The Story of Phillip the Muffin Man and Crew
by
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One day while conducting a new experiment, right at the time the Annual Science Convention was taking place, many top scientists and doctors from around the globe were all there, and all of a sudden, something terrible went wrong. In the research laboratory there was a horrible explosion. Everyone was killed, all but Dr. Phillip and his three brothers, and little doggie, he also, was spared. It was by far the worst laboratory accident in the history of science in the U.S., all those brilliant minds under one roof, about 150 to be exact. But, Dr. Phillip and his brothers, it wiped their memory out, human life as they know it. Now, that was the start for the muffin man and his crew. There’s one thing to their advantage, they were brilliant scientists, they could come up with anything in the laboratory. Everybody wants them, but they must now live a phantom life, and always must stay on the go. Their lives will never be the same, none of them. As soon as folks start asking too many questions, they move on and out to the nearest silo which are in areas wherever they go, or wherever they may travel. Now they have a solar power laboratory somewhere in an unknown location. It is speculated it is somewhere in a remote location supposedly in South America in the rain forests, totally hidden from civilization, and, get this, several hundred feet underground, with technology from another planet. You can rest assured they have all the toys and gadgets you could ever need or imagine, and centuries ahead of everyday life as we see it.
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About the Book
Phil said he was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to be inspired with this story and to be driven to write it. His inspiration started early one morning, after awaking from a dream. The dream faded from his memory, however, he heard himself say out loud, "I’m going to make muffins!" This was strange because he knew nothing about making muffins. He was living with his family in east Texas at the time. Most of his family thought he was going through some kind of fad. Only his mother and a sister supported his efforts. Everyday he would bake several dozen muffins, trying to perfect a recipe that was in his head, and everyday his faithful family members would pick them up. He was sure that they were eating the muffins; at least that was what they led him to believe. Somehow a kid from a nearby community got ahold of one of Phil’s muffins. One day he looked out the window and saw a group of kids were hanging outside his door. When he opened the door to investigate, he was greeted with the loudest cheering he had ever heard. He started to close the door but decided instead to ask the kids what they wanted. "Muffins, Mr. Muffin Man," was the reply from the chubby boy who acted like a spokesman for the group. For a moment Phil wasn’t sure whom the boy was talking about. Then it hit him - he was the "Mr. Muffin Man" the boy was talking to. Phil told the kids if they wanted muffins that tomorrow they would have all the muffins they wanted, on one condition: that they would not call him "Muffin Man." They agreed and turned to walk away saying, "See you later, Muffin Man." So much for trying to stop the kids from calling him "Muffin Man." The kids were just the beginning of the changes in Phil’s life. Next, he won a Blue Ribbon for his muffins at a county fair. Now adults wanted his muffins, his only concern was that they too would call him "Muffin Man." It came to Phil that kids like cartoon characters. He thought that with a cartoon character he could hurry up and get that name off of him. It took him six years to get the right "Muffin Man." In fact, he ended up with four "Muffin Men." He went to bed one night thinking about the "Muffin Men" and what he was going to do with them. He became so involved that he put down the muffin tins and picked up paper and pen. The kids thought he had lost his mind. He was obsessed with the story that was pouring out on the paper. All the kids knew was there weren’t any muffins being baked. To quiet their concerns, he told them that he was doing this for them. He explained, "Once you eat my muffins, they are gone forever. But this story will last forever." Then he added, "This is especially for you kids, without you guys, this wouldn’t have happened." They understood. They were the reason that Phil was pleased to be the creator of this wonderful story.
About the Author
Phil
Glaspie II was the second child of ten, the eldest male. When Phil was born his
father was in the Army, stationed in a base in Louisiana near the Texas border.
While still a toddler, Phil’s father finished his Army tour of duty and moved
his family to Houston, Texas. The Glaspie family was growing and Phil’s mother
was not comfortable with raising her children in a Southern city during this
period of Jim Crow. Phil’s father owned land in Texas, “good farmland”; Mrs.
Glaspie thought that this would be the ideal environment to raise her family.
The family settled in east Texas.
Phil
grew up on a farm with more than 23 dogs, hogs, chickens, siblings, and knowing
the meaning of hard work. His average day start at 5 AM and ended at 8 PM. He
would feed the animals and do other chores before he could go to school. School
was an afterthought; Phil was needed to do the work around the farm and in the
summer to be hired out to pick cotton. Phil’s dreams of becoming a scientist
were never realized. Phil tells the story of him and his sister being hired out
to pick cotton.
He
said that they awaken with the sun and picked cotton until nightfall. He slept
in a bed that was under a huge hole in the roof. He remembered being told to
sleep with a bucket when it rained. He had to train himself to listen to the
rain filling the bucket, so, he could wake up before it overflowed. He lived
and worked with full-grown men because he was big for his age. He recalled how
hard he and his sister worked and how his grandmother on his father side
collected the money. Upon returning to the farm, his grandmother gave her
daughter-in-law their total wages for the summer of work: $15.
Phil’s
greatest pride was his father’s ability to tell stories. He recalled how the
grown-ups would build a huge bonfire and sit around it and tell stories about
the past and of fancy. His father was the best storyteller of them all. He
remembered how sometimes the children were sent to bed and the adults would
continue their storytelling late in the night.
The
hard work, severe physical punishment, and the 1960s became the catalysts that
cause Phil to run away from the farm when he was 15 years old. He experiences
on the road, surviving of the streets, and living with strangers influenced him
greatly, and is an unique story by itself.
Phil
now resides in the Bay Area, where he is known as the master baker muffin and
cookie extraodinare, gourmet chef, an activist and also known as the “Cookie
Man.”