to do it and versions of it, and people who want that are fine with him and people who are a little tired of it get very loud, I think.

[Andrew]

But there's a. There's a. There's an O. Henry Award for short stories. It's been given out almost every year since 1919.

[Craig]

Did you see how that award had changed over the years?

[Andrew]

Yeah. For most of the run, an individual story was given the award every year. And, you know, the way that they judge, things changed slightly. But since 2019 or 2020, I think there's currently a revolving guest editor who chooses 20 stories year that are published in an American or Canadian publication, including translated works. They've given a lot of attention to translated works, but each of those 20 stories is given the award.

[Craig]

Now they. There is an intermediary step where they went from a first, second, third to a. For 20 years, it was like three people each pick a cool story and that's. Those are the winners. Like I. It's just like they went from a winner to three winners to 20 winners.

[Andrew]

Yeah. You know, but his prolificness and his contributions to the Forum still recognized.

[Craig]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

To this day in that award in many places. By the late 1800s, William Sidney Porter is living in Austin, Texas. He works as a bank teller here. He begins writing in his spare time.

[Craig]

Trained as a pharmacist.

[Andrew]

He trained as a pharmacist. He tried to launch a weekly humor publication called the Rolling Stone. No relation to the still extant publication about. That's mostly about, like, music and politics sometimes.

[Craig]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

In 1894, he is fired from his bank job for suspected embezzlement. Not indicted at the time.

[Craig]

No.

[Andrew]

Just fired after this because people at the Houston Post liked his efforts in the Rolling Stone. He takes a job at the Houston Post as a reporter and columnist. He moves his family to Houston. He's often writing bits and pieces throughout all of this. But his writing, this is what makes his writing career really pop. This is what he. When it really takes off is after February of 1896, he's arrested for the embezzlement that I mentioned before. Not wanting to go to prison, he absconds to Honduras. He like, meets a famous like train robber.

[Craig]

Yep.

[Andrew]

Who writes a book about his friendship with O. Henry.

[Craig]

Yep.

[Andrew]

But yeah, he, he begins while he's in Honduras writing what would become Cabbages and Kings.

[Craig]

Yep.

[Andrew]

He returns a little while after that when he learns his wife is sick. Prosecutors very nicely waited for her to die of tuberculosis before arresting and sentencing him while he is serving three years of his five year sentence. It sounds like he had a pretty cushy setup.

[Craig]

He was a drug. Is that they never put himself.

[Andrew]

He was. He was the night pharmacist at the. At the prison.

[Craig]

Sure.

[Andrew]

And he had his own little room and stuff. But while he's in this prison, he's writing short stories under various pseudonyms, one of which was O. Henry. That name first appears next to a story called Whistling Dick's Christmas stocking in December 1899. His story about the origin of the pen name was that he saw Henry in the newspaper and liked it as a last name. And then he didn't want a long complicated first name, so he chose an initial and he chose a letter O because it was easy to write. And then later on he worked backwards to Olivier, the French for oliver, which is a quote from him later when asked what the O stood for. So he is released from prison in 1902. He moves to New York City because of its proximity to publishers. And here he gets into his really, the really most prolific.

[Craig]

Just a blog post every other hour. Just.

[Andrew]

Yeah, he's doing the Jonathan Coulton song a week, but for short stories about urchins. He writes nearly 400 short stories.

[Craig]

What a reference. What a reference.

[Andrew]

He writes nearly 4. 400 short stories in. In.

[Craig]

Yep.

[Andrew]

And yeah, that's. This is when the bulk of his stuff is. Is done. And then as you mentioned, he dies in 1910. Apparently people go to his grave and leave a dollar and 87 cents on it, which is that Della has saved in her bank account.

[Craig]

The reason we read this collection is that it includes the gift of the magi. So that's fine. Not the gift of the Maggie. That. That would be incorrect. You know, Maggie doesn't give any gifts. She gets them from Barton Lisa, the. But her parents, like probably. Homer, please. But that's, that's the main reason I wanted to read this collection. You know, we could have done Cabbages and Kings and Things like that. But it felt right to do the one with Gift of the Magi in it, which I bet. I bet I read in middle school.

[Andrew]

Maybe this is one of those stories where I don't know that I ever actually read it, but it's been adapted a bunch of times. It's been spoofed a bunch of times. We've referenced it a bunch on the show.

[Craig]

I'm sure the most famous adaptation for me. And I know one of our Discord users, I think it was Jason, talked about the version on Christmas Eve on Sesame street with Burton Ernie, where I think Ernie sells his rubber ducky to get Bert a cigar box for his paperclip collection, and Bert sells the collection to get a soap dish for rubber Ducky. And then, of course, they get their things back because that, you know, I don't remember which human it is on Sesame street, but gives them back their stuff because he is so moved. But it's just a very easy, like, people got each other gifts and they gave up something to get the gifts structure.

[Andrew]

And then everybody's miserable at the end. That's the O. Henry twist. Sure, we talk about that when we talk about the story itself. I don't have a lot else to say on him, just that the 4 million was his second collection. It's published in 1906. As you said, the title is a reference to the number of people who lived in New York City at the time.

[Craig]

Yep.

[Andrew]

And it's a response to an editorial that someone published that claims There are only 400 people in the city worth knowing.

[Craig]

Did you see?

[Andrew]

And O. Henry is like, there are 4 million people and they're all worth knowing. And I'm going to write an individual short story about every single one of them.

[Craig]

Yes, I read the Gutenberg, the Project Gutenberg edition, easily transferred to your E. Reader of Choice. It has 25 stories in it. We will not talk about all of them in great detail, but some of them. But, Andrew, did you see that folks since his death have been seeking a posthumous pardon for O. Henry and his embezzlement?

[Andrew]

I did. I did see that.

[Craig]

And that in 2012, I think somewhere, somewhere in the early 2010s President Barack Hussein Obama was pardoning the turkeys in the annual Turkey pardon. He referenced O. Henry in his speech.

[Andrew]

Mm.

[Craig]

And then some people submitted another round of pardon pleas to Obama. He did not grant it. Obama was stingy on the pardons.

[Andrew]

As I was. As I was reading, I believe that the Obama presidency is the first time anyone, like, formally filed for the interest pardon. I think people, people had lobbied for it before that.

[Craig]

Huh.

[Andrew]

I frankly, I think they should have lobbied Joe Biden to pardon his close childhood friend William Sidney Porter. Obviously they knew. They were contemporaries.

[Craig]

They were contemporaries. They knew each other.

[Andrew]

The current guy loves the pardon people. So maybe we could get O. Henry in under the, maybe under the wire, in between people who did Ponzi schemes or something.

[Craig]

Yeah, it's probably the embezzlement clause. It's probably.

[Andrew]

This is a white guy who was accused of embezzling money by a woke. By a woke system. By the federal government system in the late 1900s.

[Craig]

Yes. He's probably getting.

[Andrew]

And he deserv justice. Yeah.

