2nd Place

Got this one yesterday on my son's birthday.

Good evening Kevin,

We here at 2M Magazine have read over your story and have decided to pass. This one was discussed more than any of our other submissions, debated for quite a while before we came to a conclusion....
...it really came down to one simple deciding factor: If we have to convince ourselves we should take it then we shouldn't. The story should convince us, not each other. Thank you for submitting to 2M Magazine and feel free to do so again.

Sincerely,
AJ

Ah, the sweet smell of second place. A swing and a miss. I remember from my years in motor sports marketing that drag racing has this great slogan about second place. Second place is the first Loser! I don't really feel bad, the rejections are personal, but they just seem to be coming in clumps. That's okay, I feel a first place finish coming soon.

That's my old friend Jim Epler back in 2001 at the Sears Craftsman Nationals in Madison, Illinois. He got some bad burns, hands, chest, neck, but he survived this second place finish.