Short story?

[kelleyscorpio]

Maybe someone will know this -- I've got a recollection of a short story, and I want to say it was written by Twain, but not certain on that. It's basically about a hapless fellow, inept/incompetent, though basically harmless as I recall, sort of a Forest Gump type, who through a bizarre set of circumstances ends up in a position of great power (

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[joyliveshere]

Being There, by Jersy Kosinski?

[kelleyscorpio]

Yeah, David thought of the Sellers movie, but I feel pretty certain I've never read this. My recollection is that it's *really* short, probably something I read in one of my Lit. classes (in a textbook). Wish I'd kept all my old texts...ah, well.

There's another short story, probably from a similar source, I've always wanted to find again, but same thing, no idea the author or title. It's about an American fellow who's quite a connoisseur of chili peppers, and he relates a story about meeting a man in Mexico (I think) who cultivates some of the hottest known peppers. In the end they have an informal pepper-eating contest, and I can't even tell you the outcome. Wonderfully fun story, though...