[Craig]

And in a like a Congressional Medal for good measure or something. Yeah. All right. Well, I'm excited to talk to you about these stories, Andrew. They were a good time. I had fun reading most of them and I think we're going to have a fun time talking about some of these twist endings. So let's take a quick break.

[Andrew]

Craig Andrew, this week's episode of Overdue is brought to you by Squarespace. If you want to gift someone an amazing website, you don't need to ask them to sacrifice the only thing that they love in this life. You can just, you can just give them the gift of Squarespace. And it gives. And then it gives them everything else. Squarespace is the gift that keeps on giving because of its beautiful templates and easy to use drag and drop tools and 24. 7 customer support. All the stuff that you need to make a website without having to know any of the nitty gritty about how to make a website.

[Craig]

This is important because I am not a web magus. I am not a magi of web development. So it is useful to me to receive the gift of Squarespace. Please tell me about how I can use this powerful tool.

[Andrew]

Here are some of the gifts that Squarespace is going to give you. Craig. With Squarespace's collection of cutting edge design tools, anyone can build a bespoke online presence that perfectly fits their brand or business. Squarespace offers a complete library of professionally designed and award winning website templates with options for every use and category. No matter where you start. Your website is flexible to what you need with intuitive drag and drop editing, beautiful styling options, unrivaled visual design effects, and more ways to list what you offer. No experience required.

[Craig]

Good, Craig.

[Andrew]

If you want to raise $1.87 or really any amount of money on your website, you can fundraise directly on your Squarespace site and your impact with built in donation tools. Create a professional on brand website that makes it easy to accept one time or recurring contributions and engage supporters. With built in email campaigns and marketing tools, you can connect with your community and inspire more people to support your cause. Craig Every dream as you know needs a domain. Needs a domain it does. It's simply not optional in this day and age not to have a domain for your dream. Squarespace Domains makes it easy to find the best name for your business at one fair all inclusive price. No hidden fees or add ons required. Every Squarespace domain comes with advanced privacy and security tools included to ensure your domain remains online and protected. Don't wait to claim your name. Invest in your dream domain today. If any of this sounds good, head to squarespace.com for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, we're giving you the gift of 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Go to squarespace.com overdue to save 10% off your first purchase of A website or domain. Again, that is squarespace.com overdue Audible's Romance.

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[Craig]

Oh Andrew. Oh Craig. Before we get into the rest of the pot, I will tell you that I think the O. Henry bar is like right on the line for me in terms of edible candy. Like it 20 years ago that I've.

[Andrew]

Had a had an O. Henry like oh Henry's and like whatchamacallitz. Yeah, I don't know that I've eaten a 100 grand bar on purpose I couldn't eat.

[Craig]

But the thing is like you know, I have trouble with candy. I could not have eaten a Snickers as a kid. I can eat a Snickers now.

[Andrew]

Oh, look at you.

[Craig]

Yeah. And so I think I Could go. Oh, hen. I could go, Henry. But I mean, are we talking America?

[Andrew]

We talking American recipe? Are we talking Canadian?

[Craig]

Well, that's. I don't know what they do up above the border. I don't know.

[Andrew]

The Canadian one is more. One of those I. And like. Like a Baby Ruth. It's one of the, like, lumpier ones, you know, like a. Like a Milky Way or a Snickers.

[Craig]

There's like a. It's like.

[Andrew]

Or a Butterfinger has. Yeah. Like a smoothness. It's like a little. Little chocolate cylinder.

[Craig]

Sometimes they just let it be bumpy.

[Andrew]

Some. Some of the other ones are a little more turd, like for black.

[Craig]

They really are.

[Andrew]

You can't.

[Craig]

You can't take them out of the wrapper. You just got to take bites with the wrapper a little open. Anyway, let's talk about Baby Ruth.

[Andrew]

Is Baby. The one that's naked? Which one's naked?

[Craig]

Which one is naked?

[Andrew]

Yeah, without the chocolate on it.

[Craig]

Baby Ruth bar. No, Baby Ruth has chocolate on it. What's the naked one?

[Andrew]

Maybe it's a Payday bar.

[Craig]

The pay. Yes. Is it the payday?

[Andrew]

Payday bar is the naked one.

[Craig]

What's the. The Take Five bar is fake. I've eaten them. They're fake. If we're a real candy bar, to.

[Andrew]

Name even one more candy bar, we have to stop doing this and take it to a bonus episode because we have to talk about this book.

[Craig]

Let's talk about these short stories. Andrew, there are 25 stories in this collection. I'm gonna read all of their names real quick.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

Then I'm gonna give you maybe some top level thoughts. Then I'm going to.

[Andrew]

And then we'll talk about Gift of the Magi for 25 minutes.

[Craig]

Do you want to do Gift of the Magi first? Like, out of all the stories?

[Andrew]

I mean, would you rather have it be the opening or the capper? Cause I feel like it's. It is the one that is gonna overshadow most of this.

[Craig]

Let's do it as an opening because there's another story I need to do in relation to it, so we should probably do it as the first story. Okay, great. So let's just read all of them first.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

Tobin's Palm. The Gift of the Magi. A Cosmopolite in a Cafe Between Rounds. The Skylight Room, A Service of Love. The Coming out of Maggie. Man About Town. If you have any thoughts, just, like, Chime In. The Cop and the Anthem. An Adjustment of Nature. Memoirs of a Yellow Dog. The Love Filter of Ike Schoenstein.

[Andrew]

Okay, we don't call them love filters anymore. For one.

[Craig]

Mama and the Archer. Springtime a La Carte. The Green Door from the Cabbie's Seat. An Unfinished Story. The Caliph Cupid and the Clock Sisters of the Golden Circle. The Romance of a busy broker. After 20 years lost on Dress Parade by Courier. The Furnished Room. The Brief Debut of Tildy.

[Andrew]

These are the titles of a guy who's cranking out a short story.

[Craig]

Just cranking them out. Yeah, I do. Yeah, just crank.

[Andrew]

This is these. Each of these stories is what it says on the tin. No symbolism, no like, obfuscation, no nothing.

[Craig]

You don't have time.

[Andrew]

This one's about Cabbie. This one's about Yellow Dog. I don't know.

[Craig]

Many of them are little romances. And when I say romances, I don't mean that everything is happy at the end. There's a lot of food insecurity in this collection that is very, like, arresting and alarming. There's a lot. There's multiple examples of dashed dreams. There's one story that ends with, you know, kind of a Romeo and Juliet esque death, like couple of deaths by suicide, you know, but the ones that kind of wrap around to, I think, like kind of a life affirming twist when you read it all in one collection. Now I know that many of these were published like probably weekly. And so it's like, ooh, a new little O. Henry nugget in my inbox. Like when you.

[Andrew]

Oh, Henry's O. Henry's Beehive Newsletter.

[Craig]

Yes. When you. When you just kind of like, you know, wrap your lips around the fire hose of O. Henry. Like it can be a little like, oh, oh, man. Okay.

[Andrew]

Oh, Henry.

