The Saga of Chief Barking Loincloth: Book 2

Larry Sargeant's autobiographical questioning of life's essence is told through his protagonist, Alan Bentley. Alan left the cocoon of family four days after high school graduation in 1960, hoping to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming legendary in the mold of real life and fictional heroes. Following three years of army life marked by inconsistent, sporadic, risky, impulsive and often unintentionally hilarious adventures, he returned to his childhood home burdened by a sense of failure. Beset by challenging relationships, national tragedies, and society's changing mores, his quest had floundered. He questioned his motivation, the criteria for heroism, and his potential for success. An unusual epiphany in 1968 inspired him to re-examine his continuing romantic misadventures, inconsistent career and life choices, numerous near-death experiences in the air and on the ground, and often questionable behavior. With a revised sense of urgency, he resurrects the search for his inner hero in the context of a finite forever. Will he succeed or will the unpredictable nature of forever intervene?

Larry Sargeant provides autobiographical questioning of life's essence through his protagonist, Alan Bentley, the second son of a "greatest generation" mother and father. Alan has grown up during the post WWII era of euphoria, with many real (Abraham Lincoln, Lindy, Ike) and fictional (Superman, Batman) heroes. His adolescence is filled with questions about the meaning of life. He asks himself can a person establish and reach goals to justify his existence while enduring the pitfalls of innocent ignorance and impatient curiosity in an inept search for his inner hero? In Book 2 Alan resurrects his documenting of that search from 1963 as he somewhat reluctantly returned to boyhood digs that he had escaped from in 1960. Having experienced many challenges in his quest for heroism, he questions his commitment to that goal as a result of setbacks and irrelevant detours. Returning home had reinforced his sense of failure and, while fighting an inclination to accept defeat, he begins to symbolically tread water. The only perceptible changes in his status after a three-year absence are being older and finally having a room of his own. Alan had suspended his journal-writing, but fortunately continued to scribble notes about events and experiences, stuffing them into shoe boxes in case he ever decided to resurrect his journal writing. In 1964, after determining that, despite frequent renewed misfires, perseverance was his only choice, he established a Plan To Live Forever, his personal PTLF. He experiences an unusual epiphany that gives rise to the concept of a finite forever, inspiring him to adjust his goals with revived zeal and a new sense of urgency. In 1974 he resurrected his journal from his saved notes. Again, his documentation reveals a plethora of misfires and catastrophes that ran a gamut of highs and lows, laughter and tears, excitement, and flirts with death. Self-destructive behavior, threats from angry husbands and boyfriends, risky experiments with skydiving equipment, and flawed romance-centered decisions, frequently challenge his PTLF. Alan attempts to reconcile his altered concept of forever with his goals, achievements, and beliefs, by narrowing his focus to unmask his inner hero. Can his revised path and renewed determination enable him to control his fate and finally find hero-centered success in the forever he seeks? 

Larry Sargeant was born in Plattsburgh, NY in 1942. Immediately after graduating from high school in Mooers, NY, as class valedictorian, he enlisted in the US Army. His military assignments included stints as a bandsman, a tech school instructor, and chief training officer for the Ft. Gordon, Ga. Skydivers. He has enjoyed a variety of careers, including, corporate buyer, professional skydiver, furniture salesman, small-time carny, shoe designer, factory manager, and marketing director. He earned a BS in secondary English education in 1972 and a Masters degree in Liberal Studies in 2011, enabling him to teach high school English from 2005 through 2017. In addition to his debut novel, The Saga of Chief Barking Loincloth - Book 1: In Search of a Hero, and the second installment - Book 2: In Search of Forever, he has written, directed, and performed in numerous musical comedies performed as Rotary scholarship fund raisers. Larry has also authored short stories for use in his English classes and composed special occasion poetry and song lyrics. He retired from teaching in 2017 and now, while still planning to live forever, enjoys writing, music, Rotary service, and golfing with his wife, Joni, in Little Falls, NY.