Issue Five, February 2010
On January 22, 2010, the world lost a great man. Taco Bell founder Glen W. Bell Jr. died, far too early, at the age of 86.
Back in 1948, Bell opened Bell’s Drive-In, selling the traditional drive-in fare of hamburgers and hot dogs. Soon, though, Bell decided to spice things up by adding a variety of Mexican dishes to the menu. (I’m so sorry about the pun.) And, yes, the Mexican food was really more like a poor attempt to replicate Mexican food, but that was OK. Bell was serving go-getting, 1950s’ Americans, and what the fuck did they know about authentic Mexican food. The tacos and burritos were a hit, and, in 1962, Taco Bell was born.
Seeing as how this issue begins at The Burrito Palace with Andrew Frankel’s “The Golden Streams of Babylon” and ends with a man in a desperate search for the perfect Taco Bell in Louis Wittig’s “Run for the Border,” I thought it was only fitting to dedicate this issue to Mr. Bell.
Sure, Brandon Blackburn’s “52 Pickup,” Dawn-Michelle Baude’s “My Walk to Gamal Abdu el Naser,” and Marc-Anthony Taylor’s “Kali’s Dance” have nothing to do with Mexican food. But they do take us to Heather’s apartment, Egypt, and the end of the world, respectively, places I’m sure Mr. Bell would have loved to visit. And if he wouldn’t have, then I’m sure he’d have loved to read about them. And if that’s not true either, then screw him. These are five excellent stories, God damn it, and I will fight his ghost if he says otherwise.
Anyway, here’s to you, Mr. Bell. May your poorly constructed tacos live forever.
The .pdf of Issue Five can be found here, the links to the individual stories are below.
– Eirik Gumeny
The Golden Streams of Babylon, Andrew Frankel
“There’s a unicorn out back, in the alley, who’s just begging to be pissed on. You should go piss on him.”
52 Pickup, Brandon Blackburn
“No doubt she would also be wearing stockings and numerous pairs of underwear. She’d outdone him.”
My Walk to Gamal Abdu el Naser, Dawn-Michelle Baude
“Ground floor: out into the beautiful Alexandrian day.”
Kali’s Dance, Marc-Anthony Taylor
“They danced as the world fell around them.”
Run for the Border, Louis Wittig
“Nonetheless it was true. Jim believed in Taco Bell. Always had.”
