From the author: In a rented apartment on Figueroa and Temple, where I visited only on visits, Grant Beach and I set up a pottery studio for him. About once a month I spent the night in the upper room and then got up early and helped set up the room. In one of the lower rooms there was a tombstone left by someone. Now we've found something to leave. I don’t remember what name was carved there, but it doesn’t matter - they found something to leave. When you looked at this slab, you could not help imagining your own name. So I have no doubt about how I came up with the idea for the story. I saw that tombstone and took up my pen.