[Craig]

Oh, Henry. You like these endings and it's sort of. You get a rhythm. This is gonna sound like a negative, but there's a rhythm that is not dissimilar to reading a book like the Secret or another book where it's like, here's an anecdote that ends with the thing that you're supposed to feel. Move on to the next one. Right. So many of his stories, as we've said, they have a twist to them. There is some sort of like ironic twist. There's sometimes there is a, like, surprise twist. A few stories into the collection. You start just getting. You get twist brain. And you're just reading every story, trying to decipher it. Like you're stuck in an escape room.

[Andrew]

Because, like, how telegraphed is each twist? Because my memory of Gift of the Magi. Is that you kind of see them doing these things for each other. And you. You. You know that they're each gonna be disappointed before they find it out.

[Craig]

Most of them, you can tell. Most of them, you know, that there is a twist. So what I would like to do when we discuss some individual stories later, Andrew, is I'm gonna ask you at a certain point to try and guess what the twist is. I don't have all of these planned super well, but I'm gonna try to, like, leave a little room in my summary of a few stories where you can start to be like, okay, something's going to happen, but what is it? You know? But, like, some of the stories are like, hey, a guy is, like, waxing on about how cosmopolitan he is and how much we're all citizens of the world now. And then at the end of a story, somebody insults his hometown and he gets in a bar fight, and you're like, okay, that's. That's a twist. I guess a man is so busy that he forgets he's married. Another.

[Andrew]

Okay, like, he.

[Craig]

He proposes to the new. To, like, the new stenographer that he loves so much. And she's like, don't you remember we got married last week? Whoa.

[Andrew]

Wow.

[Craig]

One guy wants to propose to his gal, but he doesn't want his dad's money muddying the waters, and he only has a few minutes in a cab with her to propose. So there's a big traffic jam. The twist. His dad created the traffic jam with money he paid everyone. Like, some of these are kind of fun.

[Andrew]

Bridge gate. But for your pale son's marriage proposal.

[Craig]

Arranged a bridge gate for his son. And there is this kind of. So, like, there's this big, like, twist thing. Andrew. There are a couple of them that just have a real, like, mind trap element to them. Yes. Where you're like, what is the twist going to be?

[Andrew]

He was murdered with an icicle and the icicle melted.

[Craig]

Yes. And you can't really figure it out, but then you can maybe. Mind trap. There's a real, like, melting pot aesthetic to the overall collection, which. One of our Patreon supporters mentioned this thing. This was Jason again. He really captures the feel of turn of the century New York City with all that entails, stereotypes and everything. There's a few references to people of color in this collection that are out of date or a little interesting to read in 2025. I don't think that they would. That O. Henry is here to disparage people of color, but he's just using words and things that we just. We don't do them.

[Andrew]

Now, you know, again, again, as with Booth Tarkington, like, the best that. That black people and other American. Anybody other than, like, a. Like a upper middle class white person can expect from any of these authors is to be, like, ignored and not, like, explicitly disparaged.

[Craig]

Yep, yep, yep. So, you know, there's a few n words in this collection. It's unfortunate.

[Andrew]

There's also the situation with the Tarkington.

[Craig]

Yeah. So you're just gonna. It. That's just. You're going back to 1906, unfortunately. What else about this collection? There's just some cartoon stuff. Like.

[Andrew]

Like they're illustrations or. There's no. Like, people smell a pie on a windowsill and they float away to go get the pie.

[Craig]

It's more like Tom and Jerry stuff where, like, there's a. There's a married couple whose whole deal is that they fight all the time and throw pots and pans at each other.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

And they do hit each other, and neither of them die.

[Andrew]

Okay. Yeah.

[Craig]

Tom and Jerry, they get interrupted when a child in their, you know, apartment building goes missing. And when the. When the missing boy is found just asleep under the bed because he was playing a prank and fell asleep, they get in, their fight resumes because they start fighting over their hypothetical child that they never had. Whether or not he would have done that and. And whose parentage would have been responsible for that. Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Craig]

There's also a lady who brings a man to a mobster dance, and then it turns out he's a rival mobster. It's just like, what are we doing a mobster dance? It's. It's like a club owned by a mobster. Like, you know, it's.

[Andrew]

We have omerta. Except for mob promotion.

[Craig]

He also likes to do just kind of goofy wordplay stuff. There's a. There's a story that has a lot of, dare I say, Deadpool esque, turns to the camera that are like, could you believe writing a story like this? You know? And then a character would say this.

[Andrew]

We're gonna have to announce our next project.

[Craig]

There's a whole story called Man About Town, where a guy goes all over the city asking people what they think the idiom man about town means. And then he gets hit by a car. And when he comes to, somebody, like, helps him realize what happened by reading him a story that says man about town hit by a car. And then there's the story with the dog. That's all from a dog's point of view. It opens with O. Henry being like, you would. You know, you wouldn't be surprised to see me writing a dog story. They're in fashion these days. And the dog at one point tells a joke. He says, the pointer I got from that terrier, Vaudeville, please copy. Set me to thinking. Get it. Okay.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Craig]

So. Okay. Oh, Henry. So let's. That's kind of my overall thoughts on the collection. It's a little. Once you get on the. Like on. When you're on the hunt for the twist, it's a little, like, hard to. To just step back.

[Andrew]

There's a little bit of, like.

[Craig]

I was really impressed by how many of these stories, like the quote unquote, like, twist or like the punchline is like the last line in the story. You know, best way to do it, you got. You get. Get out, you know?

[Andrew]

Yeah. You sit. You sit on your glasses and then you leave. So, you know, there's not. There's not five minutes after that where he's wandering around talking about how broke his glasses are.

[Craig]

You're right. So. The gift of the magi. Let's. Let's do it here. Jim and deli Young. They're two kids living together in their twenties in the early 19th century. Turn of the century New York City.

[Andrew]

Well. And they would not have been kids in their 20s. They would have been elderly.

[Craig]

Fair enough. Yes.

[Andrew]

Elderly. Non married.

[Craig]

They looked 55. They don't have much. The story opens $1 and 87 cents. That was all. And 60 cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times. Della counted it. $1.87. And the next day would be Christmas. That's the opening paragraph of the story. She is trying to buy her husband Jim a gift. And that is how much money she has. It's not much. And she is scrimped and saved to get that far.

[Andrew]

Is it not parsimony?

[Craig]

Probably. That's not a word I'm very confident and comfortable with.

[Andrew]

So I believe it is parsimony.

[Craig]

Great. The silent.

[Andrew]

I mean, I. I really. I really like parsimony. Parsimony. It sounds like a pretty flower.

[Craig]

What does it mean?

[Andrew]

Extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources.

[Craig]

Sure. Okay. Yeah. So. Okay, sure. Parsimony. Yeah. When you say when It's a word that means that parsimony actually makes more sense anyway. It should be together in holy parsimony.

[Andrew]

Parsimony, matrimony.

