Episode 109: The Tower
4th Anniversary Bonus Episode
All they want is love. Everyone else wants their fortune.
#GreatDepression, #heiresses, #heirs, #DorisDuke, #BarbaraHutton, #marriages, #divorces, #weddings, #scandals, #betrayals
Fourth Year Anniversary recap and future storylines.
Other people and subjects include: Barbara Hutton, Doris Duke, heirs, heiresses, marriages, divorces, weddings, scandals, betrayals, royalty, taxes, sports, life changes, challenges, envy, listener interactions
Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Extra Notes / Call to Action:
Past Perfect Vintage Radio – Amazon’s Alexa, TuneIn Radio, myTunerRadio apps
https://www.pastperfect.com/radio/
www.pastperfect.com
Mansions of the Gilded Age
Instagram: Mansions of the Gilded Age and The Gilded Age Society by Gary Lawrance
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mansionsofthegildedage
https://www.youtube.com/c/MansionsOfTheGildedAge
New York Adventure Club www.nyadventureclub.com
Stories of the Gilded Age *formerly Power Privilege & Money
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/powerprivilegemoney
Instagram: @powerprivilegemoney
What’s Her Name Podcast by Dr. Katie Nelson and Olivia Meikle
https://whatshernamepodcast.com/
The Queens Podcast by Katy Hearne-Church and Nathan Foster, https://shows.acast.com/queenshistorypodcast
The History Detective podcast by Kelly Chase
https://historydetectivepodcast.com/
Talking Billions podcast by Bogumil Baranowski
https://www.talkingbillions.co/
Ye Olde Crime podcast by Lindsay Valenty and Madison Stangl
https://www.yeoldecrimepodcast.com/
Share, like, subscribe
TW / IG – @asthemoneyburns
Twitter – https://twitter.com/asthemoneyburns
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/asthemoneyburns/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/asthemoneyburns/
Publish Date: April 15, 2024
Length: 18:10
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: The Younger Generation by Ray Noble, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
Section 2 Music: I’ve Got A Heart (Filled With Love For You Dear) by Glenn Miller, Album Perfect Big Bands
Section 3 Music: Ain’t She Sweet by Piccadilly Revels Band, Album Charleston – Great Stars Of the 20s
End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
AS THE MONEY BURNS
Podcast by Nicki Woodard
Episode 109 – The Tower – 4th Anniversary Bonus
Outline
Anniversary recap
Teasers
00:00
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast by Nicki Woodard. Based on historical research, this is a deep exploration into what happened to a set of actual heirs and heiresses to some of America’s most famous fortunes when the Great Depression hits.
Each episode has three primary sections. Section 1 is a narrative story. Section 2 goes deeper into the historical facts. Section 3 focuses on contemporary, emotional, and personal connections.
00:30
Story Recap
4 Years in the Making with more tales of love and fortune to go…
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:41
The Tower – 4th Anniversary Bonus Episode
[Music Fade Out]
Episode Tag
All they want is love. Everyone else wants their fortune.
00:59
[Music – These Foolish Things by Benny Carter, Album Perfect Blues]
Section 1 – Story
[Music Fade Out]
01:13
Over a mountain and through a valley, a strikingly handsome prince travels alone. Is he seeking adventure, fortune, or fame? The prince himself shifts like the changing light from moment to moment from athletic to sophisticated to rugged to intelligent. He pulls out the map but the territory beyond is marked unknown. He decides to venture forward.
As the heat of the day breaks him down, he stops to drink some water. Tired and weary from his journey, the prince wonders if he should just give up.
Then a sparkle flashes in the far distant horizon.
A renewed vigor pushes him onward.
01:57
As the day draws to an end, he comes upon a tower overlooking a cliff. From a window up at the top, he sees a beautiful princess walking about. As the night begins to creep over, the brightness of the tower room lights up the surrounding area.
He camps outside making his plans. He has to find his way in.
When the sun rises, he makes his way to the bottom of the tower stepping over shards of broken pottery. The beautiful young lady comes to the window. Her face and body too shifts and changes from young to older, from blonde to jet black hair, every aspect transforming but always beautiful and enchanting.
She feels the warmth of sunlight when she looks down and sees the prince staring back up at her. Her heart skips a beat.
02:52
With ardent swain energy, he makes his way up the tower and into the window. Nearly blinded, his eyes adjust. Never has he seen such opulence. Everything radiates and sparkles.
He hands her a bouquet of flowers, but she refuses to take them. She warns him not to touch her. Her touch ruins everything. He doesn’t believe her. He tries to kiss her, but she pulls away. Her silk and velvet garments slip through his fingers.
