Today’s reading is somewhat long. Important, though, as it introduces two characters who will remain through most of the rest of the novel.

The first chapter, Square Dance, introduces Harvey Oliver Kendall – known to just about everyone as Hoke.

The second chapter, Scattered Seeds, introduces sheriff’s deputy Will Sealie. Will is working the records room at the Fuller County Sheriff’s office. His usual beat is the area near Possum Hollow, in and around Pearl.

I was asked how I came up with names of people and/or places. It varies. Possum Hollow is a real place in Ross County, Ohio, maybe ten miles or so east of Chillicothe. I’ve been there on numerous occasions – for about a month I dated a girl who lived out on Possum Hollow road. Enough said.

Other names sort of pop into my head or can be in homage to certain people or borrowed from others out of respect (or in one case, to twit a person who kept begging me to use his name in one of my stories).

Hoke came to me. The invention of Harvey Oliver Kendall came to me after I came up with the nickname. Although I do not mention it in this tale, the Jackson Squares call themselves “Hoke Folk” as a term of endearment. When I was square dancing in southern Ohio, our group’s caller was a fellow named Homer Magnet. I came to find out that callers have followings with one or several clubs. Homer may not have made a good living at calling, but he had quite a few friends who would make a point of attending dances where Homer was the caller.

Will Sealie, on the other hand, is the name of an obscure actor. Seriously. I read an article in one of the news magazines – it was at least thirty years ago – about a film series in South Africa about “Captain Caprivi”. It was during Apartheid – and Captain Caprivi was the hero who would come and save the day when all looked hopeless for the white people under attack from the vicious natives. The description of the movies were, to me, utterly ludicrous. Will Sealie was the unfortunate who played “Captain Caprivi”. My inclusion of the name was mostly random, though, on purpose.

Thursday, more of the same. Until then, here’s today’s installment…