The Old Man, generally specified only in thus manner, is something of a self-mockery... a projection of my own general criticisms of my writing.
This was a one-off piece I used as something of a stress/boredom valve for several months. In some ways it acts as a final farewell to a few of my old DRAGONzine characters that I'm not sure I could pick back up, particularly because I ruthlessly slaughter a few of them.