This is a story of pole vaulting. The story starts with Swan, a poor kid from a small Northwest town, finding himself with a chance to take first at the state finals in pole vault. Though I tried to steer clear of including too much autobiographical information, I did use a large amount of my own high school experiences to color the setting and characters.Yes, I was a pole vaulter, and I did set the school record in pole vault, which I still hold some twenty years later. I have decided that now is the time to write something commemorating my love for that sport.

This is my first attempt at a truly long fiction, and it is my reentry into a novel that has been plaguing my imagination since university. In a way, this is my way of tricking myself into stop putting off the novel and just writing the thing out of my head.

You will encounter three principle characters: Swan, his friend Hiram, and Mary. I am writing this story to see how these three behave and react together. They are major characters in a much larger story. So, if it feels I have left a storyline or two "flapping in the wind," I'd appreciate it greatly if you'd please let me know.

In order to keep myself on task, I hope to add a new section to this story every Sunday (that's Sunday my time; I have no idea when that might be for you, as you are probably on the other side of the planet from me).Personally, I would rather teenagers read this piece, but I understand that some people think it's better to hide references to drug use and profanity in order to keep people from learning--that's why I recently gave this a rating of 18+. My choice. I hope you get the irony.

Writing realist fiction is not my strong point (one reason I have put the novel off this long), so I thank you in advance for your patience in reading: "Thank you."