03:24
Finally, she reaches out and touches the flowers, which crystallize into diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and gold.
He then looks around seeing all the items the animals and the statues. He comes closer to her. His eyes slightly menacing. She backs away trembling.
He wants to know the source of her power, but she doesn’t know. She only sees it as a curse. He threatens her and lunges at her knocking over furniture.
A pitcher of water spills over and touches her bare feet turning into a pool of sapphires. Wickedly, he laughs and starts greedily taking things from the room.
He climbs out with his makeshift bag of loot and gets down onto the ground. Then he opens the bag only to find it has all turned into worthless dust and fool’s gold that fools no one.
04:18
Furious, he climbs back into the tower and demands to know what happened. She shrugs her shoulders and doesn’t know why but nothing lasts outside the tower. And yet no friends, no lovers, no pets, nothing living remains inside. A curse, a prison,… she knows not why.
She crumbles to the floor as she sheds tears of diamonds from her eyes. She warns him if he stays too long then he too will be trapped. He can still choose his fate but only has seconds before the options are over. Before the sun sets he must leave and never return or will be trapped here forever.
05:02
He runs towards the window ready to leap when he sees the last sliver of light disappear. He turns around and the room has grown dark and cold. Has this all been an illusion? A trap?
Her glowing eyes and sharp teeth are the only things to be seen as she walks towards him snarling in anger.
Another betrayal, another hunter with no care for his prey.
She comes up close to him reaching out her hand, but now he feels the coldness in the air, but he can step no further back. She raises her hand, and he grabs her wrist in defense only to feel himself starting to change. He stumbles forward, but she pushes him back pressing her hands into his chest turning him into an ivory and gold statue.
05:57
As the sun rises the next morning, the trapped princess gets up and inspects the room. She goes to look at her new statue and shrugs, then pushes it out the window. It immediately turns into an old clay statue that shatters into a thousand pieces upon hitting the ground.
One day true love may free her, but today is not that day.
06:25
[Music – Nightfall by Benny Carter & His Orchestra, Album Nightfall – Sophisticated Jazz Classics]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music Fade Out]
06:39
Oh 4 years comes with many stories having been told though not all twists and turns have been divulged. Darker times ahead mean our heirs and heiresses are not out of danger yet.
Little stories are adding up with much more to be revealed.
Have you been paying attention? Have you caught the little hints along the way? Have you taken a sneak peek into their history?
No matter whether you did or didn’t, do or don’t, there is still plenty yet to be unveiled. Even if you think you know the story, these games of love and fortune are complex and getting far more complicated.
07:18
A love triangle gets messy as it expands further out. Who knows which heiress will end up with whom, as one heiress gets exchanged for another.
Hoaxes, pretenders, and speculation provide lots of fun distraction. Unless a fortune, a baby, or life is lost in the action.
Death and taxes are the only two inevitabilities in life. While the Grim Reaper might skip a trip, the taxman always strikes. Only one particular heiress strikes back.
Can a fortune or jewel be cursed? Beware of the glare from an evil eye stare.
07:56
As three turn 21, 2 gain their fortune, but alas the third must still wait.
Three debutantes had their great balls. One got married but is now divorced. Another flees from scandal and blackmail, while the last can’t seem to shake her mother’s grasp.
Where, oh where, did one athlete go? Here one day, gone the next. No need to get frantic, this could be just another antic.
A popular event returns to a grand hotel, and everyone is dying to be included. Come One, Come All, Step right up to the Circus Ball!!!!
08:33
As wedding bell chimes, future in-laws warn a bride best protect her dimes.
Marriages and divorces galore. But love and happiness are nevermore as someone is always wanting more, more, more…
For many a fortune would be a treat, but for our heirs and heiresses it is bittersweet.
More scandal, intrigue, and love triangles abound on this never-ending merry-go-round.
09:02
[Music – Top Hat, White Tie and Tails by Carroll Gibbons & Boy Friends, Album Sophistication – Songs of the Thirties]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music Fade Out]
09:24
A little more confession time. The main reasons I am compelled to tell this story are the parts that synch up with my life. The dual nature of love. Both struggling to find that loving romantic partnership as well as the loss of close loved ones, who have mostly been family. Not just prior to finding these tales, but those during the over 7 years of development and now the 4 years since first hitting record.
Our lives are messy and complicated, moments of joy with plenty of pain. I have always battled with that duality. Getting more than a fair dose of those harsh realities of life, which also makes me more than grateful for what does bring me hope and joy.
