20 Days of Backstory: Day 20

Hi, friends,

This is the final day of my blog series on MAYDAY backstory. Thank you for following along.  

BACKSTORY FACT 20

In the first draft of the story, I wrote an epilogue from Wayne Kovok as a young man in the military. 

The idea to write a letter was a good one, but I decided to include a letter from Grandpa instead. This just illustrates how stories morph over time. 

Here is the epilogue, unedited. The “seven things” was a once, now deleted thread in the novel in which Grandpa gave Wayne advice. It refers to completing seven things a person can take pride in, not own, but can be photographed. 

To: Sandy Showalter

I heard a song the other day. It included the word bewildering in the lyrics and it made me remember you and that time in my life when I wrote letters I never sent. But hearing that word caused me to pause and pick up a piece of paper and a pen. I haven’t done that since school days. Usually I just type. But I thought you’d want to know that today, I’m checking off one of my seven things. Serving my country. There will be a photograph and when I look at it, I’ll remember everything. 

Sincerely,

Wayne H. Kovok

2nd Lieutenant, United States Air Force

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