An imagination greater than reality. A battle which couldn’t be won. So, many were lost.

Jefferson Davis, a president elect who didn’t run. John Brown, executed two years prior for acting on a plan to seize federal arms to equip those enslaved to rebel. Naive union soldiers, gathering souvenirs before the first battle of Bull Run was over. Picnicking civilians, accompanying the militia a mere 25 miles from D.C.

Some with a purpose, a calling. Others, a supportive role. Both, interweaving through each other’s stories.

Can you think out loud? Are you willing to try? The man in the arena.

How can one say they’ve experienced joy? How can one say they’ve experienced pain? Has one held a child?