The Mummy Story and Respone
Leslie Caton and Erick Brucker
Response to the Mummy Story
My friend sent me his Mummy story just in time. This was a day I couldn’t keep from crying much
longer, I did nothing to pull myself out of my head, I refused to actually cry because I just don’t as
much as I can help it. If I let myself cry when I want to I will cry altogether too often. “It’s good for
you” people say, wise people, or people who are trying hard to be wise.
The shuffling phalanx of mummies assume they are all going somewhere and that the others know the
way. Surely they are going somewhere specific, they have been raised from the dead after all which has
to mean something. Something. None of the sentences in the mummy story are inappropriately spliced
by commas, so I know the writer meant to torture us with this ambiguity. Plus I know my friend and his
story would be weird but make you think hard and a lot and get uncomfortable but be richer for the
experience of thinking. So I’m definitely not supposed to know why the mummies were reanimated.
Surely there is purpose we just can’t see. Surely they are dragging themselves along for a reason--but
then I’m identifying with the mummies. Maybe I’m the spouse thinking about vegetable medley
instead of how quiet this street is/was before.
That’s why I’ve been trying not to cry all day. I don’t want to get married, which is a shocking thing to
say when you’re engaged. My fiance understands. I don’t want to be ignored in favor of vegetable
medley. I don’t want to give more than a few moments of pleasantly distracted thought to vegetable
medley. But that’s what it’s become with us--what do you want for dinner. Did you read that facebook
article I sent you. I sleep better when you’re not touching me. He says we’re good, he has faith, he has