Ken Bone hasn't been to work this week. He had to call in sick.
Between a Jimmy Kimmelappearance,китайски порнография tweeting to his 100,000 new followers, the 13 interviews he did before speaking to MashableTuesday and the ones that came straight afterwards, he hasn't been able to clock in to his day job at the Prairie State Generating Company in Illinois.
Bone, the mustachioed man in a red sweater from Sunday's town hall debate, just became insta internet famous and he's loving it. Although he is concerned for his coworkers.
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"I felt really bad. I had to tell them I couldn't make it. I hope they're not running short tonight," Bone told us over the phone from his car on the way to another local interview.
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Bone's life has gone crazy in the last 48 hours. Within minutes of the Trump / Clinton death match finishing, his friendly face was trending worldwide as onlookers grasped at him as their only hope in an increasingly bitter and depressing election campaign.
Bone, of course, has taken it in his casual stride. "It's been hectic," he admitted, but it's also "been a blast. We're keeping it light, trying to keep a positive face on a negative debate cycle."
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On Twitter, Bone's following grew from 7 people (two of which were his grandmother) to more than 100,000 followers in 24 hours.
“It feels crazy," Bone says of his insane social media growth. "I’ve tried to put out a couple of tweets, give them something lighthearted and fun to talk about. I haven’t had the ability to engage with them much, but I guess that’s not what Twitter’s about. We’re not going to have robust political debate on Twitter.”
Last year, Bone dressed up for Halloween in Jedi robes and went as Obi-Wan Ken Boni.
His famous sweater, meanwhile, has sold out and Ken Bone Halloween costumes have become a thing. Bone isn't phased. In fact, he's planning to wear one himself at the end of the month.
"I’m going to to be me for Halloween because I look just like me," he says, that famous mustache presumably lifting with a smile. "My son is not trick or treating any more so I guess I’m going to hand out candy dressed as me.”
Last year, incidentally, Bone dressed up for Halloween in Jedi robes and went as Obi-Wan Ken Boni.
Product offers have also flooded in. Kimmel has given him a new suit and a phone, prompted by Bone's use of a disposable camera at the end of the debate. (The disposable cameras were actually given out by debate organizers as the audience members weren't allowed digital devices into the auditorium.)
Google also reached out to offer him the new Pixel.
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"If I have been [offered the Pixel] I missed it," Bone says. "I have a lot of people that I owe a call back to tonight."
"I'm not the kind of guy that endorses products," he adds, "but that's so nice and welcome."
As far as Bone knows, neither the Trump nor Clinton campaign have yet reached out to him, which would seem to be missing a trick, but he's got a lot of messages to trawl through later.
"Pizza showed up at my house last night that wasn’t supposed to. I thought that was a prank from the 80s.”
So have there been any downsides to all this fame? Has anyone been mean or has it been unfettered love in the Bone Zone?
"There are enough people being nice that that’s the content that’s floated to the top," Bone insists. "I’ve seen almost no negative stuff.
"There’s been a couple of people call and hang up, which is odd. I didn’t know that was still a thing that people think is funny. Pizza showed up at my house last night that wasn’t supposed to. I thought that was a prank from the 80s.”
So far, then, everything's looking rosy for Bone.
Chelsea Handler even said Monday she wanted to be his lover and become Chelsea Bone-Handler. Bone hadn't seen her show when we spoke but he told us he thinks that's "hilarious."
"I think Chelsea Handler is a fantastic personality," he says. "She has a great show that I enjoy. I think if my wife sees that she'll think it's somewhat less hilarious."
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But is Bone really the nice guy everyone thinks he is?
"I didn't think that I was, but I try to be," he says, patiently answering every question as he navigates an elevator to his next interview.
"I try to treat everybody with respect. In the Midwest everybody's just a little nicer in general. We try to be the nice middle America. And being able to have a platform to show that to the world has been a great experience."
It's a lovely answer, but it's hard to square with his previous support for Trump and the fact he's undecided in an election that seems to have become a referendum on decency. Bone says he won't be endorsing either candidate or announcing his decision until after the election, if at all, but he's happy to discuss his thinking so far.
"I think you can have a nasty temperament and still be a leader."
He thinks Trump would be better for the coal industry. "That's in my self-interest, that does good for my industry and my career prospects," he says. "But there are also some concerns about equality. We just achieved marriage equality recently and we don't want to give that back. I don't want to strip anyone of their rights. The thought of that is terrifying.
"I had to think of my own self-interests versus what I think is best for the community."
There's been a lot of talk about their temperaments. Is that a factor? "I've worked with a lot of gruff people. I think you can have a nasty temperament and still be a leader. It's just not a quality that I admire," Bone says.
So did the comments Trump made on Friday's leaked tape sway his opinion at all?
"I didn't really know a lot about it. I do know that working in a rough and tumble industry like I do with a bunch of dudes, things do get said. I try to never say anything like that because it's so disrespectful, so awful. I'd never want my wife to hear something like that. I don't put too much stock in it but when you're a public figure, even not a politician, it would be best to keep that craziness to yourself. That's too far."
SEE ALSO: Hey men, let's just never 'banter' like Billy Bush and Donald Trump againBone's more concerned with energy and convinced we can achieve more environmentally-friendly coal technology. He thinks his own plant is a "shining example of that". And of course, his main reason for embracing the spotlight is to encourage people to vote -- whatever their affiliation.
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Don't expect Bone to be in your lives forever, though. While he says he'll keep his Twitter followers and will "keep getting the message out" about energy, he doesn't intend to stay famous.
"I'll keep answering the phone as long as people from the media want to talk to me," he declares, before diving off to his next appearance. "I'm not going to push myself after that's over. I'll welcome the end when it's over and call it a good experience.
"I'm not going to be the internet guy who overstays his welcome."
UPDATE: Oct. 12 9:24 AM PT:Ken got back to us about the Snoop tweet overnight. "My company has a very robust drug testing policy, but I love me some Snoop."