Sentenced to Life

Written By:
  
Jeff P.
jeffsfort@gmail.com
Began Writing: November 03, 2004
First Posted: November 14, 2004
Completed: December 20, 2017
Final Posting: December 31, 2017

Editors (I hope I get them all):
  
* Ghost & Dakota * - (TwoHyperPups)
* The Story Lover *
* ACFan *
* Darryl, aka The Radio Rancher *

Creative Inspiration (In no particular order):
  
ACfan - The Corner Cafe
Akeentia - The Padded Room
Gary Q. - Gary's Garden
Multimapper - Bent & Twisted
Boi From Aus - The Annex
Comicality - Comicality's Shack out Back
"And" The ENTIRE Fort family @ http://fortfamilyforums.com
*HUGZ* to You ALL!!!

Originally Hosted By:
  
"Uncle" August Christopher

Sites Authorized to Host "Sentenced to Life":
  

Jeff's Fort - http://jeffsfort.com
AC's Corner Cafe - http://cornercafe.us
The Annex - http://acannex.us
The Story Lover's Home - http://storylover.us
The Padded Room - http://paddedroom.us

UnOfficial Theme Song:
  
It All Begins With Love
Performed By: Declan Galbraith

Main Characters UnOfficial Theme Song:
 
If Everyone Cared
Performed By: Nickelback

My Inspiration:
  

This story is a work of fiction in an alternate universe with the sole purpose of portraying in an amplified sense of feeling obsolete when those you care about and watched over grow up, spread their wings, and fly on their own. It was originally inspired to memorialize a friendship to someone who adopted me as an "Uncle" and over the years makes me more proud than I ever thought possible. His daily presence is certainly missed, which at times does in fact hurt. Just knowing that my being a strong fixture in his life at a time when he chose me to look up to and learn from, makes it easier to deal with, but no less missed.

A Special Thank You:
  

A special thanks go out to my family and friends for their support and help throughout the years while writing this story. Without you all, I would really have had no need or desire to write it at all. Even better, many of those who have become my family over the years (and they know who they are) are also the ones I have taken under my wing in the past. Knowing how my just “Being there” for them when they needed someone, and now considering the adults they have become or are becoming, fills me with a pride that was unmatched then and today is bitter sweet.

Lastly, (and certainly not least) I owe a huge amount of thanks and gratitude to my "Family" in our online family. On a daily basis they have encouraged me to continue on with my writing and complete something that I was beginning to consider "un-finishable". August Christopher for giving me a second home for my work, ACfan & Akeentia for working with me every step of the way building a new home for my ramblings and a universe for it all to reside to this day, and The Story Lover and Darryl aka. The Radio Rancher for helping to keep the story on track and readable. I love you all, and could never thank you enough!

Dedicated To:
  

As I've mentioned, there are many "real life" models for many of the characters in this story. As I modeled "Danny Page" loosely on myself, there is one character who I actually had difficulty bringing in, and only because I wanted to preserve the memories that brought his real-life model into my life, and the reason I wanted to write the story of finding and often losing your purpose: "Kevin Perry". In life, my real "Shadow" was the source of so much happiness in a life that I was becoming one heartache after another. His friendship was more important to me than the air I breathed and as he got older and I was forced to let go, memories of our daily lives still act on me as a ray of warm sunshine does on a cold, wet, and rainy day. Today he may or may not know how much healing I did in my own life because of him. My work here is for the boy he was; for the man he is; for who I am because he helped me begin a better journey. "I miss you Shadow."