Hi there! Now you may be itching to know how much of this is real. The general environs exist. Between the second and third versions of my original story, I felt the need to anchor it somewhere because I was seriously lacking in certain visuals. So I poured over a map and ended up picking Lake Eufaula on the state line of Alabama and Georgia for my backdrop. 

Then I needed to get a feel of the place so I traveled there from Jamaica. This was in August 1990, when I'd already started to develop a sequel to the original story. I took plane, bus and taxi to get there and spent about 4 days checking out the town of Eufaula on foot, visiting the local library and newspaper, focusing on 1979-1980, which was the timeline I had for my story. 

Guess what the best part of this visit was? The cougar story! It literally fell into my lap; it fitted in with my story so perfectly! That's why this story has a date: it had to start after the cougar story, near a summer weekend at full moon (which occurred on August 8).

And why 1979? Well, I got the initial idea for this story in the summer of 1978... and I remember exactly where I was when it hit me!

The research I did in Alabama required a complete revision of my original story which I started – but then university studies came in the way and I had to shelve it.

Now, over 26 years later I look back at the research I did and am amazed at what I had accomplished at the time. Without Internet! I don't remember much of my trip and can't find the photos I'd taken, but now I can go on Google Earth and travel the length of the lake I had picked out for the crash landing – which I wasn't able to do when I went there. So this rewrite is still in development... I have the main storyline but a lot of things to change, and a lot of new stuff to cover which I didn't address in my earlier version.

How the cougar story fits in? Well, read on and you'll figure it out.

Thanks for voting! Comments, questions, constructive feedback? I'd love to hear from you!

Walk good!

— kemorgan65

P.S. If you're interested in how this story originally started out in my early teenage days of writing, check out my 'bonus' book The Green Eyes' Secret  #GreenEyesSecret. It has the original hand-drawn #ShadowOfThePastTrilogy cover.
See link to the book in the inline comment --->>