AS THE MONEY BURNS

Podcast by Nicki Woodard

Episode 126 – The Looking Glass, 5^th Anniversary Bonus Episode

Outline

Recap

Teasers

Series Tag

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

This is the 5th Year Anniversary recap and teaser of future storylines

Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS

Title

00:43

The Looking Glass – 5^th Anniversary Bonus Episode

[Music Fade Out]

Episode Tag

A quick review and highlight for the 5^th Anniversary of this historical series with hints of future tales.

01:01

[Music – These Foolish Things by Benny Carter, Album Perfect Blues]

Section 1 – Story

[Music Fade Out]

01:16

Standing in front of a tall mirror, a young lady shapeshifts from one female to another (younger, older, brunette, blonde, any ethnicity, different life stages,…).  She adjusts her look as she prepares for an exciting night.

Her reflection brightens and dims as she anticipates this evening’s promises. 

Will she dance the night away in bliss?  Will she finally kiss her prince?

Or will she be left to the side and ignored?  Alone yet again.

01:50

Nervous that everything should be just right, she spends hours trying to be perfect – whatever that could mean.  The clock strikes alerting her it is time to head out to the ball.

She follows a path lit by twinkling lights and fragrant flowers.  A magical night surely awaits her.  She enters into a sprawling, grand seaside estate.  Electrical energy flows through the air.  The source is both manmade and otherworldly. 

Inside the mansion is even more magnificent.  The gaiety fills the room.  The young lady clutches her invitation and sighs.  She is hoping for so much tonight.

02:36

As the evening wears on, she remains to the side, uninvited to dance, ignored for conversation by other equally excited females, left to watch others have their moment.

Another more popular female rival dances with one lad or another.  Only that gets little attention as the young lady stares infatuatedly at her own crush, a prince of sorts at least in her mind.  He is so handsome and debonair as he dances with others, who swoon over him too.  Anytime he gets close to her path, the young lady swells up in excitement only to again feel deflated.

Then the semi-prince dances with her rival.  It is almost too much to bear.  An uncomfortable mixture of jealousy and envy along with self-pity.

03:38

As the night progresses, the young lady remains alone, unseen, and unnoticed.  Eventually, she drifts away into other parts of the mansion.  Down hallways dimly lit into complete darkness.

She finds a door.  The knob is stiff.  She is about to leave when she hears whispering behind her.  She pulls the door open then slips through leaving a crack. 

The shadowy figures of a mischievous and lusty couple sneak into the room.  The young lady’s eyes adjust only to recognize her crush kissing her rival.

In agony, she squeaks then closes the door shut.  The couple jump at the interruption.  They look around and find nothing.  But to be safe, they move onto another more remote side of the estate.

04:37

The young lady turns around to see a staircase leading up and away.  She takes one step at a time until she reaches an attic.

A treasure trove of relics from the past.  Pieces of life forgotten and tucked away.

She wanders about.  Her hand touches items lost in time.  Covered by dust and cobwebs, she sees books and clothing trunks and other curiosities.

She finds an antique trunk and opens it.  Trinkets filled with memories and stories no longer told.  An old diary whispers private confessions of unrequited love, heartbreak, and the need for belonging.

05:23

The young lady explores further.  She sits down at an old mirrored vanity.  Noticing a pretty red lipstick, she paints her lips.  Suddenly, she grows bloated, heavier and heavier, expanding rapidly.  She begins to choke.  She drops the lipstick then faints.

When she comes to, she gets up to see she is back to normal.  She tries to shrug off the hallucination.  She picks up a brush and runs it through her hair.  With each stroke, she notices she gets a little slimmer.  Only it never stops, she becomes so thin she looks skeletal.  Her fair falls out in clumps. 

She jumps up, but the hair disappears.  She fears looking back at the vanity, but once again she appears back to normal.

She wanders away, walking past an empty hospital bed.  The metal reflects a family gathered around a dying person.  Not a loving cherishing scene, but one where they greedily wait for their inheritance.

06:36

The young lady sees a dress mannequin with a decaying wedding dress.  The veil hangs over a large three-piece dressing mirror.  Still nervous, she hesitates, but the romantic in her cannot resist.  She puts the veil on her head then looks into the mirror.

Each mirror reflects a different stage in life and love.  A wedding, a young family, and old love.  She smiles as the people start to become clear.  The young man is none other than her crush.  This is definitely much more interesting.  She leans in closer already daydreaming of their long life together, only the bride – the mother – the elderly lady is not her. 

But in fact, her rival.

07:38

Tears stream down the young lady’s eyes. 

She looks away and looks back to find herself alone in the dark.  Upset, she goes to pull off the veil.  But the veil is not of a lace but a large silvery spiderweb.  In a panic, she struggles to get it off as it clings to her.  She flails and knocks over the dressing mannequin into the mirror, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

Each piece of looking glass reveals a different scenario.  Beautiful dreams that distort into nightmares.  She runs out of the attic and stumbles down the stairs.

08:18

Dejected she heads back to the ball.  Only the mansion is quiet and dark.  The partygoers are all gone.  Silence everywhere.  She avoids looking at any reflection.

Frustrated and more afraid of a future still unknown, she walks the deserted way back home.  Certain heartbreak is her destiny.