Sneak Peek of the Straw Man Army
I thought y'all would like a sneak peek of the book I'm working on this month. Called "The Straw Man Army - 1861".
Here is the opening of chapter 1 of "The Straw Man Army - 1861":
Chapter 1 – Welcome to My Camp The Straw Man Army
“Welcome. Sit down, reader. Glad you came. That chair by the hearth will do. The fire is low. I like it that way. I can see your face and you can see I am not a man. Straw at the cuffs. Coat in rags from Mexico. Good. You brought the year with you. I see you chose 1861. Fine year. Lean back. I wrote it the way I lived it, so don’t look for a preacher. Look for me.
I am the Man of Straw. Not the scarecrow in the corn. I work a war. Not an outlaw’s bad night. Not a town that burned because somebody was careless. If men have not taken up a fight, I have no roll. I recruit the ones who leave the fight and serve something else. A man is supposed to serve the fight in front of him. He puts something else in its place. Pride instead of judgment. A vow instead of the work. Fear giving the order. A title instead of a commander. A plan that was never there. A friend who looks like the enemy in the dark. That is what builds my army. I wait on those.
I honor the ones who play and I take them into my army. His name goes on the roll. If he lives, I scratch him. Living is a poor recruit. If that play kills him, or kills by him, I keep him. When a man will not play, I call him a fool and I walk off hungry. I like the work. I have liked it since Mexico. After that war I had a coat and no harvest. Thirteen lean years. I tried everything I could to spark the fight again. Whispered at the river. Leaned on pride. Left a vow in a man’s mouth and waited for him to spend it. Neither side was having it. Men talked. Men cooled. I walked river to post and heard plans by the dozen. Felt none of them close. Caution. Pride that would not spend itself. I left those men in their chairs. Empty taste.
