The Better Man

The Better ManBy : Richard H. Casebier

Born in the days of the last forty acre farmer, Richard Casebier wondered the hills of Arkansas's Crowley's Ridge using imagination and nature around him for entertainment. Time moved slow and deliberate without the hindrance of television, cell phones or video games. After a long week of hard work, Saturdays were filled with sounds of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry and a late afternoon trip to town teeming with people. Conversation filled the sidewalks along main street spilling out into the street. People visited with friends, purchased goods for the coming week or maybe a new pair of jeans from the local dry goods store. Automobile doors stood un-locked with grocery sacks open unmolested in the back of trucks. Kids ran free among the adults without supervision as none was needed. Respect, community and order were understood and expected. Going from this microcosm to the big metropolis Richard observed life in all it's simplicity and complications. The Vietnam war, the shooting of Martin Luther King, the Kennedy assassination, President Nixon's resignation and the downfall of the Soviet Union among other momentous events charged fifty something years with wonder and amazement at the greatness and stupidity of humanity. This author has been fascinated by politics and the collisions in history of people and events. Our times are rich in opportunities for the imagination to create fictional worlds and events to entertain our selves and others. From a short story in high school to dreams of writing a best seller, this book, The Better Man represents a first attempt at telling the story in print. Make no mistake, it is all about telling the story, toying with the reader and in the end giving satisfaction for time well spent with a tale well spun.