Emperor Norton?

Posted on June 22, 2002 in Courage & Activism Nortoniana

OK, the big question. This is the kind of thing that one puts in a IRC alias.

Why am I called Emperor Norton?

Well, I never started out calling myself Emperor Norton. The name was given to me after I wrote web site about the original Emperor Norton, a slightly nutty fellow who declared himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico after losing all his money and his mind over a rice deal. People just began writing to me: “Dear Emperor Norton”. To tell the truth, most of the time I ignore the mail, but now and then there is a gem worth pocketing, a profferred friendship worth sustaining.