[Craig]

Okay, they don't have much, but they do have two things. The story tells us. Della's beautiful hair that makes everybody jealous, and Jim's grandfather's watch, his gold watch, beautiful watch. And as you might at home know, she is going to sell her hair for $20. Someone is going to cut it off of her head, fashion it into a wig, and give her $20 so that she can buy a platinum watch fob for Jim's. The bulk of the story is told kind of right over Della's shoulder. She is gonna buy a watch fob for her husband.

[Andrew]

Which part of the watch is the fob? I've never.

[Craig]

It's the chain.

[Andrew]

It's the chain part.

[Craig]

The chain. And I guess may. Maybe the fob is like the part that connects. I don't know. Is it a fob and chain, or is it all a fob? I'm not sure. I don't know how to pronounce parsimony. So I'm not from 1906.

[Andrew]

How can we trust you about anything? What else are you wrong about?

[Craig]

And she's worried that when he comes in, she's going to. It did cost her $21 to buy the watch chain.

[Andrew]

So she has a 187 before.

[Craig]

She's got 87 cents left, and she's gonna make some. Some chops for dinner. And he comes home a little late. She notices, and he just can't stop staring at her. And she's nervous that he's gonna not find her beautiful anymore, but he just can't stop staring at her. And he keeps saying things like, you say your hair is gone, and he kind of looks like a zombie. And as she goes to be like, hey, let's see how the. The chain fits on your watch. He's like, I need to tell you something. I bought you a gift. It's these beautiful tortoise shell combs. And for your hair that you don't have. So they have, of course, sold each. Sold each other's most prized possessions to buy an accessory to the other's prized possession. It's very sad. And I would say. I would say it's sadder that his watch is gone because it's an irreplaceable family heirloom.

[Andrew]

That's my. About this dumb story is that one of these things is a renewable resource that grows back on. On both ends of the transaction, like, not only is it fine, like, you.

[Craig]

Know, her hair is very long.

[Andrew]

It took a long time for hair to grow out. And I know that, you know, style at the time would have been for women to have pretty long hair mostly anyway. So it's not a like, oh, I try. I'm trying something new and I'll just let it grow out situation. Like something that she's pretty self conscious about for a while. I get it. I do get it. But she did sell something. He is not gonna grow a new watch in his pocket over the course of the next, like, couple of years.

[Craig]

No, his grandfather and father are not going to have magically have another watch to give him.

[Andrew]

Yeah. So. So not only is, you know, her hair's gonna grow back, which makes it honestly a pretty decent deal that she sold it for $20, actually. And also she is eventually gonna be able to use the combs. Like, she'll be fine.

[Craig]

There's not even a mention in this story. What are you gonna do?

[Andrew]

You're gonna, like, use it as a wallet chain, I guess. What do you do with a watch fob when you don't have a watch to fob with it?

[Craig]

Yeah, Jim doesn't really know you don't.

[Andrew]

Have a watch to fob it to. I don't know.

[Craig]

He doesn't really know what to say. He just kind of says, let's put away our gifts and use them later, I think is what he says.

[Andrew]

You can do that with the combs, my dude.

[Craig]

Yeah. Which I think, like, oh, Henry does not give us a line that even acknowledges. Maybe we save back up and go get the watch back. Which is like, how would you.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Craig]

How could you possibly know? And you can't even guarantee it's gonna be at the store. Like, this is. This is a friend's plot. I'm sure that somebody wrote and rejected. You know, like. And then the last paragraph is where O. Henry gives us where the title came from. The Magi, as you know, were wise men, wonderfully wise men who brought gifts to the babe in the manger. They invent, no relation to baby Ruth. They invention. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days, that's where he's Calling us the reader out in 1906. Let it be said that of all who gave gifts, these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest everywhere, they are wisest. They are the Magi.

[Andrew]

I mean, what I will say about the story is it's very. It's very nice that these two people, like, sort of. Sort of paid attention to each other and decided on a thoughtful gift. This is the way that I try to approach gift giving. I feel like I've lost my mojo on it a little bit in the.

[Craig]

In the world happening right now.

[Andrew]

Well, just, like, as I've fired off more of my really good ideas and, like, kept knowing the same people.

[Craig]

We all didn't come up with new interests for you to support.

[Andrew]

Right. Yeah. And my brain has gotten, like, fuller. I feel like I'm not as on point about it as maybe I once was, but, like, yeah, the thing about good gift giving is you just got to be listening all the time, and you got to have an iOS note. And this is the other thing about the Gift of the Magi is they did not have iOS notes yet.

[Craig]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Is you have an iOS note where you just kind of write down things that they say in passing where they clearly want the thing in that moment, but they don't want. It's very important that they don't want it bad enough to go and get it for themselves.

[Craig]

Correct. Yeah.

[Andrew]

And then you get the gift for them later, and they. They both seem to have done this for each other, and that's very nice.

[Craig]

That is very nice. And they were willing to give up something that they valued to do it. Wonderful. Nora in our Discord says, my hot take. Nora was reading along for the episode. My hot take. So far, the Gift of the Magi is not that good. They should have spent their money fixing their broken apartment, and their relationship has communication issues. It works better in adaptations than in the original. It's a very different vibe when the gift givers don't have to beg for discounts on food. I don't disagree. The it is. Yeah. Like the precarity of many of the characters in this collection. The it is hard. There is a romance to a lot of what they experience, and some of that doesn't always. As I said that earlier, some of it doesn't always work out. But the Gift of the Magi is a great example where you're like, well, you're meant to read this story and go, at least they have each other. And in a. It is that is good. That is. Sure. I cannot argue with the good of that. It is unfortunate to also read about a story with such poverty. And what am I supposed to think about that poverty? The story is not really interested in that, in humanizing people who experience that poverty.

[Andrew]

And that's. And that's great. Like, that's a. That's a worthwhile.

[Craig]

Yeah, I don't, I don't need him to come out with twist based agit prop stories every week, I suppose.

[Andrew]

I mean, just.

[Craig]

But take it as a collection. It's a little weird. It's. You can. Can see how it kind of warms over some real issues by, like, in the way that we have critiqued things like the Secret for being like, yes, this feels good, but actually you're kind of like sweeping under the rug like some weird, like, negative societal stuff, you know?

[Andrew]

Yeah. I will say that if you say our podcast is on the skids and nobody. Nobody's listening anymore. Oh, we're still doing it because we haven't read all the books yet.

[Craig]

And that's the.

[Andrew]

That's.

[Craig]

We're committed.

[Andrew]

That's the task that we set for ourselves at the outset to read all the books. And you said, I sold my beard so we could pay Squarespace for our domain for another year, because every dream needs a domain. And with the money I got from my beard that I sold, I bought you these really nice pruning shears for your garden. And I. Yeah, I definitely would be, like, the best. A really great gift you could have gotten me is our domain renewal to keep our podcast going for another year. Like, why did you. Why did you, if you could have sold your beard this whole time? One, why are you doing it just now? And two, why did you use the money on something so frivolous?

