The Iggle has Landed!

Humorous flash fiction...with aliens!

Howdy everyone!

I have a new flash fiction story for y’all, available for free at gohavok.com! “The Iggle” is a humorous little story about the first moon landing, told from the perspective of a dysfunctional family of aliens. (The term Iggle is a reference to Patrick McManus’ short stories, which are hilarious and definitely worth reading if you want to laugh your head off.) My story is only available today before it goes into their members-only archives, so be sure to check it out!

The Story’s Background

Although some of my stories aren’t related to anything from my life, this story was partially inspired by my grandfather, Opa. He worked in the aerospace industry during the space race, and was part of teams that helped design and build spacecraft for the moon missions. It was really neat growing up hearing the stories of how Opa had been a small part of the space race, and because of that legacy, I thought the moon landing would be a fun story to tell. I imagined it from the perspective of aliens watching humans take their first steps on the moon, but being unimpressed with our technology. The situation struck me as pretty humorous, and the story was born.

When I was a kid, I actually got to meet Buzz Aldrin when he gave a talk at the city’s science center! He shook my hand, gave me an autograph, and when I told him about my grandfather’s career, asked me to “Please tell your grandpa to make the spacecraft a little bigger next time.” It was the highlight of my young life.

I also really enjoyed collecting coins as a kid, and I loved hunting for “special coins,” like wheat pennies or silver dimes and the like. One time, I asked Opa if he had any special coins like wheat pennies, and he carefully pulled a coin out of his wallet. I don’t remember the exact design, but I believe it was a NASA challenge coin from the first moon landing. Since it wasn’t a regular coin, my younger self was unimpressed, but he spoke seriously to me as he showed me the tarnished surface.

“You can find wheat pennies anywhere. But this…this is special.”

That was one of the last conversations I ever had with him, and in my memory, it’s not just the coin that was important. You were right, Opa. That was special. It really was.