Guadalcanal 2006
by Dylan Strzynski

50 pages

PROLOGUE

Most of what comprises this book was written between 2006 and 2008 - a fact that partially explains the title. That was a long time ago now. Back then, I lacked the the resources to resolve the project and put it out into the world. Wioth no clear path forward, I set it aside and watched as, despite my best intentions, it became another incomplete part of the past.

It is not unusual for some projects to exist within protracted time frames. Due to timing or specific demands they can take a long time to circle back to completion. This project was one of those. It was like a comet in a very long orbital period. Journeying way out into interstellar space, it was the late fall of 2024 before it reappeared in my sky.

Upon first glance the writing was a bit rougher than I remembered, but I was surprised by how much I still liked it. This motivated me to start fixing it up. Within a few days I was determined, after so many years, to complete the project. In doing so I had entered into a collaboration with my younger self. I was surprised at how much I liked him - the me of nearly 20 years earlier - and resolved to let him do the talking while I worked on the mechanics.

The following piece was originally meant to be included in the second part of this book. It now strikes me as naive and affected, but I still know what he was talking about:

5-15-2006

Today I am thirty years old.
At this point, my life feels as though
it is as much a part of the past
as it is the future.