A Q for Jeffry Ford - Tropics

First I did enjoy the story! I have a poster of a similar scene, as found in the bar (no people in it though), hanging on my wall. It gives me calm to look at it. I thought it interesting that it being included in the year's best fantasy and horror that it didn't have more fantastical elements in it. Mostly just the chess peices, really. To me that story is actually believable, like something you'd see on "Unsolved Mysteries," in it's wierder days, or a similar TV program.

To the question: I was wondering if any events were inspired by real life. The bar and the story of the boy going with his father every week seems so believable, I was wondering if you pulled everything out of the sky, or if maybe there were parts that were autobiographical.