[Craig]

Yeah, it seemed. Yeah. So it's. It's a shame. It's a shame that that is what these characters feel that they need to do.

[Andrew]

I just think there are a lot of high school productions involving, like, 19th century presidents who could use. Who could take your beard and really make really good use of it.

[Craig]

I do. I just feel like I really like Nora's point that this is a story that works really well in adaptation because again, I love the Bert Narny version because the stakes are emotionally high for those characters. But, like, fiscally they're like, it's not gonna change whether or not they can keep living in the same apartment together.

[Andrew]

Does that, does it soften it at all? I feel like the Sesame street version would go like, one step further and be like, yeah, actually, they were really happy at the end.

[Craig]

Yeah. Oh, no, they're very happy at the end.

[Andrew]

Okay, good.

[Craig]

And these. And. And these people are meant to be happy at the end because they have each other and they gave each other these gifts. And they are wise though they are. Though they are maybe sad to have been parted from their favorite things. Things. Their beloved possessions. Okay, I have a lot of stories I want to talk about. We're not gonna have time.

[Andrew]

I'm just. I'm just imagining Gift, the Magi two years later, where she's combing her hair with his. With his sick combs. And he is just like, I don't know. He's made his. He's like, I don't know what time or something easy.

[Craig]

It's time to comb your hair.

[Andrew]

I guess you just have to be really careful not to comb your hair with him in the room because it would just make him. He would start talking about. He would be on about the fob again. You know, this whole thing just swinging.

[Craig]

A fob around, making a funny noise. Let me read. Let me talk to you about a story called A Service of Love. Andrew. In my mind, it is the other gift of the Magi. Of this collection, there are two.

[Andrew]

The first one being the Gift of the Magi.

[Craig]

There are two young artists, and they live by this little kind of axiom. When one loves one's art, no service seems too hard. Kind of a, you know, for the love of the game type axiom that you might live by. They meet at a little art student salon. They fall in love. They love that. They each love art. Joe is a painter, Delia is a pianist. And they are each studying with kind of like, you know, local masters of their respective domains. But they are running out of money. They're, you know, they're living together in New York. They don't have another source of income. They are not quite ready to go out on their own as artists, and they're still studying. What are they going to do?

[Andrew]

And one of them is like, I heard about this guy who will buy your hair for 20 bucks.

[Craig]

If that was a recurring character, that would be pretty great. So she goes out searching for piano.

[Andrew]

Students, like a Kurt Vonnegut, like, loosely interconnected universe, except Kilgore Trout is like the guy who buys your hair.

[Craig]

She goes out searching for piano students, Andrew. And she comes home and she says, oh, my God, honey, I found a general. And his daughter is. Is my. Is my pupil. Their house is so beautiful. The wainscoting. I am going to teach her piano all the time, and that will earn us money. You keep studying your art. I will earn money by being a teacher. And when we have enough money, I can go back to my own lessons. And he's like, yeah, I mean, that doesn't feel great that you're, you know, sacrificing time with your art. I should probably try to find a way to earn some money while I'm also studying. Oh, I just. I should tell you that when I was at the park today, I sold a watercolor to a man from Peoria. He loved my watercolor of an obelisk. Okay. And they each. They each bring money back from their work. It's a decent amount, but they're each noticing that the other person is exhausted and maybe, you know, not as lively as they used to be. What's the twist gonna be? Andrew, what do you think? What is the twist of this story? Two young artists who have, you know, started making money with their art, but not as pure artists. One is a teacher. One is kind of just a, you know, a park based seller of. For higher art.

[Andrew]

Man, I don't know. On this one, I feel like maybe they both. They're both making bad art now.

[Craig]

She comes home with a hurt hand. It's wrapped. And she says, oh, honey, I was at the general's house. And the iron.

[Andrew]

Are they, like. Are they losing the things that help them make the art that they make?

[Craig]

Well, you might think that. She goes, an iron caught it. It burned my hand. And he goes, delia, what have you been doing for the last two weeks? And she confesses that she has not been teaching piano at a general's house. She's been working at a laundry service, and she burned her hand on an iron. And he goes, I know that because this morning, in the basement of the laundry service where I work, they asked for cotton and oil to help a lady's hand.

[Andrew]

Oh, no.

[Craig]

And they realize that they've each been working secret jobs and not telling the other person about it.

[Andrew]

The twist is they both went and got real jobs.

[Craig]

Yep.

[Andrew]

Like everybody. Okay.

[Craig]

And they. They go to say, when one loves one's art, no service seems. And she goes, no. When one loves, no service seems too hard. Get it?

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Craig]

Right. You know, I want to tell you a story about Tobin's Palm. Andrew.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Tell me about this palm. What's the deal with this palm?

[Craig]

It's the first story in the collection. It really sets a tone. A guy.

[Andrew]

This is about hand or a Tree.

[Craig]

First question about a hand.

[Andrew]

Okay. Sick.

[Craig]

A guy takes his boy Tobin out for a night on the town on Coney island because Tobin is bummed that his lady ain't arrived from Ireland yet. Kate Mohorner or something, I think is her name.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

It is revealed later. I need you to know that the main character's name is John. I think it might be John, but they spell it J, A W N, which might be dialect, but it is John.

[Andrew]

Interesting. Interesting.

[Craig]

Tobin gets his palm read, and the palm reader says that he, a light woman and a dark man, Eep. Will spell danger for him. And a man with a crooked nose will bring fortune and good luck.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

And of course, these things do come to pass. A woman who is attractive, I think. Is this the thing that says, like, she was dressed in a. Like she was meant to lean against cars? What is this? Let me find this quote. On a seat against the railing was a young woman dressed suitable for red automobiles with hair the color of an unsmoked Meerscom. I don't know what a mirror scum. What Mirscomb. What is a miracle? It's a pipe. It's a clay like material that we. You would use to make a pipe. So, yeah, she had hair the color of an unsmoked pipe. So she's blonde, I guess. Anyway, she's hot.

[Andrew]

I don't know enough about smoked or unsmoked pipes.

[Craig]

A hot lady knocks his hat in a river. Boo. A black guy puts his cigar out on Tobin's ear.

[Andrew]

Cause that's not a nice place to do that.

[Craig]

Not very nice. And they eventually wander around the city and they do find a crooked nose man whose name does not contain an O, just as the palm reader said. And they're like, man, oh, so good we found you. You are the lady said that you were gonna bring us all our fortune. You know, we. We know he's Tobin so sad that his. That his girl hasn't been here from Ireland. And they're not gonna leave this guy alone. And the guy's like, I don't know what you need. Please leave me alone. This is fine. But like, go away. And Tobin's not gonna go away. And his friend John is like, my friend is kind of a loser who loves superstition and. But because he's a loser, I gotta be here. I gotta help him out. And the crooked nose guy brings them back to his place. What is the twist, Andrew? Mind trap.

[Andrew]

So Kyle is. She is. Is the lady she's. He's been waiting for there in Some.