10:11
First, my primary coping mechanism is that I dive into creativity and stubbornness to follow a dream while wading through present darkness. This path has been a little bumpy this last year. As a solo podcaster, a lot is on my plate as I battle through several tech issues (software, hardware, and whatever else likes to pop up – even during the making of this very episode). I chose to make sure the story remains consistent and well told, though that has resulted in some delays. Hurdles in a labor of love. Still tech issues are preferable to the other life’s challenges already mentioned.
10:52
Second, over this last year, I made some drastic life changes, in some ways minor but ripple into larger things. And the choices I made are very much in line with the underlying premise of this story. I may not have money or wealth, but I do have what money cannot buy – meaning people and very particular people. So I decided my next chapter and all future ones will make sure those people are much more in my life and I in theirs from here on for as long as I get to still have them. I guarantee our primary heirs and heiresses would be far more jealous of me than I am of them due to their fortunes. And I know how theirs ended, I don’t know mine yet.
11:40
Lastly, the blessing through making this podcast is that I get to relate to more and more people. Some like to point out fun associations with the people in the story, others actually knew and / or are related to them, and a few have heard things through association. People from various walks of life and around the world reach out. I interacted with one person featured in one mentioned documentary, and she relayed her frustrating association with the wealthy during a different more modern era. One regular listener likes to point out facts and has issued me a challenge to learn more about a yacht potentially owned in the near future by one of our characters but not likely within our primary timeline. A new recent listener asked for help on finding more information on a future paramour and companion outside the scope of our era, so I located a few articles to flesh out that story. Actually, a very interesting and prestigious trail of a family, though the end of life for the person in question is obfuscated by a way too common popular name as well as living in France so language barriers complicate locating an obituary or additional research.
12:54
It’s great to support and be supported by people, and with that I want to shout out to my fellow creators both old and new friends – Mansions of the Gilded Age, New York Adventure Club, Stories of the Gilded Age, What’s Her Name podcast, the Queens podcast, The History Detective podcast, Talking Billions podcast, and Ye Olde Crime Podcast. I’m also grateful to my close friends and family who constantly support and encourage me and tolerate my obsession. Their help in various ways is tremendously appreciated.
Mansions of the Gilded Age
Instagram: Mansions of the Gilded Age and The Gilded Age Society by Gary Lawrance
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mansionsofthegildedage
https://www.youtube.com/c/MansionsOfTheGildedAge
New York Adventure Club www.nyadventureclub.com
Stories of the Gilded Age *formerly Power Privilege & Money
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/powerprivilegemoney
Instagram: @powerprivilegemoney
What’s Her Name Podcast by Dr. Katie Nelson and Olivia Meikle
https://whatshernamepodcast.com/
The Queens Podcast by Katy Hearne-Church and Nathan Foster, https://shows.acast.com/queenshistorypodcast
The History Detective podcast by Kelly Chase
https://historydetectivepodcast.com/
Talking Billions podcast by Bogumil Baranowski
https://www.talkingbillions.co/
Ye Olde Crime podcast by Lindsay Valenty and Madison Stangl
https://www.yeoldecrimepodcast.com/
Everything we have learned so far is a build up to all the drama and further betrayals yet to come. You won’t want to miss out. We are now in the midst of all the good stuff happening.
Thanks for joining me this far, and I hope you keep listening as our tales continue…
13:43
For the whole 4 years and now into a 5th, there has been one solid partnership throughout and that is Past Perfect Vintage Music. A wonderful collection of digitally restored music from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. I could not imagine this podcast without its special musical touch for the transitions as well as the opening and ending credits. Even better, Past Perfect now has its own Past Perfect Vintage Radio channel which can come directly to your home.
It can be as simple as asking Amazon’s Alexa to turn on Past Perfect Vintage Radio. Also available on TuneIn Radio and myTunerRadio apps.
For more information check out:
https://www.pastperfect.com/radio/
www.pastperfect.com
Links in the notes and transcript.
If you enjoy As The Money Burns, then please share, like, & subscribe.
Once again here is the full main song featured in every episode of AS THE MONEY BURNS – all 109 so far and for the next to come…
My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton
Hook
14:50
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
More true tales of love and fortune with plenty more drama and betrayal to come…
Until then…
Credits
15:05
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast written, produced, and voiced by Nicki Woodard, based on historical research. Archival music has been provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, check out their website at www.pastperfect.com.
Please come visit us at As The Money Burns via Goodpods, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook (now Meta), or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are available at asthemoneyburns.com.
18:10
THE END.