It is always harder to see/reveal the imperfections in oneself than other. You are right of course, Earl was based on myself and is quite flat. This was the first short story I ever wrote and was based almost word for word on a real incident in my life.

I enjoyed listening to the story. The surprising twist ending was interesting. I found the story humorous. I did think though that the story would be better if I could learn more about Earl. His character seemed flat and I wanted to know more about Earl's own shortcomings in comparison to Dave. We want more Earl. I think a few more short descriptions of Earl's actions would help. You do this quite well where you describe Earl smiling in his unwashed state as he thinks about getting the one up on Dave. All in all I enjoyed listening because I could envision Earl quite well and also I liked the humor.