[Craig]

Step down the steps and I will enter the by the door above and let ye in. I will ask the new girl we have in the kitchen to make ye a pot of coffee to drink before ye go. Tis fine coffee Katie Mahorner makes for a green girl. Just landed. Three months. Step in and I'll send her down to you.

[Andrew]

Three months? Months. And she hasn't come by yet.

[Craig]

That's what Tobin was so wor. I think that she didn't know how to reach Tobin and he was so worried.

[Andrew]

Oh, so this is like a happy one. Happy.

[Craig]

This is. That's the first. It's a very happy one. She's been there. It's not like Bluebeard. He's not locked her in his house.

[Andrew]

I didn't know she was. She didn't want to find him, and that's why she had.

[Craig]

Sure, sure, sure, sure. Let me tell you about a story called the Cop and the Anthem. Andrew. This is another one that's supposed to be pretty famous for the collection. It's about a man named Soapy. He is unhoused.

[Andrew]

Soapy.

[Craig]

His name is Soapy, and he is homeless. He's. His name is Soapy. His. Winter is coming.

[Andrew]

A really nice name for like, a little kitty or something. Yeah, this is my kitty, soapy.

[Craig]

As George R.R. martin said, winter is coming and Soapy needs shelter. So his plan is that he is going to get arrested so that he can spend the next, you know, the cold months in jail.

[Andrew]

It's really just. It would. It's cool that society is set up in such a way that this is like a viable. A viable. A more viable way to do it than, like, going somewhere and asking.

[Craig]

I believe that is the. The. I don't think this story rises to the level of satire, but its premise does rest on a very satirical critique of the fact that this man has nowhere to go. He would prefer to be arrested because they take. They care for.

[Andrew]

Yep.

[Craig]

You know, people who have broken the law better than they care for the homeless. Right.

[Andrew]

He.

[Craig]

Here are the things that this man tries to do to get arrested. Dine and dash. Or like, dine in a fancy restaurant in clothes that are clearly not fit for that restaurant. Both times that doesn't work, they just throw him out. He tries to break a store window with a brick and, well, he does. And then he tries to get arrested for it. And the cop goes. The cop goes. A criminal would not still be here. It's clearly that other guy who's just running away for some reason. He harasses a lady on the street. And once the cop in earshot leaves, she goes, yeah, please. She's into it. Wow. He pretends to be publicly drunk and just yells a lot. And a nearby cop goes, that's just one of those Yalie boys celebrating the latest football victory.

[Andrew]

Woof.

[Craig]

He tries to steal a man's umbrella. And when confronted, the man confesses that he stole the umbrella first. So maybe this is the original owner. And he just gives it back. So Soapy is at a loss. He goes. He finds himself outside of church. He hears beautiful music coming out of the church. And he thinks to himself that maybe, maybe he will get his act together. Maybe, quote, he was young, yet he would resurrect his old eager ambitions and pursue them without faltering.

[Andrew]

I know this one. I know what's gonna happen. What is this where you're gonna ask me about the twist? He's gonna try and go into this church. He's gonna get arrested. Arrested for something.

[Craig]

He gets arrested for loitering outside the church.

[Andrew]

That one's fun, actually.

[Craig]

Yeah, that was. That one has been made into a movie before into like a, you know, an early. I don't know if it was a silent.

[Andrew]

That movie is called Home Alone.

[Craig]

Okay, a few more.

[Andrew]

Everybody remembers the scene where they arrest Kevin McAllister outside of the church.

[Craig]

Two. Two quick ones. Lost on Dress Parade is about a guy who pretends to be rich, and he loves to dress up as a rich person, walk along Broadway as a rich person. And he meets. He sees a lady who's kind of poor looking who has clearly hurt her ankle. And he takes her to dinner with him and is like, I'm so rich. And what do you think? She says to him, andrew, is she also rich?

[Andrew]

And she's also slumming it and trying to find a poor person.

[Craig]

She is also doing a Princess Jasmine pretending to be poor and running out of her rich home. But she is somebody who believes that somebody with ambition and a goal is of greater value regardless of how much money they have. And this guy is like, I don't. I just want to be the aimless rich. There's a story called the Brief Debut of Tildy where there's a diner with two waitresses, one hot, one not, and Tildy is the knot and the hot one on the same day that the hot one gets a black eye from a man in the street who, you know, attacks her. And Tildy goes, wow, it must be nice to get attacked by men on the street. A real sentiment that she expresses that's.

[Andrew]

Just like that other woman in another story where it's like, hey, please, Cat, call me some more.

[Craig]

Yeah, a little bit. A drunk guy kisses Tildy and says that she's beautiful and loves her and she's all excited. But then he comes back a few days later and he's sober and he apologizes. And she has spent the intervening days very excited that somebody would like to kiss her and love her. And the story ends with the hot waitress saying if he was a gentleman, he wouldn't have apologized. Just a really weird thing to say out loud.

[Andrew]

That one's got a lot of stuff going on.

[Craig]

That one has a lot of stuff going on. A few. A couple other. Okay, okay.

[Andrew]

You. You said to me, and I don't remember. I don't think you've said it on Mike yet. You, you did say to me that there was an element of, if you like cigarettes so much, why don't you smoke the whole pack a little bit? A bunch of these O. Henry stories.

[Craig]

Yes.

[Andrew]

And we spent so much time on Gift of the Magi and then every subsequent story we spent less and less time on. And I kind of get the sense that that's like how the read went too, is like each, each one of these, your brain was like, okay, that's the deal with that one. Let's.

[Craig]

Let's correct.

[Andrew]

Keeps. Keep on slogging.

[Craig]

Some of. Okay. Some of them don't have a clean twist. Let me do one of those. There's another twist I want to do with you, but there's one that like, doesn't have a clean one. That John. Oh, no. Jason, in our Discord, Excuse me, said I still remember the twist ending of the Green Door, one of my favorites for how simple it is and how well it works. I don't. I don't even know that I would say the Green Door has a twist. Let's go. A man is walking down the street. He is handed a card outside of a dentist's office. And a five story walk up.

[Andrew]

Sure.

[Craig]

The person handing out the cards is a black man. Again, a lot of complicated depictions of this man in this story. Not a fan of how this man is depicted. The card that this, that our narrator is handed, I think his name is Rudolph, says the Green Door on it it. And he's like, what does that mean? It's blank. It doesn't have anything to do with dentists. And whenever other people walk by, they're handed a dentist card and they drop it on the street because they don't Need a dentist. And so he's like, well, why am I not getting the dentist card? And he walks back and he walks past the guy again. He gets another car that says the Green Door handwritten on it. And he's like, well, that's weird. Clearly, the. The story is telling us that Rudolph loves an adventure. He's a romantic and adventurous soul.

[Andrew]

Yeah, this sounds like a sick way to build, like word of mouth buzz for your speakeasy style now. Like, fancy liquor joint.

