A long-ago walk on Lucas Brook remembered . . . a time when life was unambiguous . . . the certainty of youth . . . a path followed . . . discovery . . . the betrayal of false friends . . . a certainty eroded. Sometimes, reaching back far enough to a time of certainty can help you understand who you are in the present, and maybe who you're not. At times I felt as though I was in the mindset of my earlier self and at others like a stranger in a strange land. Was it a dream; a reality; a butterfly or a man? This story is about the end of an era, as viewed through the lives of a few Long Island youths living on a mountain at the end of Vermont"s communal movement. There, they chance upon a historical discovery, find an unknown old-growth forest and encounter the world's largest cannon-so this a historical novel. But these tales are based on memories and are as accurate as four-decade-old memories can be. Remembrances although culled over several years, are rarely stored in volumes; they are just snippets, sometimes triggering new memories. Maybe this is a memoir. Yet as memories fill in, the influence of a muse is not always clear, as descriptive fiction is added linking it all together. I confess a small portion has been influenced by extreme creative license. So, perhaps this is a straight-up fiction. Especially since all of the names have been changed. Besides some fiction will provide cover for those who want it. Either way, enjoy the ride.