With Skylar at the wheel, it isn't long before they reach Baton Rouge. Both Skylar and Reed are impressed with the city. The capitol building is impressive. The city center is impressive. The countryside is impressive. But the thing that they find most impressive are the old plantation mansions. They just drive around looking at them until they reach one that has an old Edsel convertible sitting out front with a 'For Sale' sign on it. A big banner spanning several of the mansion's old pillars reads, 'Estate Sale Today'. Skylar pulls up closer to where the Edsel is parked. 'That old car sure looks like it has been well taken care of!' he notes to Reed. 'It sure does! Lets get out and take a closer look!' says Reed. The guys get out of Eleanor and walk over to the beautifully preserved old car. 'My my!' says Reed. 'I sure wouldn't mind owning something like this!' Just then, an old gentleman dressed in a spotless white suit appears beside them as if out of thin air. Of course, we know that couldn't be. The guys were so engrossed at looking at the old car, they just must have missed his approach. 'Love old cars, do you, boys?' asks the old gentleman. Both guys nod in agreement. Unbidden, the old man sighs and begins a tale of the history of this old plantation. It is a sad tale told over and over by many a family. Founded before the Civil War, the family lost everything but the land and buildings after that war. The father died from a broken heart. Three of the boys did survive the war and came home to hold the estate together. They each got married. As they grew older, petty rivalries started surfacing as they often do when the blood of strangers is mixed in with that of the old family regulars. The two oldest brothers had a duel over the most senseless of differences. They wound up killing each other which, according to their father's will, left the estate solely to the youngest brother. The widows fought long and hard to try and get some share of the estate but the law was on the side of the surviving brother. But it cost him dearly in court fees. He struggled financially for many years before paying off those debts. It weakened the estate greatly. He had one son and two daughters. The son wasn't much interested in the estate but he did stay on cause he was loyal to the family. The sisters married wealthy northerners and moved to New York and Boston. They didn't care what happened to the estate. Their father died at a rather young 56 from a heart attack from trying to work the estate back to profitability. The surviving son started selling off parcels of land after that. He managed to keep afloat that way for as long as he lived. He only had one son who was much like him. He continued the spendthift ways after he inherited the estate. He had only one daughter. She wasn't very intelligent and wound up marrying a gambler. Her husband was the one that got this Edsel, or rather, won it in a card game. It was a short lived win. The guy who lost it came after him one dark night and blew his brains out. His wife lived in seclusion after that and refused to leave the house. She has lived in here all these years and only just passed away this past week. She was 90. There were no children so now the estate passes to the state. You guys get done looking at the car, you might want to check out inside the house as well. There are a lot of interesting items that did survive all the drama of this family. Some that you guys might find interesting enough to bid on. Skylar and Reed nodded their heads in agreement. Then Skylar turned to ask the old gentleman a question but he had already vanished. -------------------- M4 character. Rendered in Poser 9. Post work in Photoshop 7. Thank you for taking a peek! Your support is greatly appreciated!