[Craig]

So Rudolph looks at the card and he's like, the green door. And he looks up at the. Hot. At the. At the five story walk up and he's like, all right, well, it must be in there where this man is standing outside of. The man won't give me any information. I'm gonna go in there.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

He goes up two stories. He sees a green door in the dimly lit hallway. He knocks on it. A beautiful lady appears. She is faint and he helps her collapse onto a couch. He wakes her up by trying to fan her with his hat and bonks her on the face and wakes her up and a thing. Okay. Oh, Henry is good at writing sometimes because he has laid sometimes this romantic notion of, you know, in your. This phrase, your heart's gallery of intimate portraits, it's kind of like. Like it's not quite a soul mate, but like there's just in your heart, there's just like a lot of people that are beautiful that you love, that you could long for. And like they're out there in the world and you're gonna find them.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

And when he sees this girl and then the young man saw that hers indeed was the one missing face. Was the one missing face from his heart's gallery of intimate portraits. And I was like, okay. Oh, Henry. That's a cool turn of phrase. I like that. It's an interesting way to talk about a meet cute. But why do you think she fainted? Andrew? This is not the twist, but based on previous stories that I've discussed. Why do you think she fainted, man?

[Andrew]

Because somebody didn't cat call her enough.

[Craig]

She can't afford food. She can't eat. She doesn't have enough food because it's 1905 or something. And so she hasn't eaten in three days. He goes and he gets her food and he plans to come back the next day to check on her. She's very grateful. They find each other a little attractive. It seems he doesn't tell her about the card. When she asks why he knocked on her door he makes up a little lie about knowing some piano tuners in the building. He goes out in the hallway and he realizes every door is painted green. How did he find this door? Maybe it was fate. And he goes and he asks the man outside what the cards were for. Andrew, what do you think they're for?

[Andrew]

Like, somebody who paints doors or something? I don't know.

[Craig]

Their advertisements for a play down the block.

[Andrew]

Oh, God.

[Craig]

The Green Door.

[Andrew]

It's like those guys handing out flyers for, like, comedy shows.

[Craig]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

There is a story I want to close on the Cop and the Anthem. No, I didn't. I want to close on after 20 years. Excuse me. I did copy the Anthem. But before we do that real quick, there's a story called the Skylight Room. There's a beautiful little lady named Ms. Leeson who lives in a terrible little room is on the top floor of this tenement building.

[Andrew]

What color is the door?

[Craig]

I don't know that we know. Drab. The color is drab. There are no windows in the room except for a very tiny skylight that she can look out of sometimes. And she sees a star up there. And she has named that star Billy Jackson.

[Andrew]

Billy Jackson. And does she know that there's a guy who will give her $20 for her hair?

[Craig]

She doesn't know that yet. And she might learn that in. In the future. I'm not sure at this point in.

[Andrew]

My mind, this guy is the. The guy I know. Brother, Where Art Thou? Who will pay you to sing into his camp? He's just sitting around waiting for people to come give you. Give him.

[Craig]

Everybody. Everybody in this. Hey, Arnold house loves to sit outside on the stoop.

[Andrew]

Stupid.

[Craig]

And they love to talk about, you know, they like Ms. Lisa, and she's cute. She's, you know, young. And everybody finds her kind of winsome. And there's somebody there who is like, no, that's like a specific star in a specific. You know, astronomical. What is the word constellation? And she's like, no, it's named astronaut.

[Andrew]

What were you gonna say?

[Craig]

I was gonna say arrangement.

[Andrew]

An astronomical arrangement? Sure.

[Craig]

Yes. And she's like, no, no, it's. Its name is Billy Jackson.

[Andrew]

That's what you say when you can't get the rights to the word constellation.

[Craig]

And then a few days go by, and she comes home very weak. She's been working, but now she. She can't find any more work. And she is, wouldn't you guess, having a hard time affording food. She's very weak. She collapses in her sad, tiny room. And a few days later, they find her. She is rescued, and what do you think the twist is, Andrew?

[Andrew]

Man, I don't know. I've lost track. All the twists, all the ironic twists.

[Craig]

The name of the physician who resuscitates and saves her is Billy Jackson.

[Andrew]

Nice.

[Craig]

What a twist.

[Andrew]

What position.

[Craig]

That is the most. The secret of all of them to me, which is like. It's not even. It's like she had a name that she's like, I've into the ether.

[Andrew]

I've contrived a situation. Aren't you surprised when the situation that I've contrived pays off in some way?

[Craig]

We will close Andrew on the story after 20 years.

[Andrew]

Mm.

[Craig]

And I'm sorry if somebody came into this not expecting to be spoiled on, like, like, eight O. Henry stories, but.

[Andrew]

Like, he wrote or to learn so much about candy bars, honestly.

[Craig]

Yeah. After 20 years, there's a guy on a street corner waiting to meet an old friend. A cop who's on his patrol is like, why is there a man standing out on the street late at night? I don't like this. I'm gonna go talk to him.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Craig]

The cop is like, hey, man, what's your deal? And the man says, well, this used to be Big Joe's restaurant, and they tore it down. But 20 years ago, me and my good friend Jimmy had a meal here, and we said we'd meet here again in 20 years. I went out west to pursue whatever I wanted to pursue. It's real tough out there. You got to be whip smart to handle it out west. And ain't nobody will buy your hair out there. Jimmy decided to stay here, but I was always excited to come back and find him. We would. We said we would meet on this spot 20 years from the date and time. And the cops like, well, that's an interesting story. How long are you gonna be here? He's like, oh, probably at least another half hour. See if he shows up. Cops like, great. See you later. A few minutes go by, another guy walks up and says, bob, is that you? Andrew? What do you think's gonna happen? Mind trap.

[Andrew]

Just tell me. Just tell me. You've.

[Craig]

What do you think the twist is?

[Andrew]

You've cowed me into submission. I can't guess any more twist.

[Craig]

So Bob, the original guy, goes, jimmy, it's so good to see you. I didn't realize. You're a little taller than I remember, Jimmy. And Jimmy goes, it's fine. I grew. It's fine.

[Andrew]

Okay. Yeah, people do that.

[Craig]

They go for a Walk. And after a few minutes, Bob pulls away and he's like, hey, I mean, maybe you grew, but like 20 years would not change the face. Like your nose. Like, yes, I recognize you're not Jimmy. Who do you think the guy is?

[Andrew]

Andrew, who is.

[Craig]

He's a plainclothes cop. And he says, listen, Silky Bob, you're under arrest. We know that Chicago put out a call for you. And we've got you now, Silky Bob. And he reveals a letter from Jimmy. And the letter from Jimmy says, I'm a cop and I recognized you from your mugshot. I couldn't bring myself to arrest you, so I left you there and had a plain clothes guy arrest you instead. So the cop was Jimmy.

[Andrew]

Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

[Craig]

Mind trap. You're under arrest.

[Andrew]

Oh, no.

