John Lewiston: Blog

It was so simple it plum evaded me."

I've been posting on this site for more than a decade. You'd think I'd know HOW TO ADD A DAMN CHAPTER to an existing story.

Well, I do now.

In a blog post of mine from 2013, I posted:

Wild Bill's Last Hand

I knew that if I wrote anything about Wild Bill Hickock that the long knives would come out.

Yes, I knew that Bill died with his back to the door. What I was commenting on was the almost unconscious habit that I and some other veterans exhibit of placing our backs to the wall.

My good Marine friend, the Late, Great Roy, would always try to arrive at a restaurant or coffee shop before me, so as to have the most secure seat.

Roy passed years ago from health complications of Agent Orange. Rest easy, Roy. I've got your seat.

Interestingly, this reference to Hickok's poker hand has garnered more comments than almost any other piece of the four "Steward" stories.

I'll only say that there is a lot of contradictory information being circulated about Wild Bill's death. What lessons can we draw from it? You pays your money and takes your choice.

On 2022-12-13 Desert Baseballer said:

> You wrote "(even though it hadn’t helped Wild Bill Hickok)".
>
> I have heard the day he drew his "dead man's hand" he had been
> convinced to sit with his back NOT against the wall. He was shot
> from the back of his head.
>
> FWIW, YlMMV.

After I posted "Stewart's Third Mission" (a decade ago!), I was immediately massively unsatisfied. The story seemed rather thin.

So, nine years later I have been re-grooving the "Stewart" stories. I've been addressing grammar errors, typos, etc.

When I got to "Third Mission'' I realized its problem was that that it lacked a B-plotline. So, I added one that can help segue into the next "Steward" story.

Anyway, if you found it diverting the first time, perhaps you'll find this rewrite some small improvement. If you have never read the "Steward" stories, I recommend starting at the beginning with "Flight from Babylon."

For both of you that are waiting, eagerly, for another Stewart story, you'll have to keep waiting. I am reposting the corrected copy of "Stewart's Second Mission."

I am pushing forward with "Stewart's First Contact", but I am trying to actually write the damn thing instead of just letting it happen.

But next up is "Stewart's Third Mission", which is getting a second act.

So, years after my patient readers pointed out the many typo and grammatical errors in Flight from Babylon, I finally got around to incorporating them into the text ad re-posting. I really enjoyed revisiting Richard Stewart and the girls. So much so that I am attempting to keep on the roll and fix First Cruise of Lt. Stewart.

Where will this madness end?