Big V - Tryin’ To Make My Way in This World

The Pour House Pub, Red Lobster, El Chilito, McDonald Observatory, The Capri

One day I was in South Texas doing a Yelp search, and I came across a reviewer who called herself “Big V.”

For each of Big V’s reviews, she’d start out writing about a sandwich or a drink, but then turn to personal confession.

Her style was so compelling, I clicked on her name and found out Big V had posted a five year diary of her life in the form of Yelp reviews.

And man, a LOT happened.

Verna had fans, which soon included me. Some people called her the “LOL Lady,” which was her favorite end-of-paragraph touch.

I wrote a fan letter. She acknowledged!

And then . . . Big V disappeared.

I started collecting her stories in order, saving them, and one by one, a secondary story developed — not only did Big V disappear, but nearly all the places she visited closed their doors, gone forever. Only the chains and a few government buildings are left.

These are Big V’s stories . . .