I spent the pandemic in Carmel Valley, walking distance to Del Mar, one of the most spectacular beaches in San Diego. It was during the lockdown that I finally found the time to transcribe my father’s stories, mostly typewritten, with comments handwritten in red and green pencil by Joseph Heller. It was a well-timed experience, as I was feeling lost and adrift in an environment that didn’t make much sense for me. It was a grounding experience, and wonderful to hear his voice again after so many years.

Dave Ellas was also a character in a story called Ono. Ono was completely handwritten, whereas the other stories were typed. Comments from Joseph Heller were written in green and red pencil in the margins of some of the stories, but there were no comments on Ono. My best guess is that the story was written while my father was a student in Dr. Christie's class, who took over teaching English Composition after Heller started writing Catch-18 in 1953.