December 24, 2020 – Upstate New York
Tyrone Lambert reaches for a cup of coffee resting on the back of a disposable mask that already has three previous brown rings on it. He usually doesn't drink this much caffeine, but deadlines have their requirements. Christmas Eve is a busy time for his family, even in quarantine, and they are getting restless.
Storm warnings went up yesterday for heavy lake-effect snow. Ty needs to get the last lines of this email written. If the power goes out, they can still watch the movie using the generator, but he'll miss the window he set for himself to get this task behind him if the internet goes out.
His first book's draft, which he has yet to title, is due to his publishers the third week in January, and he very much wants to include this story. It was the inspiration for the collection, accounts of moments or years in people's lives that never made it into the documentaries he produced for the screen. The constriction of time slots required watering down or cutting entirely what Ty felt and still feels are the stories' bone and sinew.
Before he can include this account of a life that touched so many in ways few would have foretold, he has to procure a release. It has been seven years since he tried and was unsuccessful. Gave up, actually. Smiling to himself, he is glad to have backed off. Or this tome, even if it never includes the story that inspired it, would never have come into being.
Calls from the family room are getting more insistent that he turns off his computer so they can start the movie. It's a Wonderful Life, in glorious black and white, is already in the DVD player, waiting to be enjoyed.
It is a shame that Mr. Coltrane, who passed away in 2015, could not read what he had a hand in writing. He often felt Rosco standing over his shoulder, watching, while he typed the words.
After keying in the email address to the Sheriff's private account, Ty attaches the pdf file, and lingers over the 'send' icon with his cursor. The answer might still be no, but he has to try.
It's what the Sheriff would do.
Afterward:
Never in my wildest imagination did I envision this story, a fanfiction, either at its inception or in its infancy, reaching the scope it has.
The story concept began as a few chapters - practice for character development. It was conceived originally as an exercise in exploring how to reimagine an underutilized canonical character and to raise him from the depths of obscurity and the mundane. And to write it from a 21st-century perspective.
I must give credit to the writers, and Warner Bros. Studios, who either by accident or design provided the bedrock on which my characterization of Enos Strate is based. The writers may have supplied the bedrock, but Sonny Shroyer's portrayal of his character provided the concrete on which I built Secrets, Bittersweet Memories, and Dolly Parton Goodbyes.
The story and the myriad of original characters I created during the process began to take on a life of its own, carrying me well beyond my original meager vision; and beyond the limit of what I thought my capabilities were.
I have learned more about the problem of Human Trafficking, efforts to combat it, and the forces that feed it than I thought I would – some of it eye-opening. At times, the research took precedence over the writing. Although much of what I learned did not make it into the story, some may still find the content a bit dark in places, at least for a Dukes of Hazzard (owned by Warner Bros. Studios) fanfic. Some may find that it does not delve deeply enough into the problem. I will let you be the judge.
Other than the days when I stared at a blank screen, hoping inspiration would strike me like a gamma-ray from the far reaches of space, I have enjoyed every minute of the journey.
Acknowledgments:
I would be remiss if I did not attribute this story's unfolding to finding the fanfiction of and communicating with WENN9366. She inspired, encouraged, and challenged me to reach higher and farther than I ever thought I could –
Thank you!
You can find WENN9366 DOH, Enos-centric fanfiction on this platform:
Evergreen – in progress
Halls of Stone and Iron – complete
Before the Dawn – complete
Beneath the Hazzard Moon – complete
The Story of Us – complete
Hymn for Yesterday - complete
I would also like to thank my family, especially my oldest granddaughter, for their support, feedback, and suggestions throughout the process. My granddaughter also provided the poem for Uncle Jesse.
You can find ladyawsomesauce"s Destiny fanfiction on :
By Choice, Not Chance: The Red War – in progress
By Choice, Not Chance: Fireteam Stories – in progress
Love you all to Vulcan and back! (Oops, that's my other passion.)