[Craig]

That one got me. That one was a fun, funny twist that got me because I don't. Again, I don't know what the. Like, what are we saying here? This is not a feel good story. Except I guess if it feels good to you that mobsters get arrested. Like, it is not a romantic tale of people finally getting married. You know, there's a story that I didn't even talk about where like, like there's one where there's like three dudes who go to the diner all the time and there's a beautiful waitress there and they will like deliberately sabotage any guy who is trying to pursue her for, you know, a girlfriend or marriage or something. And then surprise at the end, one of them married her. Like, like, that's the twist. I guess it's a happy ending for some of these. And this cop one was just like. And then the guy's a mobster and then we got him. Like what.

[Andrew]

I think my favorite of all the ones that you've talked about is definitely the. The guy getting arrested by accident after trying several times to get arrested. That one feels the most like a. Like a Seinfeld or, or Always Sunny episode plot that would play out.

[Craig]

Who was it? Is it WC Fields, I think did an adaptation of the Cop and the Anthem, which is the Soapy Gets arrested story. And yes, that one lends itself to a certain level of comedy that works pretty well.

[Andrew]

I think it's the like you, like, like, like you build. It is the second most notable of the. Of the ones from this, from this book. Because even if I like, I. I did not, I don't know to identify such a thing as a, like, cop in the Anthem situation. Like, I can identify a gift of an AGI situation, but it's Definitely a. A trope that is passed into. Into pop culture. It does feel very, like, immediately, like, as soon as you stop trying to do something, the thing happens or.

[Craig]

Or especially when it's like, you, like, in Seinfeld or, like, always Sunny or something where, like, you're trying to do the bad thing and the world is like, that's fine. Like that. That is an interesting storytelling trope. So, yeah, that's. Oh Henry. There's 15 other stories in this collection I didn't talk about oh Henry. They're fun, generally. Again, I think if you read them all in one go, it can be a little. Not monotonous and. And they. They can still, like, please you as the reader, but it does. You get twist brain, which is not always. I. I don't. I don't know if O. Henry wanted us to read his stories that way.

[Andrew]

I just. Yeah, I think it's got to be the. You know, you. You eat one O. Henry bar and you're like, oh, Henry. And then you eat, like, 24 oh Henry bars and you're like, oh, Henry. You know?

[Craig]

Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. I think so. But thanks for letting me tell you about all these stories, Andrew. I'm glad that we got to talk about them.

[Andrew]

Yeah. And I'm excited for. I don't know, we probably. For December is like, some kind of thematic, like, Patreon exclusive. Like, you can sell your beard to buy me a comb. I can sell my hair to buy you some beard oil. And we could just have a good.

[Craig]

Good.

[Andrew]

We could just both sit and be sad.

[Craig]

What do you need more? A comb or do you need, like, a specific, like, hairspray? Sometimes you use a spray to keep it up. Like, what are you doing over there?

[Andrew]

Yeah, either one. But they're both part of the process at this point.

[Craig]

You're right that I do use a beard oil. So, like, that would be a nice thing to receive, but would be a sad thing to receive if I didn't have a beard.

[Andrew]

If you didn't have a beard anymore.

[Craig]

Yeah. Well.

[Andrew]

But then you text me, like, two months later and be like, hey, this beard oil, sick. I'm finally using it.

[Craig]

Yeah. As you're right, it. This would work better if they both sold versions of their hair.

[Andrew]

If they both sold things of sort of equivalent permanence, I think is. What is that? That's what I'm looking for.

[Craig]

Really what it is. Yeah.

[Andrew]

It's like the things that feel like the same amount of sacrifice.

[Craig]

Yeah. It does feel a little uneven.

[Andrew]

Like we both sold I sold my beard. You sold your hair or you sold your watch. I sold my, like, cool Reeboks or something. Like my limited edition.

[Craig]

My heirloom Reeboks, my heirloom Air Jordans, my heirloom Reebok.

[Andrew]

I'm not gonna make an heirloom tomatoes joke because I don't think that's for anybody, but that's where my brain went.

[Craig]

Anyway, let's be my grandpappy's tomatoes. Yes.

[Andrew]

Anyway, that's not what heirloom means, but.

[Craig]

Anyway, go ahead, send us an email. I know what heirloom means with regard to tomatoes. Thank you.

[Andrew]

Okay. All right.

[Craig]

It was funny in the context of O. Henry. Thanks for listening, everyone. You can send us an email to tell us about your favorite adaptation of the Gift of the Magi. Overdue podmail.com hit us up on social media at Overdue Pod. We're on Instagram and Blue sky these days, thanks to Nick Lauren, just who composed our theme music. Oh, I did have a list of social media folks to thank for reaching out in the past week. I meant to do that. Thanks to Nicholas. Thanks to Andrea or Andrea. Thanks to Bridge. Thanks to Melissa, Mindy, TL Edwards and definitely not a fan. Not sure if that relates to us or something else, but thanks.

[Andrew]

I'm really sorry. I don't. I'm sorry that we have offended you.

[Craig]

Yes, let us know.

[Andrew]

Thanks for watching.

[Craig]

Do Better Twist what can we do to help you, Andrew? Here's the real twist. If folks want to know more about the show, where do they go?

[Andrew]

Overduepodcast.com is the Internet website. We have links to the books that we have read and are going to read the September schedule. Craig will read you in just a sec. Yeah, but we have all the stuff up there. Overdue Podcast.com is your hub for overdue information on the World Wide Web. Patreon.com Overdue Pod is the other URL that you need to know about. That's our Patreon page up there. You can give us cold hard American bucks or I guess, other kinds of bucks.

[Craig]

Other currency does, I think automatically converts.

[Andrew]

To currency that we can spend but in exchange for the ad free version of our feed for bonus episodes like the long reads project we're doing about the silmarillion or the back catalog. Well, oh what?

[Craig]

Or the back catalog of those like.

[Andrew]

Oh yes, the back catalog of those like the. The we. We've started putting up episodes of our Babysitters Club series Sit Me Baby One more time on the main feed. You want to listen to the rest of those? Patreon.com overdubod Dusty bookshelves are a monthly newsletter. Access to our Discord community and more. And many more.

[Craig]

And many more.

[Andrew]

TV, VCR repair and more. And many more. Patreon.com overduepod Craig, tell me what we're doing in September, please.

[Craig]

Next week, Andrew, we've already well, this week we've already read the Four Million by O. Henry. Next week you are talking about the Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalci. Then we're reading Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, the Buddha in the Attic by Julietsuka, and closing out the month. I want to be like you, Andrew. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I don't know what that book is like. I bet.

[Andrew]

I bet there's going to be some rough elements.

[Craig]

I have no idea what's in there. And we're going to. We're going to find out. So head into the heart of darkness.

[Andrew]

Over there and then right after that Spooktober starts happening.

[Craig]

So on the horizon, keep an eye out for news on Spooktober, please.

[Andrew]

The pumpkin is rising up over the.

[Craig]

Over the Linus is concerned. Yes.

[Andrew]

All right, everybody, thank you for listening to our whole thing. And until you listen to us next time, please try to be happy.

[Craig]

Be.

[Andrew]

That was a Headgum podcast.